Well, the radiotherapy course came and went, all in the luxury of the new £250 million oncology Centre of Excellence in Leeds. It's a cross between an airport lounge and a shopping mall and patients wait in clusters of seats. If they sold lattes or espressos you might be tempted to turn up in shorts, towing a case. The week of treatment was difficult for various reasons. I got an infection (which floored me) and a strongly worded letter of complaint to the school (which had me leaping back up again). Such letters can really get the circulation going. Anyway, I dragged myself in on the Thursday, a meeting was had with said parents and all was well. I think the Friday of the treatment week was the high point, however. I was lying in bed at midday, temperature soaring, body aching, drifting in and out of sleep when the phone went. I decided to leave it ... nothing was that important. Then my mobile went, so I played safe. It was the alarm company, saying that they'd received the signal that the school fire alarm was going off and they were in the process of contacting the Fire Service. It's amazing how quickly you can dress ... I was fully clothed in under four seconds and that included ironing. Okay - exaggeration. I was actually falling down the stairs towards the door when the phone went again and it was my deputy confessing to having burnt the toast in the staffroom. It's an easy thing to forgive, and I went back to bed.
The weeks since the treatment have been difficult, with the draining effects of radio, further infections and of course the bone strengthening infusions which cause flu symptoms. It is demoralising, never feeling particularly well, but I feel like I am re-surfacing now. I have a bit more energy. On the positive side, my pain levels have been reduced and life is more comfortable again. I am seeing the consultant on Friday to discuss all this and I would love to think I can be left alone for a few weeks/months and get through the summer without having to have any more treatment. We'll see. The family are all well and we have enjoyed a great Easter break in Scotland with friends. (Actually, during that visit, Martha fell off a swing and hurt her foot. After four days we took her to the hospital and it turns out she has badly torn ligaments ... in my defence she is a teenager and so dragging limbs is not unusual.) We have also enjoyed Joel's eighth birthday and Mary's 40-something birthday. Joel's very funny when it's his birthday. He loves it but can't bear to be the centre of attention. I've attached some photos that demonstrate this ...
I hope you have had a good Easter. Thanks, as always, for visiting the blog.
