It never rains but it pours.

I have booked 2 gym sessions for next week, meaning my diary is bursting at the seams. Another visit to the young lady who is attempting to "repair my brain"  confirmed it will not be an easy or fast exercise.What is left of my brain is supposed to reshuffle itself to cover the blank pieces shot to hell by the radiotherapy, but even she seems to have lost a little of her original faith. At this stage my physical state is far more important to me than my mental equivalent, as I am convinced one has a direct bearing on the other. She will have analysed my brain exercise results by the time I see her again, which should prove interesting.

The grim winter weather has finally given way to spring-like sunshine and relative warmth

I spent the morning working at "old"  Derek's garden, my first visit for many weeks due to a combination of health appointments and lousy weather. The visit raised yet more questions regarding my fitness. Am I trying too hard and fast?

Gym progress

A few balance exercises and I was straight onto the ergo for a lively session, then a cycle machine which confirmed my right leg is considerably stronger than my left. A session on the walking machine left me knackered and sweating considerably. All in all a successful morning but I needed a lie-down in the afternoon to recover and let my muscles get over the shock.

Wet, cold and a roasting.

 Owen and LIsa have returned South whilst I got an unwarranted roasting for being "unsocial" during their stay. I am not going to challenge the rights or wrongs of that statement other than to say it is utter bullsh☹️t.

Today is very cold, very wet and miserable,but hey-ho,life goes on.

Ronnie Corbett.Victoria Wood.Prince.

They are dropping like flies, doing little to raise my spirits, which seem to be up one minute and down the next, not helped by the house resembling a bomb site as decorations continue. Leaving home is to be recommended during decorations / alterations.

The football league programme is almost complete, with Arsenal likely to finish in their customery third position,disappointing to say the least.

Gym enjoyment

Day 2 in the gym saw me concentrating on retraining my damaged brain via a series of exercises involving short -term memory which proved interesting and highlighted how much brain function I have actually lost due to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Apparently it is possible to retrain the brain but it will be a long project. We also had a visit from a representative of a local support group for patients suffering brain damage, but she reminded me of a Victoria Wood comedy character too much to be of great help, but another useful contact should the need ever arise. We have obviously rattled a few cages recently in our quest to get a decent level of treatment and support as everyone seems to be suddenly  dripping out of the woodwork, but better late than never I suppose. Where have they been

previously? Playing domino's in some dingy back garden shed I suspect. The high's of the past few days have disappeared back into the filing room to be replaced by the need to sleep.

Back on an ergo..real progress

My second gym meeting with Josie was a brilliant success, as a reward for doing well with my balance exercises she let me loose on an ergo, very successfully. I never thought I would say I  enjoyed using an ergo, but I must have resembled a cat in a creamery when I left the gym.

The morning was brilliant and a real boost to my recovery. Did any doctor or surgeon warn me  beforehand about the treatment affecting my balance?   Did they hell.

Liverpool pathway revisited

A beautiful sunny day, not matched by my mood. Having a parasite living off me totally unmolested for 6 months is starting to annoy me,especially as no one seems to give a toss. But I have plans.

Dr. Exxon phoned having apparently returned from the space station with my endoscopy and scan results. He confirmed "there is nothing to worry about" but was obviously miffed when I pointed out he could have told me that weeks ago. He got even more miffed when I referred to the gist/tumour as a parasite, obviously not the correct description? He explained it is too small to remove at present but they will monitor it closely. I stated if it is benign then surely it will not grow , at which point I concluded  the conversation was best ended before Dr. Exxon exploded.

More highs and lows

I walked out of the gym feeling 12 feet tall, partly due to Josie, surely one of the world's prettiest physio's, but also because she has convinced me I do not have to accept being a vegetable for what remains of my life.

Unfortunately the "high" only lasted till the next morning when I had time to reconsider the farce of waiting 6 months for 2 endoscopy results, only to get a dismissive "it is nothing to worry about" from some nurse on the end of the phone when Lynne pinned her into a corner  Of course it is something to worry about having a foreign object living off your stomach for no apparent reason, without the hint of an explanation or plan for its future. Dr Exxon appears to be away on the space station for some unknown length of time, whilst all others dive for cover whenever the subject is raised.

The low slipped lower today when it rained all day and I retreated to my bed with a headache.

Bridge 4 Rehab

Very discretely hidden in a vast new housing estate in Birstall,we eventually managed to find the rehab centre, specifically opened and staffed to re-train damaged brains and improve patients quality of life via simple exercises. My first visit and assessment was most encouraging, although the financial outlay proved far higher than we had originally been led to believe. At least they have finally acknowledged I have suffered brain damage.

Dr. Exxon, where are you?

Still no joy tracking down the results of my endoscopi's and scans some dating back over 6 months, but messages left with doctors across the country, so far with no responses. Does anyone give a damn?

However some positive progress was made on my overall treatment via an appointment with a charming and knowledgeable doctor at Leicester phsycotherapy unit who deals with "brain damaged" patients. It had taken us over one year to get this appointment so lynne and I spent in excess of one hour with her and learned a lot, with another visit planned for next week. By coincidence Lynne had tracked down a gym specialising in helping "brain damaged" patients in Leicestershire ( unfortunately not NHS ), which our "new" doctor subsequently recommended, so that sounds a distinct possibility. We plan to check it out.

NHS wakes then falls asleep gain.

Now fully 6 months since the scan that revealed something growing in my stomach, 2 endoscopi's and 2 more scans ( allegedly lost by Leicester Royal ) I have yet to receive ANY reports or feedback. Lynne queried with the Royal Marsden regarding a possible appointment, but was told the results showed no concerns and referred me back to Leicester Royal. So the results had been found but no one thought to let me know. Customer care, what customer care?.

Dr. Exxon at the Royal was "unobtainable", so we'll try again tomorrow.

Stuff the NHS. Go private.

Lynne has privately arranged a personal trainer for me on Friday following my long-awaited session with an NHS psychiatrist .I am presently writing ( for Lynne to translate) a very long list of my problems for him/her to address. Lynne has zoomed off to London for another haircut and left me everything I could possibly need for tea and dinner.

A very pleasant day, warm and sunny. The house is particularly warm as we have yet to master the mobile thermostat which Justin has promised to rectify on Saturday morning, but in the meantime we are giving our beachwear an airing.

NHS Confusion reigns

I had a physiotherapist appointment at Leicester hospital this afternoon. As usual the poor girl had to ask me for a full medical history and then asked me where I wanted her to start !

She/we decided on my left leg. After some discussion she suggested a personal trainer from a nearby leisure centre which inevitable meant yet another referral letter from my GP. No one, but no one, is allowed to make a decision or arrange treatment without involving dozens of fellow medical buffins.

Lynne delivered the form for my GP to complete and sign, only to be told personal trainers are no longer available on the NHS. Does anyone in the NHS talk to colleagues at all? Obviously not in Leicestershire.

Busy doing nothing

A ladder was delivered early for our boilerman to use later in the day. The job was obviously bigger than anyone anticipated as the boilerman was still here , with his assistant, late into the afternoon,but eventually, job done.

I need to contact a roofer tomorrow to refit the chimney flashing and replace a damaged roof tile.

Lumberjack

I spent the afternoon reducing large lengths of flooring planks and surplus cupboards into sizes that fit our wheelie bins to save Lynne a trip to the tip ( hopefully the bin men will not notice ). I expect my left shoulder to ache tomorrow

Officially disabled and new boiler.

I am now officially" severely disabled"and qualify for a number of government benefits, which unfortunately do not include a new central heating boiler, but we have obtained several quotes and gone for the best from the guy that serviced our old one . Unfortunately fitting the new one involved getting access to the roof vent so we needed to borrow one of our neighbour's ladders, who is notoriously difficult to get to answer his door, so it was agreed our boilerman would return Saturday, when, as a last resort I would " borrow" a ladder.

Unfortunately I fell asleep on the sofa, missing lunch and dinner, miraculously with no affect on my blood sugar. 

Plan zzzz

Talked to Nationwide regarding what to do with "spare" funds but with interest rates between 1.2% and 1.4% we are hardly spoilt for choice. However,we are arranging to simplify our banking by dropping HSBC ( the world's local bank is now anything but local following closure of the closest  branch ) and Natwest (ditto). I have been with HSBC for over 40 years (previously Midland Bank) without complaint. The transfer process seems easy these days as the banks arrange it all amongst themselves. What could possibly go wrong ???

House alterations almost complete.

Lynne and Owen have gone shopping (again) for little odds and sods reguired to finish the house alterations. George will then skim the bedroom walls as necessary and a painter will add the final touches. The changes are all minor and too numerous to list, but together will make a tremendous difference to living here.

Cash belatedly arrives.

The boat sale cash finally trickled into our bank after a treacherous journey through the various banks.