downer

On a bit of a downer today. Double treatment (chemo & radio) which always zonks me out, but not really well enough to go to Archie's awards ceremony tonight. This is a bit cruel. Have told him that he'll have to win one again next year.

Thanks to Bod, Kev & Elliot for the Johnny Shuttleworth cd 's which are lightening the mood, and of course to Jackie & Angie for their torrent of get well cards. Much appreciated you guys.

See you tomoz, In the meantime here's some quality Shuttleworth.

http://youtu.be/PI7o-FJM8f4

day off

Radio at 8.30 this morning and a meeting with the Abbot nurse to explain how to feed through the tube properly meant I was done for the day at half eleven. Exhausted, so a day off blogging and catching up with done more Breaking Bad.

manic monday

Busy day. Bank at 9.30 to try and sort out our finances followed by a rest for 2 hours to recover from the exertion. Trying to build up enough energy to sort out my end of year accounts, but failed miserably. Maybe tomorrow.

Having stitches out if feeding tube later ong with 15th radio. Followed by weekly health check.Lost a few pounds this last couple of days, I just can't eat anything. Mouth is now full of ulcers, I've got a sore throat and it's as dry as a dry thing. This pretty much prevents me eating anything but porridge.

Tomorrow I will be having a lesson in how to feed through my tube which I think will be how things go from now on.

Bit depressing but holding on to the fact that the end of treatment is in sight and the hoped for recovery will kick in soon after.

It's amazing how much you can miss the physical act of eating, let alone the taste and texture of food. The prospect of chomping down on a huge burger and chips in a couple of months is another little dream that is keeping me going. In the meantime, baby food and milk will keep me going and get us to where we want to be.

Me eating breakfast earlier. Yum.

gurning

a consequence of the radiotherapy treatment is that it can have a detrimental effect on the health of your teeth and jaw.

To try and counteract the damage to the jaw which can lead to problems opening your mouth to it's full extent post treatment, you are encouraged to perform some mouth exercises. Basically this means opening and closing and twisting your mouth in a yawning action about 10 times, 3 or 4 times a day.

To summarise, it's gurning.

14/30

14 radios out of 30. Half way on Monday.

chickens

a day of distraction at our great friends john & vicki's. They invited us over for the kids to do a bit of pot throwing and for Keeley to turn some wood.

I kept a watching brief and threw the odd expert comment into the mix.

I also took a very pleasant tour of the estate and acquainted myself with the chickens.

Keeley hasn't done any turning (of the wood variety) for over 20 years but dropped back into it like a seasoned veteran.

Grace is a natural 

Archie, not so much. His talents lie elsewhere. He has assured us that when he is the CEO of his own multinational company that he will buy me & his mum a big house with a workshop where we can throw pots and turn wood to our hearts content. Good lad.

Thanks for everything J&V.

skin

Will start posting more pics as of today as I am conscious that physically things are beginning to change.

My neck is getting scrawnier and my skin is incredibly dry. The effects of the chemo as I was warned, are now kicking in. My face feels really flushed and skin is getting blotchy and red.

Can't really begin to describe how dry my mouth and throat are. I can literally have a glass of water and 30 seconds later have no moisture left in my mouth. Because of this I have to insure my mouth is clean by rinsing 8 times a day with a salt and bicarbonate of soda mix, 3 times a day with Difflam and 2/3 times a day with a lemon syrup which I can also swallow which helps my throat. Quite an undertaking.

When I am having my radio treatment the mask is so tight that I rely on breathing through my nose because my mouth is tight shut. Because of this when the treatment is done, my mouth is so dry that I have no voice and end up whispering for 10 minutes until I can get some moisture in. Can only imagine this is a taste of things to come.

It is my 12th treatment today (2 weeks in)so the timeline as explained at the start is spot on in as much as the side effects will really kick in after 2 weeks. It's baby food and liquid from here in, whether using the traditional method (ie mouth) or the slightly more unconventional method ( the feeding tube)

Can report that the high calorie drinks that I started yesterday are, as reported by dear old father in law Pete during his illness, similar to baby whale milk. Absolutely minging. Hey ho.