So here we
are a New Year is upon us and we are already coming to the end of January!
Christmas is a distant blur and we are back into the daily routine.
We had a
great time with the family, relaxing, eating and drinking far too much and generally
enjoying each others company. All over far too quickly though!
A winter robin at Blaze Castle-Bristol.
Christmas
provided a great opportunity to catch up with a number of my PMP buddies. The
one thing this cancer has given me is the opportunity to meet and talk with so
many wonderful people whom otherwise I just would not have crossed paths with.
All of them fighting their own battles with PMP one way or another. Be it
undergoing treatment now for initial diagnosis, re-occurrence, recovering from
treatment or just dealing with the scars left behind on themselves and their
families from past skirmishes with Pseudomyxoma.
It was great to talk directly with many of
them on the phone wish them Merry Christmas and to hear the stories of how
well they were all were doing since having their treatment. Some have now got a
few years under their belt and thoughts of PMP slipping away as they get on
with their lives.
Others,
having had treatment more recently telling me how progress is coming along,
getting back to work on the stud farm for example and taking on new jobs on the
railway! New beginnings, fresh starts full of opportunity and wonder as to what
lies in the coming year.
Cancer is a cruel disease. I also know PMP
patients who have battled through treatments, undergone 10-12 hours in surgery,
intensive care, a long recovery to good health only then to have a family
member diagnosed with cancer. Roles become reversed, the patient becomes the
carer and vice versa. The mental strain is tremendous, just when you think it’s
all over...whammo...
But with a new year comes the hope of new beginnings,
since the 21st December the short winter days have started to very
slowly get longer with each turn of the Earth. The winter sun now full of
promise for the spring days ahead. The
winter here in the UK has been very mild and wet with flooding a real problem
in the south. In stark contrast to last year I can count the number of frosts
we have had on one hand.
Personally I am doing very well and have
recovered from my last operation. I did have to break open the emergency
antibiotics due to a nasty cold recently. Being without a spleen and classed as
immune deficient I have to be very careful when it come to cold and flu
viruses. Other than that I am doing very well. I have had a break from running
over the Christmas period but back to it now and hope to be back caving soon. I
don’t really make New Year’s resolutions but if I had one I guess it would be
to try and get some more fishing done once the weather improves a bit!
I plan to make the most of the summer this
year and enjoy it as much as possible. For me the annual scan is not until
August and who knows what that will bring? But between now and then we plan to
crack on and enjoy the days ahead....
