Good days with a cautionary tale

We had a very nice weekend as the weather picked up here in scotland and finally the cherry trees are in blossom (about a month late) and the grass has started to grow enough to get the mower out for the first time. We putted on the cut lawn Poppy Holly and I all trying to beat a hole in three from the upper lawn to the lower one, an effort that put the neighbours windows at some risk but no damage was done. Playing golf is a funny thing for me as I inherited the clubs etc from my dad who was a keen golfer and I always am a little sad to use the clubs, but I know he would rather that they were used. Anyway playing in the sun with the kids I thought he would like the scene his grand daughters taking their first steps learning one of his favourite hobbies.

On Saturday I managed a pint with Shaun at our local pub so was able to catch up with all the gossip from work and just feel normal for a while, we occasionally meet up in the pub when our flying schedules do not intersect and we realise we have not seen each other for a month. Shaun is the R&D leader in Gore Fabrics Europe and a close colleague, fortunatly he lives about a mile from my house! Just after Lee's sister Dot came down from Aberdeen for lunch so she was able to give me even more good advice from her years as a cancer nurse, its really reassuring to talk things over in a relaxed way with an expert as you often forget things when you are with the doctors in the hospital.

I have been feeling very well over the weekend and today, the positive news from the doctors last thursday has helped my spirits and I have managed to avoid any infections so far. Sadly we had a reminder of how important this is as a friend of Lee's in Sweden died just last week half way through chemo for melanoma, he caught a virus which led quickly to pneumonia which his system was not strong enough to fight. It reminded me not to be complacent and to continue to take care with infections. Tomorrow I am heading into the plant, just to see two people with my disinfectant wipes and no handshakes so I should be OK, sometimes its better to see people face to face to talk through issues and help with advice (at least I hope its help!) but I have to balance that with the risk factor.

The good news is that chemo 5 of 6 is on friday, so with the encouragement of the doctors from thursday and the experience of the last chemo I am actually looking forward to getting it over leaving only one in this set to get done. It feels like a major milestone is within sight just like a runner who sees the refreshment stop and puts on a bit of speed. I may even look forward to the injections and the grumpy man reappearing!

So anyway I keep touching wood, keep taking the supplements and keep thinking positivily - it may or may not help but at least it makes me feel better, for that alone it is worth it!

Cheers for now

Gerry