Welcome to the world, Theo

It has happened - Fiona has given birth to Theo, who made his appearance yesterday at 3.30pm. Both are doing well I'm told and will be going home at some point today. Congratulations to Fiona and Patrick - so so happy for them. Justin is very pleased to have a little brother - it's just what he wanted, apparently.

I had my MRI scan this morning. It was a bit too early and I struggled getting home. Thankfully, in the absence of my Mum who's up in Lymm, Finn managed to get some time off work and accompanied me. I don't think I would've made it otherwise - it would have been too much of an effort. Anyway the scan itself wasn't too bad and I'm glad it's over. I'll know exactly what's happening to Vicky next week when I see my oncologist.

Nothing much to report otherwise. I'm slowly starting to feel human again - it'll be nice to be able to enjoy things a bit more again.

AC chemo - done and dusted

Final dose of the nasties was administered on Monday though there was some doubt. I got a phone call from a chemo nurse on Monday morning letting me know that my blood count was again low and I needed another blood test to see whether I'd get the go-ahead. Which I did, in the end. I need to do something about this problem though, if it's possible. A low blood count means that not only do I have to go in early to get another test done it also means that my drugs are not pre-prepared, which means I end up spending a lot of time in hospital waiting. For example, I was supposed to get chemo at 2.30pm on Monday. Because of the additional blood test I had to be in at 12.30pm. When that came back ok, I had to wait for the drugs to be prepared and I had to wait until 4.15 to finally get treatment. So if anyone has any suggestions as to how to boost my blood count or improve my immune system, please let me know.

The side-effects are not too bad. Nausea started almost immediately but hasn't been too bad since. Fatigue remains the main problem and my mouth is now starting to hurt, so I'm moving onto the next phase. I think fatigue has been aggravated by my cold, which has in turn triggered asthma problems - which I never have without a cold - and led to lack of sleep. But things are improving there.

Seems like I'm off on one so here are some good news. I was able to go out on my birthday last weekend and enjoyed to more-than-decent weather we had in London. I only went for a short walk to Battersea Park but I thouroughly enjoyed it. And here are a few photos to prove it.

My sister Laura and her boyfriend Brad are up from Cornwall to attend a birthday party and have brought me a funky hat. I'm debating whether to put up photos of me with all my hats but I thought I'd spare you - I don't like having my photo taken at best of times so you can guess how bad it is right now. My sister Fiona has still not given birth, which I think it's rather rude as they haven't told us if it's a boy or a girl and I'm getting a tad impatient now.

And so it is - I've got a bit of a routine going on but overall things could be a lot worse.

Wisdom teeth, colds and other matters

After enjoying last weekend I can't say this week's been too good. I've got a wisdom tooth coming through, which is not thankfully as painful as it was at one point. Then I got a cold and although it's not a nasty one it's keeping me awake at night. And I finally had to go to the doctor's because of horrendous heartburn, which turns out to be caused by the chemo. So all in all I've had better times. But on the good side I've managed to get birthday cards and pressies on time - somewhat of a first for those who know me. Anyway I'm aware that I still owe emails and they are on their way - it's a promise.

I had my appointment with an oncologist on Wednesday with not much to report. He did (roughly) measure the lump and again suggested a reduction in size but we won't know for sure until the MRI scan, which will take place on 29 November. I have started to put on weight. I suspect this was to be expected as I'm eating reasonably well but not exactly moving much. I'm not exactly making an effort to prevent this as the next lot of chemo drugs will require steroids as 25% of people suffer from anaphylactic shock when taking them, and steroids usually cause substantial weight gain. I suspect it's retribution for calling the lump Vicky Pollard - I'm slowly starting to look like Matt Lucas.

Enjoy your weekends and behave.

Richmond Park

As some of you may know my father came over from Switzerland to see me this weekend. As I was feeling up to it we went to the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park. I'd only been there once and thought it would be a good idea to go back since autumn colours are looking rather good at the moment. I thoroughly enjoyed it even if I did overdo it and got some nice piccies. I feel much better for it. Here are three pics - I've added a few more of MyFotothing if you want to have a look.

I also got a new hat and some crisps and of course chocoloate so a big thank you to my Dad.

I also have heating in my room - the valves had stuck themselves in an off position and were only changed on Thursday. It has made a huge difference - my metabolism simply wasn't coping with the cold. My body kept on going from freezing to overheating, and needless to say I feel much better for being kept at an average temperature.

That's it for the time being I think. Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.

Back in the land of the living

Just about... It seems to take about nine days for me to start feeling half-human again, and it's good to be back. Mouth ulcers and bleeding gums are keeping me company but I can cope with that.

I can't say I've been up to much - believe it or not. I did attempt a trip to the shops yesterday as I was getting a bit desperate. I'm very lucky in that I have a few people who help me with everything and make my life a lot easier. But it's difficult not being able to do things for yourself - simple things such as walking around the shops, seeing food you fancy and buying it. Anyway I took myself off to M&S yesterday and bought a few things. It was too soon to do it - I got home feeling very sick and tired. But I got some nice food and some fresh air - and it did me some good.

Other than that I've had guests over, one of which decided that we should play 'Let's play wigs'. So I finally got my comb-over and a few other interesting styles. It's nice to know I'm not completely useless even when feeling rubbish.

I know I owe a few emails again, and I shall start writing them soon. Hope you're all well.