The colour supplement!

Having not been able to upload photos to the blog for a while, it's about time I put an end to all those rows of words, words, words, and got a bit of colour in here. So here are some highlights from the past however long...

This is me and Mariacristina, who was one of our neighbours back when we lived in Naples... Anyway, 7 years later, she came over to London! 'Twas great to see her again.


This is the posh dinner party Jo had at her enormous house a few weeks ago. From the bottom left, clockwise: Aoifeu, Robyn, Jo, George, Sooz, James, Jon


And this is my lunatic family with various unhinged partners just before Freddie went to Rome. Left to right: Harriet, Daddy, Sue, Tom, Laura, George, Freddie, Alice. There's a sensible version, too, but who would ever want to see that?

Maintenance

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

Today I was discharged, and that brought a close to the long intensive part of my treatment. Next step is Maintenance, which is done as an outpatient, and is a lot easier. For months I've been treating this moment as something to aim for, and it really hit me today how special it is to have reached it.

I've probably downplayed to myself a lot of what I've gone through, and I suppose that being discharged from my last definite inpatient stay really made me realise just how big a thing it is to have made it this far.

So I'm a bit dazed, and will post again soon.

To infinity and beyond

My neutrophils, 0.0 on Sunday, have been rocketing up, reaching 0.6 by Tuesday! Naturally this is great news, and hopefully means escape over the next couple of days. One antibiotic has been stopped, and all in all I'm well.

Unfortunately, though, my hair seems to be falling out again at last! It is unfortunate because currently it is wonderfully soft, and depending on the light seems to be mostly blond, white or silver... It's so gorgeous to touch, and I'm forever trying to fluff it up even more. That, for me, means a lot, as I normally barely even notice my hair. But now it's falling out again! Hopefully it will return as lovely as it is now.

I am sure Paul Simon's lyrics mean a lot more than I ever knew about - thank you as ever, Amphimacer for sharing some of your knowledge...

Here are a few of my current favourite lyrics. Generally they're a bit more easily understandable - perhaps I'm simpler than I ever realised. Guess the band and song (unless you're Rob and have therefore probably heard me sing most of them far too often) - no cheating please!

1. 'Don't pick fights with the bullies or the cads -
I'm not much cop at punching other people's dads.'

2. 'Is there room in your heart for one more trip to the moon?'

3. 'You'll never get surprises
Living in Devizes.'

4. 'They're drinking a drink they call loneliness...
But it's better than drinking alone.'

5. 'There is only one cure for unrequited love:
Chocolate and howling at the moon.'

6. 'And he yells to the cook with his arms open wide,
"Oh, bring me more fish: throw it down by my side."
And he wants so to belch, but he's too full to try,
So he stands up and laughs and he zips up his fly.'

A few posers (no, not Make Me a Supermodel)

From a distance, is Paul Simon actually George Bush? And while we're at it, does anybody have diamonds on the soles of their shoes? I'd love to meet them, if only to ask why. And finally, what kind of a song lyric is 'I can be your bodyguard, and you can be my long-lost pal... I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me you can call me Al'? I've often wondered.

I'm assuming my neutrophils are approximately 0.0 now, as they were getting there recently, and probably haven't started the trek back up yet. I've been on antibiotics due to my usual flirtation with the odd temperature above 37^, though it's been quite defiantly below that today, so perhaps they won't go on forever.

I had a lovely visit from my lovely father yesterday, with lovely gifts too. Otherwise it's been Trappist-esque-ly quiet (ie very quiet, Katie C), though I have had some limited fun with my new friends Noel, Des, Anne and the rest (for those unfamiliar with UK television: they're gameshow hosts). And there was plenty of rugby on. England even won! And as for Planet Earth... Wow.

I haven't been sleeping as much as I'd like to, in large part due to often not getting my evening antibiotics until very late - though one evening I was so tired I fell asleep and barely even registered the nurse coming in to take it down when it finished. Fortunately SuperLee is on tonight, and she apologised about the lateness of starting, despite being by far the earliest to put them up...

Anyway, there's only one way the neuts can go now, so let's hope they do so pronto.

Am in hospital. It's not very exciting. My phone extension number is 2563. And that's about it, really.

Oh, and I'm watching far too much 'Deal or No Deal'. It's so silly. Yet so compelling. Well, not that compelling, really, but it's a bit better than banging my head against the wall.

Today I'm chained to the drip-stand, with two bags of blood and two syringefuls of potassium. Unfortunately at this very moment I'm desperate for a wee, and the line doesn't reach, so if you don't hear from me again assume that I've popped.

Oh, and before you ask me how long I'm going to be in - I don't really know. Ideally, my blood counts will rapidly recover, I won't pick anything up, and I'll be out in time for Lost (Sunday evening). But regular readers will know it's seldom that simple. Wouldn't it be nice if it were, this time?

Several people have said 'good luck with the chemo'. In the hope of putting an end to that: I'm not having chemo now. That was the week before last. I'm in this time as a precautionary measure while my blood counts are low. Capisci?

Quick update

It's now Saturday, and I'm still not in hospital. But no, my blood counts haven't been miraculous: there's not a bed free for me. There will be tomorrow, though, and actually it's worked out nicely, as I had plenty of OMV business to sort out (and emails to send), and here at Milly's workplace where I'm staying (she's a nanny, so it's a house - I'm not staying in an office) I've been able to get online and send things that really shouldn't have to wait a week. If I stay for a week. We'll see. Theoretically, it could be the last time I have to stay in hospital, I think. Practically, though, that's very unlikely.

The Power of Now

Well, well, well. No sooner have I finally escaped hospital after Consolidation 3, than Consolidation 4 kicks off, and flashes by in the blink of an eyelid. Fortunately it was as an outpatient. I started a week ago Tuesday, and finished on Saturday. This is particularly exciting as Cons 4 is the last phase before Maintenance, when things get much easier. The doctor was expecting to haul me in on Monday or Tuesday of this week, but yesterday my blood counts were still good: neuts 2, haemoglobin 10.7, WBC 3.7, and platelets 172. I was a bit surprised, because the neuts had seemed to be dropping fairly quickly, but I'm not complaining. I'm back to St George's on Friday to have blood tested again.

Meanwhile, I've not made it home yet since the end of Cons 3, and have been abusing various lovely people's hospitality as usual. I also made it to Ali's birthday, which was lovely, particularly as I knew quite a few of the people from her last party. And on Saturday, I was in Blackheath to celebrate Floyd (2 years in remission from CML, another type of leukaemia)'s 40th birthday, during which we enjoyed the most expensive fireworks display in the UK. No, Floyd's not a billionaire (though he is the bassist for top 80s group 'The Almighty') - the fireworks were a public display on the heath.

Also there was another leukaemia friend, Milton, on whose messageboard for leukaemia sufferers and carers I'm a regular, and have made some good friends. He came with his wife, Bridget, who was interested to hear my 'bacon sandwich beats leukaemia' philosophy, because she's been reading Erckhardt Tolle (sp?)'s 'Power of Now', which explains that most people are insane, because they live in the past or the future. I feel that if I'm eating a bacon sandwich, for example, I'm happy, and it doesn't make a difference whether I have leukaemia or not... According to Bridget, I'm living the Power of Now naturally! It's nice to have a bestselling philosopher backing me up.

Forget Hallowe'en

It's my anniversary! A year ago this very night (31st), I first went into St George's. On the 1st November, I had the definite diagnosis.

It's quite a big landmark, and I shall hopefully soon write more about it. For now, though, having started the final Consolidation phase as an outpatient, I must get some sleep.

A year!