Mauled (by sarah)

Poor Hydrogen has been mauled by something she has appeared with a nasty looking cut on the side of her neck and smells funny, there was initially lots of blood but now only slime. I have made her an appointment at the vets for tomorrow morning first thing but unfortunatly I am here on my own today so I can't take her straight in. She seems quiet distressed and keeps mewing and weeing everywhere :'(

Poor little thing. I've made a little bed for her though and shes carmed down abit. I cant even get a taxi as Al has the baby seat and with my back I couldnt make it to the bus stop with baby and cat even if our cat basket wasnt in storage due to flood 🙁

I hope she'll be ok.

I also feel guilty as I have been feeding a rather fine looking stray cat - could he have attacked her? Or some animal she was trying to kill? Or has she just got cut on some wire somewhere? I dont know 🙁

Of Infections, Bad Backs and the Curse of the Builders (by sarah)

Mum came and stayed with us last week - it was Als week in London - it occures to me that we propably havent posted about the fact he is now away in the booming capital every other week which is a bit difficult but working out. Mum's wound from her operatation managed to get infected the week after the operation - the stitches were dissolvable and so dissolved and the scab cracked whilst she was being naughty and trying to wash her own her.

She came up here with a course of anitbiotics and some dressings but the wound was just getting worse and the antibiotics where nearly finished so it was off to mine and Als Dr she went. She's been put on two lots of antibiotics and the dosages increased. Also the nurse thought she needed more stitches done but becuase mum was not going to be here that long she couldnt really do them with out having mum back for the after care. My docs recon that the stuff she was given to clean the wound with was two harsh and that she shouldnt have been cleaning and dressing it herself anyway.

The wound itself is several centimeters in diameter and shows the raw shinny pink flesh that lies under our skin. There is a strange white gloop oozing out of it but it seems alot better than it did. The nurse said that the amout of fluid she's losing through it would have ment having to lance her breast if the wound hadnt of opened up. She had to go back for more dressings and cleaning etc... by the nurses on Thursday and they dropped the bomb shell that the radiotherapy which is scheduled to start on Weds day, can not start until that wound has healed properlly and by the looks of it its going to take a while.

Mum is also in a wheel chair at the moment which was interesting as there are many many hills round here, now I only pushed her on the flate to the loos but I've done something chronic to my back (yes again) I dont think it was pushing the wheel chiar but more lickily the picking Jean up and carrying her - something dad or Al normally does but of course dad had to push the wheel chair and there wasnt room for the pushchair in the car aswell. The mysterious hernia lump has also been acting up and has decided to double in size which is apt to make me a bit narky. I also slipped on the stairs jarring myself slightly along with twisting my knee as I came off the pavement - one or all of these things has caused my lower mid back to thrumb with pain.

I wake up relatively pain free but by the everning can bearly walk, crawling is fine I can do that but sitting (especially in cars) or walking just cuase the pain to get worse and worse until I feel nueseas. Last night I had a bath and did some gentle excersises to try and ease the pain, it started to really bother me on friday and has just been getting worse each day since. I also used a hot water bottle to try and releive the pain with little affect. I was beginning to think I had a kidney infection again but it doesnt feel quiet right for that and ibuprofen rub helped alot so I think its going to muscular.

I am currently awaiting a drs appointment but the earliest is monday next week - I'm afraid I cried after I put the phone down becuase this added to the normal shoulder, pelvis, wrist and mysterious hernia lump ment that I got less than four hours sleep last night and the previous nights havent exactly been brilliant. Standing up straight is the thing that hurts the most and arching backwards is right out - the pelvic tilt offers me a little bit of restbite (ie flatening the small of my back so there is no hallow between it and the bed) but that hurts the mysterious hernia lump.

Then just too cheer things up Thursday saw the Builders visiting, the much awaited for appointment was at 12 noon and lo! he was early - good sign me thinks but then he tells me the sedule - first off he needs to find what gangs he has avalible in the area and when. They will strip the plaster off for 1 m and then the dehymidifers and heaters (instead of fans) have to be set up and the drying process has to start again. This will hopefully be done before their down time for Christmas and then the walls will need to be replastered with a drying time of about a week and then the restoration/new kitchen and floor goes in. Oh and of course the bottom steps have to come out too as they are wood and where soaked in the water.

So I had to break the news to Al - no new kitchen for christmas and the wall units arent covered by the insurance meaning we'll end up with mish mash cupboards which I dont want. Still I have a budget of £500 to pick out replacement units.

I managed to miss his call back to say when they could actually start becuase I was dealing with Jean and Mum and Dad thought I'd left the radio on rather than clicking it was my ring tone and everytime I've called back I get a woman who doesnt know anything about me. Sigh.

I will attempt to be more upbeat next post - promise.

One out of Seven (by sarah)

Mum's lymph nodes where mostly clear of the cancer bar one but that is still good and means it has been cuaght very early on. Her bone scan was cancer free as well but she still has to go through the radio therapy and a little bit of chemo (I assume becuase it was in one of the lymph nodes). Apart from that she'll have to take tomoxifen for the next five years - there isn't an entery on wikipedia for this drug nor on NHS direct. I've found a canadian breast cancer group who mention it as having side effects of hot flushes, weight gain and low energy levels but not what it's actually for.

I have however found a tamoxifen so am wondering if I miss heared but this drug (which is used for brest cancer patients and has the same side effects) is only allowed to be prescribed for six months in the UK according to NHS direct so I'm wondering whats going on to be honest. http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=64&sectionId=11 sorry I don't normally worry like this but its just after our experiences in the past with this hospital trust (name change or no name change) I feel things have to be checked up like this.

Bone Scan (by sarah)

Yesturday Mum had a bone scan - so is currently still radioactive! It's to check that the cancer hasn't got into her bones but we wont have the results until the 16th 🙁 The scan however has shown up a definate bone problem around her shoulders and bad hip which isn't brilliant but probably not anything to do with the cancer.

Six Halloweens (by sarah)

Wednesday saw mine and Alarics sixth Halloween together meaning we have now been an actual couple for five years!

This seems like a life time even though it may seem an encrediably short amount of time to some poeple. I thought I'd just review what we have done on those Halloweens just for ourselves really:

Also this is going to be stuff that was generally happening around the time that affected it etc... I don't remeber specific dates well so.....

Halloween one: I turn down the chance of a party in order to meet up with Alaric on something I was not sure was even a date! We had the space time corrodinates of South Ken tube station at 6:30. Alaric was late as he was too excited and got on the wronge train but thought he'd got away with it as I was 'late' but I had been there since 6:15 and had thought once it got to 6:45 that he might have been waiting the other end of the tunnel or up the steps etc... so had gone to look for him.

We then walked around aimlessly talking until we realised we were hungry and went to a Pizza Express where I insisted on paying half and we had dough balls for a starter which we shared. I had no idea if I was on a date still at this stage as Al had worded thgings ambigously incase I wasn't interested in him :/ I had spent the afternoon showing his email to people asking what they thought it was. Interestingly male friends said he only ment as friends and female friends said he ment a date.

We then walked some more and ended up at the river discuessing plots for Scifi stories we wanted to write and how we had percieved mirrors as children. My back started to be a nuicence and we sat and eventually at 11:30 kissed - the lights all went out along the river which was a bit freaky and there was a sort of hazyness that made some of the buildings look like space ships! Poor Al had to get the night bus home - I waited with him at the bus stop 🙂

Halloween two: I was being paid double to work at the Union as they had a Super Heros fancy dress thing going on. Al went out for Mikes Birthday and came to meet me after the shift and we got the night bus back to Romford together (I think its actually two night buses we had to get but it was somehow great.).

Halloween three: Uncle Benny died due to various cercumstances that still has on going legal reprecussions, we stayed at the hospital all night and then I went shopping for a costum and went to two parties - it was an odd reaction and Al was concerned.

Halloween Four: I was still on crutches and Al still not driving so my perants came down and we all went for a meal at Pizza Express with Jean in her 'Little Pumpkin' outfit!

Halloween Five: We'd organised a party for the weekend but my friend died so it all got a bit canceled though two people actually came and we played board games late into the night. Jean had a Spider outfit. And we went back to Pizza Express.

Halloween Six: We were running the Scout and Cub groups and had organised a party for them but the village hall was broken into so we had to relocate at the last minute to the school. We were going to have a picnic after the meetings at Barrow Wake veiwing point with Jeany but after tidying the school we were too exhusted! Jean was a pumpkin.

As you can see not all the Halloween anniversaries of our first date have been happy but there is one vitial factor to them - we were together through them and it is a date that marks us as a couple and therefore we felt it important to document what we have done each year. Five years! Six Halloweens. We've had a baby for three of those Halloweens now 🙂

We are hoping for many more Halloweens together - you now may all go and throw up!