It's... me!

Well, what can i say? It's been a pretty crazy fortnight, and my brain is still barely even starting to understand it. Before anything else, I do want to say a big farewell to Grandma - again I haven't quite got my head around the fact that she's gone, but am of course sad, though by the sound of it she was ready to go. Please keep Granpa and the rest of my family in your thoughts and prayers.

My overwhelming feeling at the moment, as it has been since I've recovered enough to realise I'm alive and kicking, is sheer joy. The world is magnificent, beautiful and blessed - I feel so fortunate to be here to share it. Wow! I am just in awe of life, and ready to utterly embrace it. The feeling is astonishing, and in many ways I am so lucky to be experiencing it. I wouldn't recommend a week in ITU for anyone, but boy do you appreciate life when it almost eludes you...!

As you probably already knew, my family is wonderful. If you didn't, you do now. Their support was unquantifiable, and I know you have all been grateful too for them keeping you in the loop. So: a heartfelt and eternal thank you to them all for everything. And then some. I definitely couldn't have done it without them.

I'm actually typing this on my new telephone, which is brilliant! Many of you will know I've had the same phone for four years, so I was ready for an upgrade... I can now do clever things like photos, and the email capacity seems superb - internet's not working on the ward but hopefully this will work almost as well!

Every day I'm feeling stronger and healthier, though my body is still weak and it is of course taking time to build up muscles etc again. Today I'm challenging myself to walk to Peabody's for lunch - it will be easily the farthest I'll have walked on my own so far, but I reckon the smell of panini toasting will keep me going!

I'll let you know how I get on and any other news as the day pans out. Do keep posting your comments - they have been hugely appreciated and were another factor in keeping me going! You can text my new mobile, too, on the same number as always. I am feeling ready to see people again, though not too many at once, so give me a shout if you fancy coming to say hello. I have chemo on Friday, and will hopefully be allowed home soon after that for a bit, but we will have to see what the state of play is then.