Home!

Although I can scarcely believe it, I am writing this post in my lounge, after just eating dinner at home. Furthermore, I am using a laptop, which I thought would be easier than using the iPad, but a real keyboard takes some getting used to!

The physios arrived for a stair assessment. I was just good enough to pass, but it is hard work walking. I am a bit fixated on the fact that my haemoglobin is still a little low, so I get out of breath very easily.

Rose made a few trips trips to the car ferrying stuff, and at lunch time returned with some sushi for lunch (in addition to the hospital lunch I ordered). Paradoxically , the hospital lunch was actually the best they managed in my entire stay. Rose came back from her last porterage trip to the car at about 1:45 and the porter was there with a wheelchair to take me to the discharge lounge to wait for my take-away drugs. The plan was that when the drugs arrived, Rose would fetch the car, and take me home. The drugs duly arrived, and even though I am taking hardly any, it is still a big bag. There was a slight hiccup because the nurses needed to give me an extra shot of Fragmin (blood thinner) so Rose had to wait a few minutes with the car, but finally she wheeled me out to the car and we were off.

My friends, I was surprised by the size of the outside world! Riding in the car through the familiar streets of London I felt overwhelmed. Apart from a few walks around the ward corridors and the odd trip out to radiology, I have been in a room for 6 weeks. I got an inkling of what it is to be agoraphobic! By the time we reached Mill Hill, the feeling had passed, and the great outdoors looked as it always had.

And so here I am at home, with Rose sat next to me, and Brandy (the cat) on her lap, and Horizon on the TV (recorded last week). When we got home I went upstairs for a lie down. I managed the stairs OK. Rose went to the shops for a few things, and Brandy came to see me in bed, mainly to purr a lot and make sure I did not get too much sleep; she is a such a darling! When Rose returned, I got up and came downstairs, and we had dinner at the dining table just like old times. My taste is still only 90% I think, but good enough to appreciate the fresh food. I even had some wine (a very small taste of a South African Sauvignon Blanc).

The timetable is as follows: I have to go to the outpatients on Friday, to have a new PICC line inserted (this time on the right side), get some baseline blood tests (for the next cycle) and meet with the doctors. After that, I will come home again for the weekend, and if I understood correctly, will begin the second cycle (the consolidation phase) on Wednesday 2nd March. They have booked me into the Grafton hotel, but if I cannot walk well enough by then they will put me on the bed list for admittance as an inpatient.

But for now I am not thinking about the next cycle of treatment; instead I will luxuriate in home for a while longer!