Friday 14th January 2025
A First for 25
Happy New Year!!... eventually for 2025, this is my first post this year. It’s not that I haven’t had anything to say I’ve just been keeping myself very busy with one thing or another. I’ve been working really hard at the recovery process and really going for it. I keep saying it but I know I’ll not get back to the fitness and ability that I had before everything but I’m trying my best to get as close to that as possible.
I started off on the exercise bike, gradually increasing the duration on it, eventually I was confident enough to go outside for walks. With going out I cut down and stopped on the exercise bike. Again while out gradually increasing the durations, the chest was the restrictive part, I would lose breath very easily especially if there was any, even the slightest of inclines, but more on that. It was all going very well and I was waiting on a blip and eventually there was, my back still gives me bother from when I fractured it and something with the walking it didn’t agree with and started getting pains down the leg, the left leg so the one that had the surgery back in March.
I couldn’t tell if it was bone or muscle, there was no pain when pressing on it or twisting it any way and only when you put weight on it. Eventually I worked out that it was coming from my back. It has taken a number of weeks for it to settle and still feel it a little but it’s improved a lot more. The first week of it I stopped all forms of exercises and sat around a lot more, the second week I started back on the exercise bike. I had already been increasing the resistance and had reached a time that shouldn’t really be increased and eventually have got to the max resistance, which has been fine. Aches in the back a bit but nothing I’m concerned about and as the muscles go no problems. What I am finding is with the numbness in my leg after the bike it seems to activate a bit an is incredibly sensitive and sore. Overwhelming probably best describes it.
This is the same when I’m in bed and getting up in the morning, the first trip down the stairs in the morning is a sensory overload, thankfully the pain killers help with this. And the back, with doing a bit more exercise the chest is also more noticeable shooting through from the right where I had the surgery. It’s not awful but it’s always there, similar with the back, it’s like someone just sticking their knuckle into it and then there is the sharp pain that shoots through if the pressure is on the wrong spot for too long.
One of the more interesting events over the last few weeks has been the discovery of a staple still being in my leg. I had noticed it not too long after the staples had been taken out and mentioned to the hospital about it who had a look and said it was just a scab…
Well I took their word for it and time went on, maybe 7 weeks later it was still there and I got my parents to have a look and they were pretty confident it was a staple even though you could only see a few mm of it. I went round to the GP to make an appointment, the following week, at which they didn’t take it out and referred me to the surgeon to do… the next morning. While there they were questioning why the nurses at the GP didn’t just do it. But a couple of minutes later the shiny staple was removed and a new dressing over the small incision, which after taking off I’ve not even bothered to look at as it hasn’t been giving me any bother.
Another annoyance was getting a letter about getting Zometa, the next month at that time. I had an appointment to get some dental work done in April which was scheduled way back in September, which is a bit of a ridiculous wait but that seems to be the norm. I had to phone them to see if they would be able to squeeze me in before then as I’ve to make sure all dental work is done before getting the infusion.
Thankfully they were able to get me in that week and again the following week to get done what was needed which I’m pretty thankful for, they can be very accommodating for me when things like this happen. It’s really annoying that it does happen and especially only a month’s notice to get it done.
I never heard back about the bloods from the GP after the hassle of going and having to go back again to give more. I was pretty sure that would be the case as if there actually was anything it wouldn’t be them that would do anything about it.
I had an appointment about my lungs too and they initially were oh we referred you on our jobs done until I told them that they had referred me back as they were doing everything they needed to and then he organised more tests. Last week I had the normal Pulmonary Function Test and got a letter telling me that the results were not as good as they were back in 2020 which would have been after the biopsy and lymphoma. I believe it was possibly my first visit to hospital after lockdown when the chemo was starting to clear things up a little. I may be wrong. Obviously didn’t clear things up enough though as I ended up with the BMT.
I did have the two really bad infections after that which triggered the bronchiectasis. He mentioned there was an obstruction which was probably caused by that, but it would be interesting to have compared the results from the same test that was done back in August to see if the exercises over the last few weeks have possibly improved things. They’ve definitely not done any harm which I guess is the more important thing and I definitely am able to cope with a lot more than what I had even at the start of the year. And more test incoming with that also.
I’m sure there’s probably other hospital stuff but I can’t think of any right now. I’ve not been doing too many trips or outings, I have been focusing so much on the exercises. I did get my cinema pass again which has been good getting back to the cinema, I do enjoy it. I’ve already been to see three films all of which have been good, Love Hurts is one of those if you’re expecting much from it you’ll be disappointed but I knew what to expect going into it and I thought it was very enjoyable.
I was restless last week and it was late in the evening and I just decided to go up to Portrush, the last time I wrote about doing that but I ended up just going up the coast to Ballycastle. This time it was directly to Portrush and a very short walk, it was all about the drive more than anything and just getting out of the house rather than going somewhere to do anything.
Yesterday I was going to see the film and was killing time beforehand and so went on a trip around Ard’s Peninsula which was nice, I didn’t stop. Quite a few places have changed and more houses have popped up from the last time I was around. Nice to get out again and will need to do it more often and will.
That’s all I can think of for now, think the rest of the day will be spent watching a bit of TV then the football on later and a good sleep tonight.
Until next time.