Are you still here? Beyond all expectations, I am!
I completed the Wainwrights last year. The UK National Parks and Coastal Paths are next, starting this year.
I'm looking forward to my five-year haemo clinic when I'll be discharged from the "sufferer" list and switched to the "survivor" list, to be "remotely" monitored by my Anthony Nolan Clinical Nurse Specialist.
If you're lucky, I'll put up some posts about all of that.
If you're very lucky, I won't.
An update regarding those two resolutions for 2023:
I had those done back in January, and the pics were taken two days later. The text isn't as wonky now that the healing has finished.
Happy New Year, folks!
Only two resolutions for 2023:
1: Tick off that final Wainwright - The Nab. Three times I've had the opportunity, and three times I've not taken it. This nonsense has to stop, so to that end we've booked a week away, based in Hartsop.
2: Get a tattoo. I was all set to get one, then AML foiled the plan, the haemos saying that it was too risky. When that risk subsided, Covid took its place. Right now I don't care too much for any current risk, so I figure that I'd rather have the local tattoo-artist stick needles in me rather than let the NHS have all of the fun.
January 2013 - The Nab - too far away for us to get there, back and down before nightfall.
November 2019...
Watched more Rugby.
Attended the village's War Memorial on 11/11 with CJR as we always do, to pay our respects to The Fallen.
Transit of Mercury 11/11 - started at 12:35 - crap weather, so I couldn't observe it. I'll try to hang around for the next one... in 2032.
Several clinics. Skin GvHD is now Grade 2... most hard-earned body-hair lost again... steroid pills augmented with steroid cream and skin-rehydrating lotions, creams and bath oils. I'm now a fully-signed-up soap-dodger!
14/11: Went to GP to make an appointment for the flu jab and for childhood vaccinations, they denied having received a schedule/prescription from LRI. 15/11: Phoned Hambleton, was told that the vaccinations schedule/prescription had been raised and sent.
21/11: Went to GP to make an appointment for the flu jab and for childhood vaccinations, they denied having received a schedule/prescription from LRI. 22/11: Phoned Hambleton, was told that the vaccinations schedule/prescription had been raised and sent.
28/11: Went to GP to make an appointment for the flu jab and for childhood vaccinations, again they denied having received a schedule/prescription from LRI. 29/11: Phoned Hambleton 3 times, turned out that the vaccinations schedule/prescription had NOT been raised and sent even though the jabs were due to start around November 1st and I'd been reminding them about it since September so that I could get the appointments booked before the jabs were due. Turns out that my lack of confidence in the process hadn't been misplaced after all. Fruity invective was applied - I suspect that it didn't make me any less vulnerable to Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Hib, Hep b, Pneumococcal, Men A, Men B, Men C, Men W, Men Y and seasonal flu, but it made me feel better and no needles were involved.
Black Friday Deals... I'll cover that subject in the December 2019 catch-up post. Stay tuned.
Here we go... October 2019...
To be fair, there's not much else to add to what's already been posted.
Attended Glenfield Cardio clinic for an ECG test to check for damage caused by the SCT treatment, everything was OK, nothing to worry about.
The car passed its MOT Test yet again. Two days later it blew a headlight bulb. A week later it blew the other one. Go figure.
Ella got Shingles, she found out about it after she'd visited us, so I had to go back to LRI for tests and to be given industrial-grade antivirals in case I'd been infected. My test results came back negative, but the pills-change made me feel crappy for a few days. After some R&R and some standard antivirals, Ella had recovered.
The Virgin Media SuperHub emitted a muffled bang, smoke, and a smell of burning electronics, all web access was lost. Tested the Hub with a replacement power supply... nothing. Tested the original power-supply with a multi-meter... it was fine. Reunited the Hub with the original power-supply... nothing. Phoned VM, explained, they did diagnostics from their end and declared that the Hub's internal power board had blown so they raised an order for a new Hub to be sent out and told me to disconnect and remove the duff kit just to be safe. As I was removing the Hub from the shelf to disconnect it I dropped it on the bookcase, and it started working. So much for remote diagnostic testing, eh? I called VM again to cancel the replacement, they confirmed cancellation but a day later the allegedly-cancelled replacement arrived anyway. Conclusion? VM's internal communications systems and diagnostic testing systems are shite. Oh, and the old Hub continues to work better than it ever did before the incident.
Passed the six-months post-SCT milestone. Clinic staff took the usual clinic blood samples for the usual clinic tests, patched the needle-hole and sent me to the waiting room to wait for the doc. After seeing the doc I was about to leave when I was called back in... they'd forgotten to take the extra blood samples for the extended tests that they do at six-months post-SCT. Another hole-in-the-arm later, I managed to escape.
Watched a lot of Rugby.
We had been planning another epic bonfire/firework party but had to abort due to me being infection-prone and not being able to do much due to ongoing issues with GvHD.
