Hard to describe

This weeks visit to the hospital was an emotional rollercoaster. We had the good news that the tumour has stabalised, this means it has not grown or shrunk, but in tumour terms this is good news! So we were very pleased, our visits were extended to three weeks and we felt we would be able to do more at home in time for Christmas. Frank was ready to crack open the champagne (any excuse :-)).

However when we got the blood results later on, one of the markers which monitors liver function had shot up since last week. This means my liver is having to work overtime to deal with the drug. Bang, back down to earth, what did it mean? The first thing to do is monitor so we are back on weekly visits, the second is to refer back to the US, who are leading the trial, for guidance, so the trial could be in jeopardy for me. We were stunned after feeling so good to get this knock back. At the moment I'm still taking the drug and all we can do is wait and carry on.

The hotel worked well, so we are going to give in to the cold and skip the van until the weather warms up and try various establishments over the coming visits to find a favourite.

That's all for now, I'll keep you posted if I hear anything from the hospital, they are supposed to be phoning me, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Sheila x

What have I been doing?

Good qustion, because I didn't update the log last week and I've now done another hospital visit. Last week was a routine blood test so nothing exiting. This week I had the blood test and a CT scan. This week is difficult because we have to wait until next Monday to get a verdict on the scan and where we go from there.

Camping is not as pleasant as it was a few months ago. The weather this weekend was vile, wet and windy, poor old Carrie was struggling into a strong wind on the motorway. We have decided next week to try a hotel in Croydon and take the car. If that works OK I think we may stick with that for a while.

A friend asked us at the weekend what we had been doing and we struggled to remember! I know we are busy every day and time flies but I'm not sure on what, just living I suppose. We did go to a very good dinner party on Saturday at Martin and Issy's to celebrate Martin's 50th, bit of a late night for us old fogies :-)

Anyway, cross everything you have for next week.
Sheila xx

Tooth Hurty

Frank says I like a challenge, so because the leg was going well, I thought what else can I have? Hence the title this week. On Sunday I developed an abscess on one of my back molars, the dentist was shut, I didn't know what antibiotics would be allowed on the trial and we had to get to London. So I took a lot of painkillers and off we went.

On Monday I went into hospital and they gave me some antibiotics and said they would get a dentist to have a look. After a few hours they came back and said the dentist had retired and not been replaced, what a larf! This was my visit to stay in, so I had lots of bloods taken and due to a delay during the day my tablets had to be taken at 2.30am, before which I had to eat! Imagine you are woken in the dead of the night to try to digest a piece of toast with a sore tooth! Sounds horrendous, it was. In all I was woken 3 times during the night for various things, only to be told in the morning two of those tests had not been necessary. I smiled sweetly. Anyway I was let out on Tuesday morning and told to make an appointment with my dentist.

On Wednesday I went to the dentist and he removed two teeth to get rid of the infection. I managed to drive home OK but then I think it hit me, the injections wore off and it felt like I'd been socked in the mouth. I went to bed for the rest of the day and slept a lot of it.

I'm recovering now just in time for our next trip on Sunday. The good news is my leg continues to behave itself which after all is the most important thing and I can now look back at this week with a smile.

What next I wonder?

Sheila x