Heart attack

Monday, January 29, 2018

Fourth Chemotherapy Cycle

We had a visit from Carol's cousin Andrew yesterday morning. We were interested to hear about his ministry working with children in Romania. Carol is going to be able to help with some teaching material which will be great to give her a focus away from chemotherapy and it's side effects. She has been making some cakes, a really tasty Victoria sponge as well as some cup-cakes. We may buy an electric  hand mixer which should make things quicker and easier. The only problem is, once the cakes are made, resisting the temptation to actually eat them is quite difficult as they are very tasty and somewhat moorish!

This blog post is being written as I'm sitting with Carol in the Oncology Unit at Milton Keynes hospital. I'm making the most of having free wi-fi within the hospital. Writing as things are actually happening allows the post to be a good deal more fresh in my mind that it would have been if I'd written it completely from memory as it might have been if i'd written it later when I'd got home.

We had to be at the oncology suite at 11 a.m. Alfie insisted on running upstair when we were about to leave the house. It would have been better for him to be left in the kitchen but as soon as we said 'kitchen, Alfie!' he ran upstairs to our bedroom and wouldn't be budged. I closed the door, but as soon as I got downstairs he began barking and it was obvious he didn't like being shut in. And who, in all honesty, could blame him?

We gave ourselves plenty of time as it's not always easy to get a parking space later in the day. Which was true when we arrived at the carpark behind the oncology department. I drove in but absolutely no spaces so I immediately drove out and left Carol to take our bags of things in and report to the reception in the Oncology department. So I had to drive round the ring road and find a space at the front of the hospital in the ground-level carpark. I then had to walk round the hospital site to get to the oncology department. You would think that there would be a dedicated carpark for those using the oncology department or at least who use the facilities on a more regular basis. But that would be far too easy.

 It's been a a particularly windy day, which we noticed when we left the house earlier. All manner of bits of paper and rubbish being blown around.

Trying to keep oneself occupied while Carol has her chemotherapy is the main thing about spending several hours in the oncology department. Carol was soon connected to the various drips and was plugged in when I got back from parking the car. Carol has her crochet. She's even made a lovely cover for this MacBook, and is making some sort of bag which can be sold in the Macmillan unit to raise funds. I'm writing this, obviously, as well as reading 'Goodbye Christopher Robin,' by Anne Thwaite, about how A.A. Milne came to write the 'Winnie The Pooh' books in the 1920s. He had been a relatively successful playwright and contributor to such magazines as 'Punch,' but nowadays the plays are almost forgotten, and 'Pooh' is what he's best remembered for today. Rather like J.M. Barrie who's playwriting efforts were over-shadowed by Peter Pan. Even Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle was stuck with Sherlock Holmes, who he killed off at the Reichenbach Falls but had to bring him back eventually because of public pressure.

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