Saturday, October 22, 2016

The Unexpected

The last two weeks have been difficult. I was hit by a vomiting bug that left me feeling queasy and being very careful about what I ate for a week. The day after my stomach finally settled down, the sore throat and head cold came around to party. The only reason I survived is down to gallons of tea and Beechams cold & flu remedy. Yesterday, I trudged along to my osteopath (not the one I went to in the beginning of September) and he gently coaxed my bones back into their proper alignment. 

From there Dave and I went to the oncologist. He asked after Dave's health, asked a few questions about his digestion and waste-moving works and then gave us the news we did not expect.

Dave is cancer free. He is officially in remission. 

This round of treatment has been successful. 

You will note the lack of the word "cure". It's not something that will ever be used in relation to this cancer. Dave will have follow-up tests every four months for the first two years and then if everything continues to go well, every six months, until the cancer returns. Or he gets run over by a bus. Or the Zombie Apocalypse. 

The fact of the matter is he's cancer free now.

We have more time. 

We went into town and celebrated in this fabulous new eaterie called Figbar that specialises in desserts. There are a couple of nods to savoury foods, but yeah it's all about the dessert there. We had huge mugs of hot chocolate made with whole milk, double cream and butter and three different types of chocolate. I had a maple and pecan swirl, Dave had a bakewell tart. We were like a couple of two year olds on a sugar rush and then had to go nap once the carb coma hit. I'm pretty sure my pancreas is on strike. 

Dave said he'd never spent so much time texting people. 

Today, he's back in the roastery and I'm home again. I'm not entirely sure how I feel apart from the obvious. My head is still a bit stuffed up with goo, but I feel fine otherwise. I'm going to take the weekend slowly and enjoy getting used to the fact he's going to be around to annoy me for a lot longer than we were expecting. It's a damned good feeling, I tell ya.

Dave being a teenager

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Me Again

It's definitely Autumn out there. I've put the heating back on, as well as my personal three layers of clothing. I put my tee-shirts away and promised them I won't strain the seams so much when I take them out  (they didn't believe me, but hey). The next big thing on my To Do List is the garden. It needs me. I need more time.

Since I last wrote I've been very much focused on me. My health and of course, my art. The result of the comfort eating, I indulged in over the last eleven months has ground me down no end. Everything is too tight, I feel horrible in my skin. Having said that, the last eleven months have been hard, hard work and I have been in desperate need of comforting. It is what it is. My back, shoulders and neck have been particularly troublesome and have added to the general "bleugh". 

Now you see why I haven't been blogging? It would have been sentence after sentence of whinging and moaning.

I have been doing yoga and foam rolling and that has helped so much with getting moving again. After a muscle in my back bitched at me for attempting one of my exercise DVDs, it was clear that my body needs me to be more gentle, more understanding and just keep moving. Since then, I've been doing the most gentle yoga routines I can manage. That's just been great and my back is gradually improving. Very gradually.

I've been focusing on my art more and more. Trying to see how I can push myself beyond my current technical limitations. With this in mind, I've signed up for a few improvers classes and a fortnightly fun drawing class and it's been really good. My technical skill will get there, but at present, it just can't keep up with my imagination. To be human is to learn to live with the frustration of my own limitations. That I know these limitations are temporary, does not help. I am an instant gratification kinda gal. I want it; and I want NOW. I have a learning curve to conquer and I am determined.

Having said all of that, I am treading water somewhat. Dave had his follow up scan and blood tests last week. We will see the oncologist for the results soon. We will see how well the tumour has responded to this round of treatment and where we go from here. We won't talk about remission, the chemotherapy didn't get all of the primary tumour, but hopefully, we will be able to talk about a dormant period. It preys on my mind. Dave continues to be well in himself, albeit a bit prone to enjoying the odd afternoon nap. Given the choice of being stretched out with him, I'm not one to judge.

He is making plans for what he calls his "Farewell Tour", to go and see his friends far and wide. He hopes he'll be doing it along Status Quo lines and will be touring for many years to come. I hope so too. I am making plans about my art, but that's a post for another day. Be well. Until next time.

Bank Holiday Sunday

Dear Dave I woke up today with Philip Glass' Metamorphosis in my head. It's apt really as it was part of the music chosen for your...