September 30th

We're just back from a fabulous holiday in Portugal :) The weather was great most of the time - only 1 day of rain in 2 weeks! - and the accommodation was lovely!! Duncan & Andrea joined us for the first week and we explored some of the local towns and villages, had some lovely meals out and went to the most South Westerly point of Europe, which was only a few kilometers from where we were staying. We also got to see Lisbon for the day when we dropped them to the airport. Apart from that we just relaxed by the pool and had a really amazing, restful time in the sun :) 

We flew back on Thursday and then headed up to London on Friday afternoon for my operation yesterday. The surgery went well and I'm now fitted with a portacath in my chest to allow them to take blood and administer chemo much more easily. The nurses have been finding it difficult to access my veins and the anaesthatist told me I had the world's smallest veins so I think everyone will be happier from now on - especially me!! It was good to see some of the nurses who looked after me when I was in hospital last year - they are so lovely & caring and it was really nice to catch up with them. Back to London tomorrow for an MRI and then chemo on Tuesday.

September 12th

We have just booked a last minute holiday to Portugal! We decided to take the opportunity of 2 weeks free from appointments and managed to get an amazing deal in Portugal so we are heading off tomorrow morning (5am!) and back on the 27th.

Healthwise, I have been doing much better although I was quite tired over the weekend. The doctors decided to wait until the next chemo session to see whether I need a transfusion as they have delayed it by a week to see if the bloods will recover on their own. If not I'll have the transfusion the day after chemo so we'll be coming back to a week of appointments; surgery to have the portacath fitted on the 29th, MRI for my brain on the 1st, chemo on the 2nd and possibly a transusion on the 3rd!

In the meanwhile, so looking forward to resting and relaxing and enjoying some lovely sunshine :)

September 6th

I'm still recovering from my 5th chemo session on Tuesday but the great news is that it's definitely working and the tumour markers in the blood are continuing to go down :) Tuesday night was a rough night with sickness but I'm feeling better every day.

My blood count was quite low so the consultant wants me to have a blood transfusion before the next treatment. I also need to have a portacath re-fitted as its getting more and more difficult to find my veins. This involves surgery but I've been through it before so we know what to expect and we know we're in very good hands with the surgical team! They have pushed the date of the next treatment by one week to get all this done.

We've been sitting in watching the Paralympics over the last couple of days - every one of the athletes is so inspirational. It is incredible how they have overcome live long illness and disadvantages and worked so hard to become such amazing athletes. Some of the stories are heartbreaking but they don't allow anything to get in the way of achieving their incredible feats! What an example!

September 3rd

We travelled back to Swindon today after a good time back in Cork catching up with family and friends. We had great fun with the girls - we took them on their first camping trip and Dave was even brave enough to take 4 women on a shopping trip to Cork!!

I had a girls night away with Charis and Claire and we spent a lovely weekend in Rosscarbery with Andrew & Orla and Roger. We had a lovely day with Peta & Dave and the girls and also got to catch up with Linda & Alex, Bryce & Carolyn and the kids, the Scotts clan, Jessie and lots of others. Dave even managed to squeeze in some very well deserved time out to do some fishing :)

Back to reality now and chemo in London tomorrow :( But it makes such a difference knowing that it's working!

August 30th

Yesterday was a very special day! I called into the office in Cork to see everyone there as I hadn't been in since January - and the welcome I received just completely blew me away!! Blew both of us away actually (as everyone insisted that Dave came into work aswell)! They had organised the most impresive Tea Party I have ever seen! Fine bone china, scones, cakes, cucumber sandwiches, flowers.....and most importantly a very special afternoon with my friends :)

I was so overwhelmed I just burst into tears when I saw it and the whole afternoon touched both of us so much! What an incredible bunch of people at RCI!! My boss came over from Kettering especially and had also planned a video conference with the team in Kettering, although it didn't work out....probably just as well as I was so overcome already!! It was so good to spend time with everyone and catch up (although there's never enough time to see everyone properly).

Thank you all SO much! Especially Thank You to Mafer and Nellie for the incredible effort you put into organising this. Thank You to Paul and Ciara for arranging the afternoon and for all your continued support to Dave and myself. And Thank You to everyone who came along. We can't tell you how much yesterday meant to both of us :)