D+150 - " Our Mutual Friend* "

I've recently joined Facebook so that Karine can easily share stuff with me but don't expect a great deal back from me on this front.  One consequence of this is that I have acquired lots of friends which is "nice".  More about "Nice" anon.  One of these "friends" is called Anne Gina.  I'd heard of her but we'd never met.  She is being rather persistent, every time I try and go for a little walk she bangs on my chest.

After a while I got fed up with this and so Karine and I went to the vet to see what we should do.  It seems the acceptance process is a little different to that of other friends on Facebook. I have to go and see an NHS "Car Dealer" 1st.  At least I think he said "Car Dealer".  I'm still getting used to my new hearing aid and am awaiting a second one.

The "Car Dealer" will want to know all the secrets of my heart before deciding whether we should be allowed to become acquainted.  Unfortunately the Car Dealer is too busy to see me immediately so I have to wait a little while. Whoever heard of a Car Dealer too busy to see a new client? Apparently the process of acceptance may involve the Car Dealer's tent'. I'm not sure I fancy his tent in the depths of December but the only other option would be a Cabbage (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft) and the dietician has told me to avoid cabbages because they upset the colon and the GvHD! That's NICE guidance all over for you, recommending something I'm recommended to avoid.

I didn't realise that joining Facebook would be so complicated but then again I didn't read their Terms and Conditions properly!  Still, another new and exciting experience.

A New Year's Resolution - Stop making friends with every stranger who calls by.  My acquaintance with Lou Kemia has been a bit of a bloody disaster and I'm not convinced that Anne Gina has my best interests at heart.

Meanwhile we were back in haematology outpatients on Thursday for more blood letting. The results are all good. I'm gradually becoming less and less anaemic and the GvHD of the colon is being kept at bay so one of the steroids is being very gradually reduced.

This was followed by a party for the Stem Cell Transplant rehab group in the gym.  There must have been at least thirty of us.  Everyone brought some food and we had a lovely couple of hours or so talking about everything under the sun from rather personal illness details to books we'd read, places we'd been to, what we thought of the politicians etc etc! There was a pub type quiz which Karine and I were completely useless at but good fun nevertheless.

Life seems to be measured out by my dosette box and the pills, punctuated by hospital and GP visits. I saw the GP again the day after haematology.  In two days time I see audiology for a second hearing aid followed by haematology outpatients two days after that on Christmas Eve. The GP will ring sometime next week to see how I'm faring.  I am reminded of the passage of time by the rhythm of the dosette box as it is filled and then empties every week. Current tablet count is about 195 tabs per week, there are some new ones for the chest problem!  :-(   Still, if it keeps me going so be it.

Today we are off to north Derbyshire to see my sister Lucy and my brother Richard, to deliver presents and to have lunch with my aunt and uncle. We're going to share marmalade recipes! The recipe I use is one my great grandmother used and is rather long winded.  Aunt Angela has a much shorter and easier method which she assures me is just as good. We're going to try each other's marmalade to see what we think! Actually Angela knows what my our marmalade tastes like so this is really for our benefit.

Just getting out of the house and and being sociable will do me a power of good.

Finally, my nephew Tim Wright and his mum Lucy are putting on a concert in aid of the local Maggies Centre on Sunday February 14th in Woodthorpe which is just around the corner from here.  There will be a Haydn Quartet, 'The Lark' and one of Dvorak's last quartets, 'The American'.

There will also be a light hearted item about Karine and I and our adventures with Leukaemia, a mixture of words and music and musical jokes and I don't know what which Lucy and Mike are putting together.  I'm not privy to the details yet. We will also be serving some refreshments. More details of this in a future blog.

* "Our Mutual Friend" - One of Dickens' last novels and one of my favourites.