A New Year, New Plans and New Goals.

So Christmas is now all but a distant memory and we are back into the routine of work, work, work! We had a great festive season and had a well earned rest as well as spend time with the family. Winter has finally come to the UK after a mild start and much of the country has found itself under a generous covering of snow turning dark winter landscapes in bright picturesque scenes from Christmas cards! We made the most of a six inch covering of snow at the weekend and all headed out tobogganing, making snowmen and walking. It was a great weekend and quality time was spent with the family having fun.

But with the New Year always comes the worry of what lies ahead? For most the promise of the coming spring and summer months, family holidays, New Year’s resolutions and endless possibilities fills the mind. But for PMP sufferers and their families the worry of upcoming treatment, yearly CT scans and possible re-occurrences’ loom large in the mind. Even our New Year’s celebrations were tinged with a fleeting moment of sadness, the look in the eye and that extra tight hug that lingers a while at midnight says a thousand unspoken words...

My own recovery after MOAS II continues to go well. I’m gradually going further on my runs, running hilly routes and generally making a slow return to my former fitness. Twice now I have arranged caving trips and twice we have had to cancel due to poor weather conditions and flood risks. The caves will still be there in a couple of week’s time, I just need to be patient.

  Whilst I crack on with my busy daily routine the fact that there are other fellow PMP sufferers undergoing treatment right at that time is never far from my mind. I try to offer help where possible and support people where I can but it saddens me to know that there are family’s out there whose lives are in complete turmoil due to a PMP diagnosis or supporting each other through a MOAS or other treatment. It’s tough on everyone involved. People can find themselves dropped into an extreme situation almost overnight. The pressure is immense and sadly it can take its toll on families. Things are said in the heat of the moment at times when people are under extreme pressure that sadly sometimes causes irreversible damage and causes family divides. I’m aware of at least two instances of this happening. We need to remember that when faced with a diagnosis or treatment everyone needs support and the pressure will be huge. Things may get said that we don’t like to hear or people don’t really mean and would not say in a normal situation. But we are not in a normal situation, so we must remember this and try to bite our tongues from time to time until the turmoil is passed.

 So for me now it’s back to work (I’m on my lunch break!)! I have a number of couriers trying to deliver thousands of parcels and pallets across the UK under this blanket of snow. The joys of logistics!

But let’s spare a thought for those people currently fighting their own battle with Psudomyxoma Peritonei .....