An Ordinary Couple of Days

 We've been attempting to clear some of the untidy weeds and long grass at the bottom of the garden. Yesterday fairly early on I continued with cutting back the brambles and weeds around the shed (such as it is. Totally derelict. You can't get into it as the door is completely off it's hinges.) The grass and other weeds can be trimmed back once the brambles and other tough growth is removed, otherwise when you use the trimmer it will break the blade.) Carol gave me a hand, but it was getting really quite hot so we gave it a rest and will continue. The job is best done in stages, perhaps 10-15 minutes at a time. I just hope the weather remains fine so we can get the job done. No good attempting to do this work when it's wet.

On Friday Carol got a telephone call from the nurse/coordinator at Milton Keynes Hospital, saying that Oxford Churchill Hospital had been trying to contact her. No doubt this would be when we were at Oncology, as we were there on Monday for her blood test, Tuesday for chemotherapy and then on Thursday to have the pump removed. We should have taken one or other of our mobiles with us, but we don't always carry them around with us. We neither of us are tied permanently to such technology as most people are. Just another item to carry around. When we go to oncology we take a bag of things to keep us occupied for the couple of hours we were there. On Tuesday we were at the hospital for at least five hours. Books, our Kindles, and other items such as sweets and my wallet to pay in the Friends' shop. The telephone call was to call to set up a P.E.T. scan at Churchill. The doctors want her to have this scan before the next chemotherapy cycle. It took several attempts to actually get through to the department to speak to the secretary who books such appointments. On first attempting to get through Carol just got a recorded voice, saying 'I'm on leave but will be back at my desk on Monday,' But she wasn't there, and the same recorded message could be heard. It took at least thee attempts to actually get through to speak to this person and an appointment was made for this Monday afternoon. So we will be going to oncology at Milton Keynes Hospital at around 9 o'clock first for her usual blood test and then we'll drive to Oxford, giving us enough time to get to the hospital and park the car and then get to the imaging department for the scan. But because it's relatively late, and it takes around two hours, we're not likely to get home until past 7 o'clock in the evening. 

So, once the scan is done and the final chemotherapy cycle is complete, another few boxes are ticked off and Carol will be ready and waiting to get conformation of dates for the two operations she will have to remove the remnants of the cancer so this horrible period of our lives can be completed and we can get our lives hack on track.