Thursday 30th December 2021
Finishing Touches
Hi everyone, how is everyone doing? Unsurprisingly I feel like I haven’t done much since the last time I wrote anything, which was just over a week ago. I haven’t been out doing any walking or anything like that. I just haven’t felt up for it.
The Tuesday I was in hospital and all went pretty ok, got there sharpish with less traffic signed in went to get bloods taken and shortly after got a shout from the nurse to get my IVIG which went with no issues. One good thing is the last couple of times they haven’t had it stored in the fridge so I don’t get the whole chilled to the bone afterwards and feel ok. Not have to sit in the car after with the heating up till it warms up. And certainly was handy as afterwards I had to wait in the waiting room again before seeing the doctor, would have been a nightmare sitting there shivering.
Went in to see the doc and told him the long list of different things that were wrong with me, not saying they weren’t listening but was shrugged off as there really isn’t much they can do about any of it, the only one anything could be done for would be for my knees so if it persists until the next time I’m back they’re booking a scan to see if there is anything there. The lungs is just an ongoing thing that I need to tolerate. And the stomach caused by the back is just time and hoping not to damage my back again.
As for the feeling rough in the mornings and spreading to the evenings, no idea. They are booking an MRI for a year after the transplant which will be February and I’m back again in another four weeks.
Tuesday I got a few things done, off to the shops to get/collect stuff. The following day my sis came round for a while and I watched a few films, similarly on Thursday went out and got a few things then back and my parents came round for a while then some films that evening.
Friday again… Friday was mostly spent just waiting around, I knew when I was leaving and it wasn’t until near 6 but yet the whole day I just felt like I was killing time as if it was only a short while away. I had placed an order for a really lovely Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit collection and got a call that it had arrived in so I rushed down to collect it, jokingly I brought my shopping trolley as it was supposed to be quite heavy and I’m glad I did. Despite only having to move it a short distance it would have either wrecked my back or just been too tiring. So worked out well that I didn’t actually have to carry it. It’s lovely though I’m sure I’ll read through it many times over the years and already starting through The Hobbit.
I came up with an idea for something, I knew my niece was getting a couple of guinea pigs for Christmas so I thought it might be nice or at least bring a brief smile to her face if I was to have a present for them. I had a “Secret Elf Mission” which was knitting scarfs I had made one for my mum, sis and niece, so I thought I would make small ones for the guinea pigs too. I didn’t think they would be much use if I’m honest as I thought they wouldn’t want it around them and probably get their nails stuck and even try to eat it. But it was more the thought of them having their own scarf each. Then I thought well maybe a wee blanket might suit a bit better for them and so I spent the evening and some of Christmas day knitting that and again wasn’t sure how suitable with catching their nails and eating it, but we’ll see they might like to hide under it.
Friday appointment was to get the car MOTed at 6.55 which I thought was late any day of the year but on Christmas Eve? I thought it was strange, I got there about 6.25, I wanted to be early so they if they could get it done and go home, I didn’t want to be that person that they were waiting on to get out. I got there and apart from a couple of cars far off to the right there was nothing there, the shutters were down and no one else waiting about. I drove to my lane and chuckled… I looked around and seen a couple of people standing in the shadows to the left so I went over and asked if the place was open, they said yeah and when I was over there another person drove up into their lane. Then someone came driving round from the back and over to the people in the shadows and they got in the car and drove off, the mechanic went back and opened the shutter and called me forward, lights, horn etc then I was told to go over and wait in the shadows.
Few mins later he was back with the car, all good and drove on home to watch a few films and do some knitting. Christmas morning came along and I’d say I was looking forward to it but I wasn’t doing anything special for it, the last couple of years I’ve had a quiet one by myself and I’ve quite enjoyed it just relaxing doing nothing. I got up done a bit reading, knitting, catching up on some tv and some Christmas films and more knitting. Lunch I had a chicken fillet burger and then back again to the other stuff and dinner I had pizza planned and so… dinner time arrived and I stuck the pizza into the oven. It was strange having a Saturday with no sport and so it was nice that that evening there was some NFL on so I finished my knitting and played on the PlayStation with the NFL on in the background. Not often every thing goes to plan on Christmas day but every thing did and everything was cooked perfectly…
Boxing day is always family day, so I went to my sisters first before heading down to my mum and dads, got to meet the two new guinea pigs, which are lovely and cuddly, think they are still getting used to people though. After my sis’ we went down to my parents, had our Christmas dinner and lots of fun and games. I forgot to bring down my tablets so was starting to feel quite rough towards the end but took them as soon as I got home and played on the PS until they settled things for me and then bed.
The next few days have all been pretty much of a much, siting watching tv, reading and on the PS, nothing too exciting at all really. I have been playing Immortals Fenyx Rising, I’m properly enjoying it, it reminds me of the original Tomb Raider, some Greek mythology and puzzles. LOTS of puzzles, it’s very enjoyable I’ve been doing pretty much everything in each area before moving on to the next so it’s taking longer to get through rather than just aiming at the story. It’s great fun and enough variation to keep you entertained.
It’s that time of the year when you start to reflect on the last twelve months and thinking about the next year. I don’t have much to say about it if I’m honest and I’m not building up much hope for next year either, so I’m just gonna get on with it.
Hope you have all had a lovely Christmas and have a fantastic new year!!Tuesday 21st December 2021
Ploughing on
Hi everyone, how’s everyone keeping? Been a month since the last update and to be honest it’s felt it. I got the broadband set up easily enough, was pretty much just plug it in and off it went. I didn’t bother initially setting up the webserver. The next day I was at hospital for the regular check-up and infusion. I got the bloods done and while I was waiting to see the doc the nurse came and got me to get the infusion so I wasn’t waiting around any extra and once I finished that I was straight in to see the doctor.
It was the first time I’d seen the main doctor in a while and he was happy with how the transplant had gone and how the counts where. He was also quite concerned about he numbers of covid and one of the reasons they pushed me through so quick was to get me out of there, he also said without saying to go into a personal lockdown. Not that that makes a difference to me as I really don’t do anything with people and rarely go to places where there are people. They also changed my appointments to be every four weeks coinciding with the infusion and skipping the appointment in between so rather than every two weeks its every four weeks.
I would prefer to be up every couple of weeks to keep an eye on things and to keep them updated on things too but with the chance of infection and with what happened to follow.
Over the next few days I did start to try and get out walking a bit more and going on the exercise bike a bit, nothing too extravagant but it was something and a step in the right direction. That weekend I went to a light show with the family in Hillsborough, it was really nice but cold.
But good things, as always, are short lived and Monday morning I woke up in agony and as the day went on it was getting worse and worse. I can only think it was the way I was lying and it aggravated my back, I think I was lying on my right and the pressure on the rib just put it out of place. The strange thing is it was more the muscles at the front that were tensing up and when I was standing up I couldn’t breathe because of it. It was unbearable and just got gradually worse for a few days until it peaked and then has been gradually getting better, still not 100% but certainly better than what it was.
During this I’ve also managed to hurt my knees, dunno what’s triggered that but they hurt considerably and now rather than just the one knee it’s both. It’s the top of the kneecap and sore to tough so I can only guess it’s the avascular necrosis. Also since I done my back again the feeling like crap in the morning is also feeling like crap in the evening, I’ve no idea what is causing it but it’s pretty much been ongoing for too long a time to be nothing, my neck is sore too.
Initially I thought I was maybe just coming down with a cold and the glands were a bit swollen but it feels more like when I had the clot in my neck before so with sitting around and with again the ongoing cough that I’ve had since getting my lung chopped up may have strained it or something.
The lungs are both sore as well, across the breast of my right and the diaphragm of the left, and when I put any more effort than normal into anything like carrying a bag, walking my lungs feel like they’re full of crap and sore when I breath in.
Last week I moved a duvet down onto my sofa to make it a bit more comfortable to sit on, although I sit on the old man chair, I didn’t realise at the time but for a few days I just kept falling asleep, and then asleep again and again and then getting a full nights sleep too. I dunno what made me think of it but I moved the duvet back up to the spare room and I stopped falling asleep. I could smell the detergent off it so I’m obviously still reacting to that and that was causing me to fall asleep.
I’m just fed up of being fed up of being sore, once I feel I’m starting to get a bit better something crops up and I’m right back to where I was.
Apart from that, there’s really nothing to update, I’ve not been able to do anything, I’ve not been able to do anything. I took my tablets just before starting this and was hoping by now I’d be feeling a bit better but not yet, I’ll be heading to bed soon as I’ve hospital in the morning so a relatively early night hopefully…