Well, after we returned from our lovely stay in the south of France, I suffered with a very strong pain in the hip/pelvis area. So strong I could barely walk more than a few metres. This came on exactly a week before we were due to fly out to Italy to stay with my dad and his partner Jenny in Italy.
I'd also been feeling increasingly tired. Fatigued. Knackered.
After trying a few home remedies, I eventually got on to the Christie hotline to ask about pain relief and they, quite sensibly, said that we should find out what was wrong before simply throwing more drugs at the problem and asked to me to go to my nearest A&E for an X-Ray to find out what's was going on.
In A&E at Wythenshawe we encountered the first of many excellent medical staff, when the triage nurse, while checking me in for an x-ray suggested I looked "a funny colour" and so also ordered some blood tests.
These tests showed I was anaemic, that my kidneys weren't doing doing as well as they could, and that I had too much calcium in my blood, so I was admitted and a selection of treatment was given. All of which took time, and all of which had to to checked to see if they were working, leaving my discharge perilously close to the holiday we were looking forward to.
As soon as I had the blood transfusion, I started to perk up no end. I also moved off Ibuprofen and onto Tramadol for the pain and that helped a load too.
I was let out on the Thursday evening.
I can't speak highly enough of the staff who looked after me during my stay. What a brilliant thing the NHS is.
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I contacted Lufthansa and suggested I needed wheelchair assistance in my journey (via Munich) and I have to say they were brilliant. Wheelchairs, golf buggies, minivan transfer to the plane all took stress and effort for us all and made the journey so much easier.
My dad picked us up from Ancona airport and we headed off into the Italian hills for a week of rest relaxation and wonderful food. Le Marche is the province next to San Marino, Abruzzo and Tuscany on the Adriatic Coast. I was weak and in pain so spent much of the time reading by the pool, but it was a really nice break.
During our stay, Gel and discussed the fact that I needed to bring forward my next appointment at the Christie because I was still having so much pain, and also I didn't want to end up back in Wythenshawe having more treatment if that could be avoided.
Ancona is quite a small airport and caters for slightly smaller aircraft than many others.
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The week after we got back Phil came over for a cup of coffee and gave me a present that my ex-colleagues at work had bought for me after a collection. A fantastic limited edition photo book by Joel Meyerowitz. I had a good cry over that.
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That now brings us to this week which has shot by. Monday we had a visit from a physiotherapist from our local GP surgery who game me some great tips about moving about and exercise.
Tuesday we visited the Christie and met with my consultant who was fairly calm about my blood levels, but wanted to get to the bottom of the pain I was having to ordered an MRI, which I had the following day thanks to a cancellation.
Thursday I had a phone call inviting me back for treatment on the Friday. Whoosh! They had detected some cancer on my spine which was impinging on my nerves and probably causing me this pain in my ribs, and wanted to give it a blast of radiation to see it off.
So we went back on Friday, had a good long chat with one of my consultants colleagues who explained the procedure and then the process started, first with another scan in this:
This process also involved me being drawn on. On my chest and arms.
They then went off and spent a couple of hours planning the treatment which took about 15 minutes and delivered by this:
I felt a brief tingling on the skin on my back, I've had a slight discomfort in my throat (both of which I was warned of) and for one night the pain increased a little, which I was also warned of.
Between the scan and the treatment we wandered over to the Maggie's centre for a little peace and quiet.
A lovely peaceful place where you can sit and relax, get a cup of tea or coffee, and maybe some advice outside of the hospital environment, but still part of Christie's.
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So where am I now?
Well, I'm a lot perkier than before my stay in Wythenshawe, and my pain seems to be a little better than before my radiotherapy - they did say it might take a few weeks for me to feel the full benefit - so all in all I'm feeling very positive.
I've had lots and lots of professional and personal support from friends and family, and from the healthcare staff I've encountered, but the one who's done the most and without whom I'd be lost is Gel. She's there for me every minute of every day.
I am a lucky man.
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