You might have noticed that my posts have dried up a bit,
that's because there's nowt much going on in the Hally household. Spent the last couple of weeks assembling the entire
Ikea showroom in the house and turning the garage into a workshop, and
that's about it!
One big occasion did happen a week last Friday. It was my boy Lewis's passing out parade from his 14 weeks of basic training in the
REME - probably the proudest moment of my life, it was a top day apart from the stress of just making the various planes trains and automobiles that took us from Aberdeen to Surrey and back again in the same day. We've shown him the delights of
Aberdeenshire this week and even took in a
distillery tour up in
Dufftown (its better than it sounds) before his return to Phase 2 training yesterday - this time he's away for 14 months.
Worraboot the cancer?? Now officially in remission, I spoke to the company doc today and I'm booked in for an offshore medical next Monday which might see me return to offshore on the
following Wednesday which will draw a line once and for all under this cancer shite. Still got the large baldy patch on the back of my turnip and I'm still only shaving one side of my bracket but they say it will grow back......eventually. I hope its soon, I quite fancy one of those rascal
tashes!
The
tranny van has got to go! It's paid for itself many times over and has done a load of good work for me but last weeks
indiscretion means it's time is up. I was invited to a meeting last week at my company's swanky recreation facility in Aberdeen. The car developed a last minute puncture so I had to take the van. There was a large conference going on at the facility and the usual car park was full and I was directed into the overspill car park which is basically a large well manicured
sloping lawn sometimes used for pitch and putt. After the meeting I returned to the van to make my way home. Could I get the van up the slope? Could I
bollox! Thirty minutes of revving, skidding and sliding around the lawn, flushed with anger and
embarrassment, I was about to give up and ask the security blokes for a push when the old skip decided to behave itself and make for the exit, but by then, the damage was done. I had single
handedly turned the lawns into a demolition derby skid pan - although this goes no further than you, dear reader.
The lard-arse challenge will be starting soon, after I get back to the graft.
Thanks to all for your comments and emails, I'll get some replies sent shortly - been having a bit of bother with the old broadband, now sorted.
Did I say there's nowt much going on? Cheerybye!
That was it, one word from the receptionist when I rang up the quacks yesterday to enquire about the blood test results............. 'satisfactory'. That'll do me, I think. Then again, the only real way to test if the Hodge has returned is to biopsy any lumps, I don't have any of those either so lets not go there.
Off to the quacks this morning for a set of blood samples. Having already been down to Inverurie to handball over a tonne of firewood into the tranny van, I then dashed up the road to make the 10.20 appointment. Looking rather disheveled and with a bad case of bed-head, I was summoned by the nurse. She obviously took an instant dislike to the scruff before her. She gave me that 'Matrons' eye, with a look to suggest I was one of our newly welcomed (ahem!) Eastern block cousins, recently arrived to fleece our already overburdened NHS, but after exchanging a few pleasantries it became obvious to her that I am indeed a Geordie which did little to soften the dogs arse pucker around her lips. Her contempt eased the choice of implement as she selected the largest needle she could find - not much smaller than a knitting needle, and was soon jabbing at my quickly retreating veins. I sacrificed four tubes of blood before the needle was sloooowly removed, yep it hurt like hell (soft shite). With a surly 'that's you' I was on my way home to stack the timber I procured earlier.
I've had this bloody cold and chest infection for over 6 weeks, even had a course of anti-biotics to little effect. More ominously, in recent weeks I've felt a little 'gladular' particularly around by biopsy site and also more tired than usual - pretty much how I felt when I was diagnosed!!! And get this, the hair on my face which stopped growing when I had the radiotherapy has stopped growing again! Hope this is just some sort of radiotherapy flashback and nowt more serious.
Back in hospital today for what I was expecting to be my first of four 3 monthly check-up's. After giving me an all too brief once over, the doc told me (after admiring my six pack) I was a fine figure of a man and the 3 monthly's would not be required!! Next check-up will be in March 2008. After refusing one of my six pack (he's a tea totaler) the doc sent me on my way for a blood test and then home.
Blood test results are in and there's nowt going on inside me that there shouldn't be - woohoo!! The lump on the roof of my gob has also started to reduce in size, so hopefully that will be the end of that. Also the painkillers I'm now on are doing the business, can't feel a thing plus I'm sleeping 11 hours a night - bonus! Nothing more to add really, everything is looking positive again and long may it continue.
Arrived back home yesterday morning, just off nightshift so I had a quick couple of hours kip before my afternoon appointment at the quacks. My specialist had been in touch with the Doc to confirm my skin problems are related to the radiotherapy. Apparently the radio treatment endures for several months after the actual zapping!! The treatment has damaged the nerves in the vertebrae just below the skull which has caused the burning sensation on my arms back chest and head. Like the hair loss it could be permanent in some people, but as my hair has just started to grow back the skin problem should heal with time. My arms are no longer a problem but along the spine, across the top of my head and the left side of my dish are pretty bad just now.
Struggled along offshore for over a week now with little respite from the skin burning. Although the pain in my arms has lessened the sensations have spread over the top of my turnip and down the left side of my face and appears to be getting more painful by the day.
Just when things were on the up, something weird has happened.
From the very start of this Hodgkin's nightmare, I'd always planned to return to work in June. And that's exactly what happened - albeit on light duties and only for a week. Nearly didn't make it though, unbeknown to me, my offshore survival had expired in May and there was some hurried string pulling going on behind the scenes to ensure I was booked on a refresher the day before I was due offshore. Also had the not so small matter of getting through the company medical and convincing the doc I was up to the task. Successfully passed the medical on Monday, got through the survival refresher on Tuesday, made it offshore on Wednesday. An easy week of paper shuffling and now back at home for a couple of weeks leave - you can't buy a job like this'un!!
You might have noticed that my posts have dried up a bit, that's because there's nowt much going on in the Hally household. Spent the last couple of weeks assembling the entire Ikea showroom in the house and turning the garage into a workshop, and that's about it!
