Goodness, three hundred days already - "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" **
The last three weeks have been great, feeling really well and enjoying life more than at anytime in the past twelve months - until three days ago! I'm still nowhere near back to my pre-leukaemia state but can start to believe that whatever 'new normal' I eventually reach it will be ok, more than merely 'good enough'.
Then a reminder, as if I needed one, that the country road leading to recovery winds around and around and is prone to flooding and subsidence! My insides decided it was time for a flare up, slight temperature, headache etc etc, not a lot of fun.
Three days later and it has largely settled, Karine and I are sitting in haematology clinic and the verdict is pretty good. Platelets are slowly rising, haemoglobin is normal, ECP is to be held in reserve for the moment - phew! I am to give the steroid foam treatment a further six weeks trial to see if it will work, unless the septicaemia keeps recurring.
Karine's neck and shoulder is still playing up and this doesn't help her cope with the stress of me playing ducks and drakes in such an unpredictable fashion.
Last week we had a wonderful walk with Lucy and Mike and were treated to lunch as well. It was a beautiful sunny day and the northern end of the Derbyshire Dales looks fresh and new with the pale green of the trees that have just come into leaf and the vivid colours of the blossom everywhere - spring and autumn are both such wonderful times of year.
Dates: we decided to do the walk (see previous blog entry) over the weekend of the 17th and 18th of September. We'll sort out details about start times, transport back to Great Longstone and food etc shortly. We'll cover about 10 miles each day. There are no big hills although being Derbyshire there is some up and down. With my current level of fitness I should imagine we'll be walking pretty slowly and how much of it I'll complete is anybody's guess - to paraphrase Harold Wilson, four months is a long time in Leukaemia. The idea is for everyone to do as much or as little of the walk as they wish.
At this stage please just note the dates if you're interested in joining us. Providing the weather doesn't let us down it should be lots of fun and a glorious weekend.
* "Hand Me Down My Old Walking Stick" - Big Joe Williams - Delta Blues guitarist who played a nine string guitar and who is perhaps most famous for "Baby Please Don't Go" which has been recorded by many other musicians over the years.
**Fairport Convention - "Unhalfbricking" - track 6
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