The great shed begins

The great shed has begun.

Last night I was struck by the fact that my head was feeling sore. A gentle feel around my head covered my fingers with silvery hair. Clearly I’m going to lose at least some of my hair.

This morning I brushed it when I got up. The brush was filled with silver. If it continues at this rate I will soon have to decide about that wig, practice tying scarves/shawls or buy a hat. Fortunately I have a thick mass of hair so it’s not immediately obvious that I’m losing but I can’t see that lasting long..

Chilli for a chilly night

I’ve just been making soup. It’s a spicy chicken soup. It certainly should warm us up on these cold nights. There’s chilli in it as well as fajita seasoning. As there’s rice , tomatoes & sweetcorn as well, I’m regarding as a main course soup. All we need to do is get some fresh bread while we’re out shopping later today & we’re set.

Yesterday I got some good news. The district nurse has been organised to come on Fridays to take my bloods. That should be far less tiring for me than having to make a second trip into Lancaster every week. I have no idea what time she is likely to turn up. I gather they do often ring the day before to give you some idea of time, but that doesn’t worry me unduly if we don’t hear.  I’ll be in all morning anyhow so that shouldn’t be a problem. The cleaner comes Friday mornings these days. I’m just hoping the nurse gets here in time for us to join the Friday gang at the golf club. That’s usually a jolly time.

Another chemo session

Yesterday was another long day at chemo.

Whilst I was sitting there having chemicals pumped into me, the Fox was busy. First he went along to the chemist with the prescription I’d been given last Friday by the Oncology specialist. It was for some mouthwash to counteract the gungy taste I now have in my mouth.

While the prescription was being filled the Fox went along to see our cruising friend in hospital. Since we’d last seen him, he’d been sent home. He had been readmitted last Friday with severe coughing & difficulty breathing. After the Fox’s visit he was transferred to Blackpool hospital for a biopsy to be done on his lung. He is expected to be there for the rest of the week. Hopefully by the time he comes home he will have been given a definite diagnosis, a prognosis & some sort of treatment regime.

Meanwhile I enquired about the wig & have been given a voucher to be redeemed at a recommended shop. The nearest shop is Blackpool, some 43 miles away. Not exactly on the doorstep! I’ve decided I don’t fancy the cold cap offered. In theory it should help me to retain more of the hair. The idea of sitting around for an hour with wet hair & a cold blast of air on it to virtually freeze the skull, & then to go out into winter temperatures, strikes me a prescription for a chill, possibly a cold, & I can’t afford to get those at this point I time. I might have considered it if it was spring & we were moving into warmer weather but not at this time of year. So it’s a wig or learning how to tie on a scarf/shawl on or buy a hat of some sort. We’ll see.

I’ve also asked for a referral to the district nurse for my bloods. I have to ring up the hospital this afternoon to check if it has been arranged. If it can’t be, I will have to make a blood appointment on Friday.

By the time we left the hospital I was absolutely shattered. We went straight along to our village pub for dinner. While I was waiting for food & drink I was tempted to just put my head on the table & have a doze. All this travelling into Lancaster is shattering, not helped by the fact that one of the pre-meds includes a soporific. This is what worries me about a trip to Blackpool. That will be another, possibly even more tiring a day. There is a bit of me that wonders if it wouldn’t be possible to have a midweek break, say go on Tuesday, after Monday chemo, & return Thursday in time for bloods. We’ll see. We’ve made no decisions yet.

One thing we have decided – Monday is an eat-out day. No matter how quick a meal we could organise, I need the social obligation to keep my eyes open if I’m going to be able to eat. It also gives the Fox a day off cooking & washing up.