So yet another week is over.  This one has felt quite long as not only have I being getting chemo every day but on Monday picc line 3 stopped working and number 4 had to go in.  This is because my veins are giving up the ghost and add to that the fact  my liver is in a mood with me due to the chemo/antibiotic combination and you will maybe understand how glad I am that this week is over.  But this week has also taught me once again how lucky I am to have the friends that I have in my life, those that help me and listen to me and those that give me a swift kick when needed.  I also realise how lucky I am to still be here as yet another patient from my ward received the bad news and has since passed away.  I am not one of these people that asks “why me?” because why not me?  But I do thank God I am still here, I am one of the lucky ones and must never forget that.

So I am out of hospital again, yipee.  I am still on giant antibiotics but I hope that my chemo will start tomorrow as (re)planned.  I have a new mid-line in my left arm which I do hope stays in ok for the rest of my treatment (third time lucky and all that).   I am beginning to realise that the ALL is just something that hovers in the background but it is all the other issues that it brings, such as the infections, that are the real problems. So as I start a new round of chemo I thank God that I am still here and relatively healthy and I thank you for all your support, kind wishes and prayers. So while I can’t say that I am looking forward to tomorrow and my next round of treatment I am glad that we are still going in the right direction even if there is the odd little hiccup now and then.

This afternoon I am getting my first hair cut.  I am still in the hospital and thus am lucky enough to be able to use their hairdressing services. The Beatson is great for that and all the complementary services that are available.

For those of you at home that are coughing, sneezing etc (Louise) you will be glad to know that they have a name for our little problem and it is coronavirus which I am glad to hear is not a bad bug (although it obviously still needs a bit of training done with it).

So my next round of chemo has not started yet but hopefully will be beginning again on Monday.  Sadly this means I will miss mums birthday but like all recent events I will make up for it later and next year every special day from New Year on will be celebrated on the date and in the best way possible.

So I have not posted much on here in the last couple of weeks.  That has mostly been due to the fact that I was home and having a wonderful time not thinking about ALL.  I have been busy working out in the garden and even my bees came out to see me one day, which I thought was awfully brave.  I also went back to church which was nice and is something I intend to do more often now that I am getting home regularly.

Today however I am back down in Glasgow supposedly to start my next round of chemo as an outpatient but as the all of the best made plans go I am not going to be doing that.  Instead I am back on the ward (in my own room as I am being spoilt) having intravenous antibiotics to combat an infection.  This is very reminisce  of how I ended up here in the first place which is somewhat frustrating.  Hopefully however I will only be in for a couple of days and then on with my chemo.  Having been an  idiot and not called my doctor yesterday, as I did not think it merited it, I was forced to make the call today when I arrived in Glasgow.  I have to admit that, like everyone that is treating me, the staff here are fantastic and when I called the support line they could not have been any more helpful and as I have already had my first lot of antibiotics I am hoping to be on the mend soon after all I have gardening to do.

Community, what does that word mean to you?  For me it is more than a group of people living together in the same area, this week I was once more shown that it is about friendship, family, support and so much more.  This week my local community had a coffee morning to raise funds for my traveling expenses going back and forth to Glasgow for treatment.  In a world where you only have to open a newspaper or turn on the tv to hear the most negative stories this is such a wonderfully kind and generous thing for people to have done.  I am so lucky to be part of this community and am so grateful for their thoughtfulness and generosity.  There is so much I would like to say but I believe that thank you will have to suffice, so thank you to everyone that contributed to the coffee morning and thank you to those of you who keep me in your thoughts and prays.  I know I am blessed and I will always be grateful for your support.