So here we are, 10.30 on Sunday morning and I should be getting ready to go out for my first Christmas lunch of the season, I cant get enough of Christmas lunches. Instead, I am sat here in Queen Elizabeths hospital, Birmingham because my leg has decided to become infected ( not enough Guinness) so I sit here with a canulla in my arm and every 5/6 hours, a nurse comes along to stuff some drug into me. The good news is that apart from a small section of the leg, where one of the skin grafts is a bit iffy, everything else is healing well. There is a slot booked for me in theatre ( not the Hippodrome ) on Tuesday should a decision to re-do the graft be taken, so here I sit in the Burns centre ( not Ward 408 – they wouldn’t have me back, something to do with nurses- I didn’t touch any of them – honestly , your worship ) I’m surrounded by Scots playing bagpipes, jigging over crossed swords and throwing telegraph poles all over the ward with deep fried Mars bars on the menu. Once again, the staff are brilliant, they don’t come across people from Lincolnshire ( none of them know where it is ), so I’m leaving a lasting impression, so they remember Lincolnshire folk – apologies for anyone who follows!! Desperately hoping to get out before Thursday because I have something very important that I want to do, but my fate rests with the medics. Blog again soon – Chris
Sunday 27 November 2011
Thursday 24 November 2011
Ooops ! Not the best move in the world
This last week has gone fairly well, the traccy hole has sealed up and doesn't need any more treatment and the walking, talking and eating is improving at a good rate of knots. I've been out for a meal at some very good friends and have had a couple of visitors. The oncologist rang as promised, but didn't have any more news - despite more investigations, the tumour remains unidentifiable. I always knew I was a one off, but I would have preferred on this occasion, to have a run of the mill type of tumour which would have been treated elsewhere. Still, the investigation continues and I was due back at Birmingham on Wednesday next when they were hoping for a breakthrough - find the tumour type then the chemo type can be mixed and given to me. We wait and hope. However, this morning we had a little incident which threw all of the plans into disarray. The District Nurse had arranged for a waterproof cover for my leg so that I could take a shower. Its a really good bit of kit, totally waterproof and I can have a 10 minute shower instead of sliding around in the bath. This morning, as I got dried after my shower, I felt unwell. Lynn managed to help me get into a chair before I passed out.Within a few minutes we had 2 burly RAF Lives staff followed by 2 paramedics complete with blue light blaring ambulance. I had come round by the time they had arrived and my temp, heart,blood pressure etc., was ok..Nevertheless, it was decided to take me to Lincoln A&E . That was educational. There are 10 cubicles and throughout my 6 hour stay in and out, there was never less than 5 patients on trolleys all over the ward waiting for a cubicle. I started in the corridor, went to room 4, back into the corridor, into room 6, back into the corridor,back to room 4, off to X-ray, back to the corridor, into room 10 and finally discharged. It was absolute bedlam.There is an obvious shortage of rooms and staff to match. After much debate , poking, prodding, photo taking, blood sampling et al, it was decided that the skin graft was not healing properly in one place and I had reacted to the poison, despite going on penicillin a couple of days ago when last Thursdays swab had highlighted a batch of bugs.There was some debate about orthopedic surgery in Lincoln. I didn't like the sound of that, so I got Lynn to ring my consultant at QE, Birmingham. Net result - I go back into QE tomorrow as an in-patient to get my wound sorted, so I will try to keep the blog going, but everything will depend on availability of Computer plugs etc,.So bye for now-
Chris
Chris
Thursday 17 November 2011
Euphoria, for a few hours
Another Wednesday,another trip to QE Birmingham.A decent journey down, Lynn is getting used to idiots on motorways and I'm beginning to relax a bit in the back seat. It still doesn't stop me getting frustrated - its 31 days since I last drove, I cant remember such a long break since I passed my test 41 years ago.
Really good news at QE. The surgeons and oncologists agree that they are as certain as they can possibly be that the surgery has removed all of the tumour and the lympth glands which were removed from my neck showed no signs of cancer. ALL CLEAR.
I agreed to more photos, more x-rays and help in publicity,after all its the least I can do in the circumstances.The leg is not healing as well as we would like and a regime change is suggested. It has started to smell a little of rotting flesh- a similar smell to when I burnt my arm on the lawnmower a few years ago. It doesn't look infected but further tests are needed. The swelling of my face has reduced further,but there is still some way to go.The dietitian and speech therapist are really pleased with progress and I met the chap who will be inserting prosthetic teeth in my leg bone, possibly earlier than planned. Oncologist would ring me later in the evening as he had other appointments. So we left Birmingham in the middle of rush hour ( you think Lincoln and Boston is bad - it took an hour to get out of the city ) finally got home just after 8, still in very good humour.
Oncologist rang around 9 as planned. He explained that all was well and he would try to get a course of 6 x 3 weekly chemotherapy treatments at Lincoln , if they were up for it. Then he dropped the bombshell, I must admit I half expected it. The tumour is very unusual, so much so that they have no idea if or where it will strike again, but watch the lungs.Because of the lack of knowledge, they are unable to find out which gene is faulty and as a result, the chemo will be , in my words because he was struggling, an analytical estimation of the the required elements and dosage ( in English that means a bloody good guess ). He will conduct further tests and make appropriate arrangements and ring next Tuesday evening in the hope of a breakthrough.
I really do hope that a secondary can be prevented, the surgery is marvellous, all of the surgeons are so proud of their work, justifiably, and we were planning to use as much as we could for training, not just in the UK , but internationally. So fingers crossed . Of course, it might be that there is no secondary, no-one knows because of the lack of experience in dealing with this type of tumour. I think first round to Chris and the surgeons, second round starts soon.
Hope all my readers are well- will blog again soon, possibly after the weekend. Dan and Han are coming to stay and will be bringing their wedding DVD - I forgot to mention that I missed my eldest sons wedding, but Skype worked fairly well so I saw most of it, heard all of it, didn't have to buy a new suit and managed to upset one of the bridesmaids with my pre-recorded speech. Not bad for a mornings work.
Bye for now
Chris
Really good news at QE. The surgeons and oncologists agree that they are as certain as they can possibly be that the surgery has removed all of the tumour and the lympth glands which were removed from my neck showed no signs of cancer. ALL CLEAR.
I agreed to more photos, more x-rays and help in publicity,after all its the least I can do in the circumstances.The leg is not healing as well as we would like and a regime change is suggested. It has started to smell a little of rotting flesh- a similar smell to when I burnt my arm on the lawnmower a few years ago. It doesn't look infected but further tests are needed. The swelling of my face has reduced further,but there is still some way to go.The dietitian and speech therapist are really pleased with progress and I met the chap who will be inserting prosthetic teeth in my leg bone, possibly earlier than planned. Oncologist would ring me later in the evening as he had other appointments. So we left Birmingham in the middle of rush hour ( you think Lincoln and Boston is bad - it took an hour to get out of the city ) finally got home just after 8, still in very good humour.
Oncologist rang around 9 as planned. He explained that all was well and he would try to get a course of 6 x 3 weekly chemotherapy treatments at Lincoln , if they were up for it. Then he dropped the bombshell, I must admit I half expected it. The tumour is very unusual, so much so that they have no idea if or where it will strike again, but watch the lungs.Because of the lack of knowledge, they are unable to find out which gene is faulty and as a result, the chemo will be , in my words because he was struggling, an analytical estimation of the the required elements and dosage ( in English that means a bloody good guess ). He will conduct further tests and make appropriate arrangements and ring next Tuesday evening in the hope of a breakthrough.
I really do hope that a secondary can be prevented, the surgery is marvellous, all of the surgeons are so proud of their work, justifiably, and we were planning to use as much as we could for training, not just in the UK , but internationally. So fingers crossed . Of course, it might be that there is no secondary, no-one knows because of the lack of experience in dealing with this type of tumour. I think first round to Chris and the surgeons, second round starts soon.
Hope all my readers are well- will blog again soon, possibly after the weekend. Dan and Han are coming to stay and will be bringing their wedding DVD - I forgot to mention that I missed my eldest sons wedding, but Skype worked fairly well so I saw most of it, heard all of it, didn't have to buy a new suit and managed to upset one of the bridesmaids with my pre-recorded speech. Not bad for a mornings work.
Bye for now
Chris
Friday 11 November 2011
The Dark Days
As promised, I've gone through my notes and hereunder you will find my version of the days following my surgery.Some of the notes and thoughts I had at the time will stay with me , I don't want to be charged with sexual harassment !! but I will try to retain as true as I can to my recollections .
Waking up time - I don't know when I began to wake up, everything was very hazy, but my first thoughts were that I had woken up so I must have survived the op.I remember thinking that my brain is working ( theres always a first time for everything ) and my hearing is OK. I guessed that I was in the High Dependency Unit because that's where I had been told I would go but I had very little movement. I thought my head was in a brace because it would not move from side to side or backwards and forwards ( found out later it was because of the swelling ). I could see as far as my eyes could move which meant that I could see my toes on my left leg ( which I was expecting to be in plaster ) and could see the plaster on my right leg, I was very hot and sweating profusely, so much so that my eyes were filling with sweat which made them very sore and I couldn't move to wipe them. The HDU nurse allocated to me was very good and told me what was going on, where I had drains and tubes and what she could do to make me comfortable. Regrettably, I couldn't speak and , at that stage hadn't worked out the ability to write, so I was very uncomfortable having to close my eyes tight to squeeze out the sweat. There was one further concern which I suppose those of you with more experience of these things will realise was ridiculous, but , at the time !! . I knew that I would have a caffetta fitted, but had never seen one before. My brother Mick had had several during his many ops and always said it hurt like hell when they pulled them out. I was prostrate on the bed, legs akimbo and at the extremities of my vision, I could see the 'caffetta '. I could see that it came from my groin area and discharged into a large box thing on the floor. The pipe was a good 3 inches in diameter. Now I knew that despite my many boasts, this was going to hurt when it came out. This thought remained with me until Lynn arrived. We had pre-arranged signs for writing, yes and no, and I managed to get her to understand how hot I was. She had a word with my HDU nurse who checked all my readings and then slowly removed the heater hose which was blowing hot air into my groin area - that was a big relief in more ways than one.
It transpires that my heart had given some cause for concern during the op and it was agreed to put me on a 24 hour monitor- stickers on my leg and chest and wired up. I still had no movement except for my right hand and my left toe but there was nothing in my body or my head.I was aware of unsuccessful efforts to save an old chap with heart problems in the next bed. I had no idea how close he was to me, or even how close the beds were or if they were in a ward system or in rows, I just couldn't see beyond my feet or either side.
Whilst I lay there with drips in. drains out,oxygen being pumped into my traccy hole, I did wonder whether this was going to be worth it, whether I would recover at all or at least enough to lead half a life. I suppose the thing that kept me going was that it was financially considerably more worthwhile for me to retire than die in service, so at least if I kept going until 31st October, Lynn would be much better off.
As the night progressed, I developed gunge in my mouth which I tried to cough out. The only decent relief was the 2 hourly change of traccy pipe which I could see was always covered in blood when it was changed. I would probably last 20 minutes after the change before I started coughing again, but laid on my back,there was no getting away from it.
I doubt if I got any sleep during the night, but I had become stable enough to be moved to the ward. There was a 3 hour wait from the decision to take me up until someone came to fetch me, it seemed like an eternity.Then came the transfer to the ward bed. This is where I felt absolutely useless and very guilty, There were 4 very slightly built young nurses trying to move me from the HDU bed into the ward bed. I can certainly understand why nurses get bad backs. I couldn't help at all and they were trying to move 14 stone dead weight, complete with drips, drains and monitors.It took a while but when I found I had movement in my left leg I was able to screw myself across and up to the ward we went, me and a gorgeous sweet nurse called Danielle, who had had the misfortune to be allocated to me for the first couple of days - boy, was I lucky. She was everything a nurse should be, and more, she spent time with me, she made sure I was comfortable, she had a wicked sense of humour but she was very thorough and professional throughout..
Even though I couldn't move much , I could raise my thumb and occasionally write, when I could get folk to understand that was what I wanted to do, but my handwriting was not good because I couldn't see what I was writing, it was only when Simon came in to see me that he noticed that and arranged for a prop devise so I could see what I was writing, from there it got much easier, I could communicate and people could understand me.
My worst time was the night of the Arsenal game, I had been struggling throughout the day with a build up of phlegm in the traccy and as night fell it got worse. I wrote to Lynn to speak to the night staff before she left, which she did and they did call and see me more regularly. However, about an hour after the game, I started a coughing fit which got worse and worse. I couldn't get my breath and as much as I coughed, I couldn't get rid of the phlegm in my traccy. The night doctor replaced the traccy but it didn't help and he watched while I got more and more uncomfortable and I could feel myself snuffing it. All of a sudden, out of the corridor burst the night sister, a lovely, well built west indian lady, she burst into the room, ripped the traccy out pulled out the inner, barked at the doctor to get some saline and started to operate the suction machine. She spent a couple of hours effectively sucking out what she could and diluting the phlegm. Eventually, she pulled out a piece of solid waste which looked like chewing gum, that was what was blocking the windpipe. I'm convinced that without her intervention, I wouldn't be writing this. That night I felt really rough but I suppose that that was the spark which fired off the recovery. The previous nights events had been circulated around the ward and amongst the medical staff before breakfast and there became a more urgent need to get out of the Hospital. I decided to do everything I was told and seek hints to improve my chances of an early release.
It really is surprising how much extra help and advice you can get if you show a positive attitude to your circumstances and I genuinely believe that this helped me get out early. so there you are, those were the darkest days. It all gets brighter from there, but I will continue to blog for the foreseeable future, theres always more to come.
Bye for now.
Chris
Waking up time - I don't know when I began to wake up, everything was very hazy, but my first thoughts were that I had woken up so I must have survived the op.I remember thinking that my brain is working ( theres always a first time for everything ) and my hearing is OK. I guessed that I was in the High Dependency Unit because that's where I had been told I would go but I had very little movement. I thought my head was in a brace because it would not move from side to side or backwards and forwards ( found out later it was because of the swelling ). I could see as far as my eyes could move which meant that I could see my toes on my left leg ( which I was expecting to be in plaster ) and could see the plaster on my right leg, I was very hot and sweating profusely, so much so that my eyes were filling with sweat which made them very sore and I couldn't move to wipe them. The HDU nurse allocated to me was very good and told me what was going on, where I had drains and tubes and what she could do to make me comfortable. Regrettably, I couldn't speak and , at that stage hadn't worked out the ability to write, so I was very uncomfortable having to close my eyes tight to squeeze out the sweat. There was one further concern which I suppose those of you with more experience of these things will realise was ridiculous, but , at the time !! . I knew that I would have a caffetta fitted, but had never seen one before. My brother Mick had had several during his many ops and always said it hurt like hell when they pulled them out. I was prostrate on the bed, legs akimbo and at the extremities of my vision, I could see the 'caffetta '. I could see that it came from my groin area and discharged into a large box thing on the floor. The pipe was a good 3 inches in diameter. Now I knew that despite my many boasts, this was going to hurt when it came out. This thought remained with me until Lynn arrived. We had pre-arranged signs for writing, yes and no, and I managed to get her to understand how hot I was. She had a word with my HDU nurse who checked all my readings and then slowly removed the heater hose which was blowing hot air into my groin area - that was a big relief in more ways than one.
It transpires that my heart had given some cause for concern during the op and it was agreed to put me on a 24 hour monitor- stickers on my leg and chest and wired up. I still had no movement except for my right hand and my left toe but there was nothing in my body or my head.I was aware of unsuccessful efforts to save an old chap with heart problems in the next bed. I had no idea how close he was to me, or even how close the beds were or if they were in a ward system or in rows, I just couldn't see beyond my feet or either side.
Whilst I lay there with drips in. drains out,oxygen being pumped into my traccy hole, I did wonder whether this was going to be worth it, whether I would recover at all or at least enough to lead half a life. I suppose the thing that kept me going was that it was financially considerably more worthwhile for me to retire than die in service, so at least if I kept going until 31st October, Lynn would be much better off.
As the night progressed, I developed gunge in my mouth which I tried to cough out. The only decent relief was the 2 hourly change of traccy pipe which I could see was always covered in blood when it was changed. I would probably last 20 minutes after the change before I started coughing again, but laid on my back,there was no getting away from it.
I doubt if I got any sleep during the night, but I had become stable enough to be moved to the ward. There was a 3 hour wait from the decision to take me up until someone came to fetch me, it seemed like an eternity.Then came the transfer to the ward bed. This is where I felt absolutely useless and very guilty, There were 4 very slightly built young nurses trying to move me from the HDU bed into the ward bed. I can certainly understand why nurses get bad backs. I couldn't help at all and they were trying to move 14 stone dead weight, complete with drips, drains and monitors.It took a while but when I found I had movement in my left leg I was able to screw myself across and up to the ward we went, me and a gorgeous sweet nurse called Danielle, who had had the misfortune to be allocated to me for the first couple of days - boy, was I lucky. She was everything a nurse should be, and more, she spent time with me, she made sure I was comfortable, she had a wicked sense of humour but she was very thorough and professional throughout..
Even though I couldn't move much , I could raise my thumb and occasionally write, when I could get folk to understand that was what I wanted to do, but my handwriting was not good because I couldn't see what I was writing, it was only when Simon came in to see me that he noticed that and arranged for a prop devise so I could see what I was writing, from there it got much easier, I could communicate and people could understand me.
My worst time was the night of the Arsenal game, I had been struggling throughout the day with a build up of phlegm in the traccy and as night fell it got worse. I wrote to Lynn to speak to the night staff before she left, which she did and they did call and see me more regularly. However, about an hour after the game, I started a coughing fit which got worse and worse. I couldn't get my breath and as much as I coughed, I couldn't get rid of the phlegm in my traccy. The night doctor replaced the traccy but it didn't help and he watched while I got more and more uncomfortable and I could feel myself snuffing it. All of a sudden, out of the corridor burst the night sister, a lovely, well built west indian lady, she burst into the room, ripped the traccy out pulled out the inner, barked at the doctor to get some saline and started to operate the suction machine. She spent a couple of hours effectively sucking out what she could and diluting the phlegm. Eventually, she pulled out a piece of solid waste which looked like chewing gum, that was what was blocking the windpipe. I'm convinced that without her intervention, I wouldn't be writing this. That night I felt really rough but I suppose that that was the spark which fired off the recovery. The previous nights events had been circulated around the ward and amongst the medical staff before breakfast and there became a more urgent need to get out of the Hospital. I decided to do everything I was told and seek hints to improve my chances of an early release.
It really is surprising how much extra help and advice you can get if you show a positive attitude to your circumstances and I genuinely believe that this helped me get out early. so there you are, those were the darkest days. It all gets brighter from there, but I will continue to blog for the foreseeable future, theres always more to come.
Bye for now.
Chris
Dont panic Mr. Mainwaring
Its been a few days since I was last on the blog. Tuesday was a bad day, don't really know why, but I got tired quickly when I tried to change a bulb and had to give up. That annoyed me but I didn't feel too well, my leg hurt and I think the penicillin was beginning to get into my bloodstream.
Wednesday was the unscheduled trip to Birmingham, traffic was very light and we had the fastest trip ever there and back. I took back seat with my leg at 60 degrees, travelling in the guise of royalty. My good friend at the filling station thought I had won the pools and that I had employed Lynn as a chauffeur. Visit went well - no real problems, the skin graft over the Tendon is taking, but not as well as the other grafts and the Tendon might slip out before it heals properly but there is no reason to panic. The hole in my windpipe has almost healed to the extent that it will have to be slowed down as it is healing too fast. Don't understand the logic behind that but then again, I know very little about health.Speech is going very well, no problems with telephone and most words are being correctly sounded ( a few slurs, but whats new !! ) . Decided to call into the office on the way back for 10 minutes ( promised and agreed ) Left half an hour later.
Thursday was not my best day, but not as bad as Tuesday, I guess that its going to take a good bit longer than I'm reckoning on but today I'm going to start with the dumbbells to build up the upper body strength again. Having a bath is a bit precarious because I have lost a lot of strength in my arms and hauling myself in and out with my right leg dangling down the side is interesting to say the least, Overall, all going well.
Little message for those good friends leaving messages - thanks very much , I would like to respond privately in some cases, but the way the blog is set up, all messages come in as ' anonymous' so I have no e-mail address to respond to.
I've gone through my notes and tried to amend Simon's blogs but don't have the technical ability so this afternoon, I'm going to fill in the gaps when I was in a semi- conscious state from Monday till Wednesday.
Time for dinner - I'll blog again later
Wednesday was the unscheduled trip to Birmingham, traffic was very light and we had the fastest trip ever there and back. I took back seat with my leg at 60 degrees, travelling in the guise of royalty. My good friend at the filling station thought I had won the pools and that I had employed Lynn as a chauffeur. Visit went well - no real problems, the skin graft over the Tendon is taking, but not as well as the other grafts and the Tendon might slip out before it heals properly but there is no reason to panic. The hole in my windpipe has almost healed to the extent that it will have to be slowed down as it is healing too fast. Don't understand the logic behind that but then again, I know very little about health.Speech is going very well, no problems with telephone and most words are being correctly sounded ( a few slurs, but whats new !! ) . Decided to call into the office on the way back for 10 minutes ( promised and agreed ) Left half an hour later.
Thursday was not my best day, but not as bad as Tuesday, I guess that its going to take a good bit longer than I'm reckoning on but today I'm going to start with the dumbbells to build up the upper body strength again. Having a bath is a bit precarious because I have lost a lot of strength in my arms and hauling myself in and out with my right leg dangling down the side is interesting to say the least, Overall, all going well.
Little message for those good friends leaving messages - thanks very much , I would like to respond privately in some cases, but the way the blog is set up, all messages come in as ' anonymous' so I have no e-mail address to respond to.
I've gone through my notes and tried to amend Simon's blogs but don't have the technical ability so this afternoon, I'm going to fill in the gaps when I was in a semi- conscious state from Monday till Wednesday.
Time for dinner - I'll blog again later
Monday 7 November 2011
Just a minor hiccup
Progressing really well, so decided to go to our usual monthly supper/dance on Saturday night. I guess the hokey-cokey is a no-no, but seeing as Lynn doesn't dance anymore, we only go for the social side. A good update on all things sport over the last month with my mate, Wallace and lots of chat with lots of people.
I knew it might be difficult, so we agreed a 2 hour maximum, leaving early ( and I wasn't on a promise ). It took me a good while to get in as my walking is still restricted, but I had a good night, a couple of pints and broke the ice with folk. Most are very good, interested but not intrusive. Some were not sure what to say but wanted a crafty look at the wounds - not that there was much to see as I wore a collar and tie ( very loosely as I'm still swollen ). Got home in time for Match of the Day, slightly knackered, but pleased I'd done it,
Sunday morning, the District Nurse arrives to dress wounds - all traces of alcohol removed from breath ( I dont think I'm supposed to go out unless I keep my leg raised ), Slight problem with wound on the chin, oozing puss ( no, not the cat ). Decides to send me to minor injuries at John Coupland Hosp. Doc is not too worried, thinks healing might be breaking down and gives me a course of penicilin, thats stuffed the Guinness then !! Resting for the remainder of the day - still little or no pain, but the boss says I've got to rest and she moves faster than me .
Monday morning, District Nurse removes dressing on leg - unsure about one of the skin grafts may not be taking , so. guess where we are going on Wednesday ? Yes, back to Birmingham to see the skin graft chap. Still, I;m still here and most of me is healing so no complaints from me
I knew it might be difficult, so we agreed a 2 hour maximum, leaving early ( and I wasn't on a promise ). It took me a good while to get in as my walking is still restricted, but I had a good night, a couple of pints and broke the ice with folk. Most are very good, interested but not intrusive. Some were not sure what to say but wanted a crafty look at the wounds - not that there was much to see as I wore a collar and tie ( very loosely as I'm still swollen ). Got home in time for Match of the Day, slightly knackered, but pleased I'd done it,
Sunday morning, the District Nurse arrives to dress wounds - all traces of alcohol removed from breath ( I dont think I'm supposed to go out unless I keep my leg raised ), Slight problem with wound on the chin, oozing puss ( no, not the cat ). Decides to send me to minor injuries at John Coupland Hosp. Doc is not too worried, thinks healing might be breaking down and gives me a course of penicilin, thats stuffed the Guinness then !! Resting for the remainder of the day - still little or no pain, but the boss says I've got to rest and she moves faster than me .
Monday morning, District Nurse removes dressing on leg - unsure about one of the skin grafts may not be taking , so. guess where we are going on Wednesday ? Yes, back to Birmingham to see the skin graft chap. Still, I;m still here and most of me is healing so no complaints from me
Thursday 3 November 2011
Latest Update
This coming home business has taken a little more out of me than I thought, but I am sleeping properly now,( especially the nights I get to have a can of Draught Guinness ), eating well, albeit a little slowly and my speech is coming on to the extent that I can hold a conversation for a short while ( after around 10 minutes, I run out of steam due to my brain wanting to talk and the lack of pressure within my windpipe, which is still healing, makes me run out of breath ). Nevertheless, I feel good, the brain is starting to get bored and I have had a couple of very steady walks around the bungalow. the stick has gone as far as inside the house is concerned, but I promised Lynn I will take it with me when I go for my walks.
Yesterday ,it was back to Birmingham for a review. Despite the long day, it was a resounding 'thumbs up ' from the surgeons, most of which came in to view their handiwork. They all seem very pleased with what they have done- I'm really impressed- There was a bit of banter between a couple of surgeons who reconstructed either side of my jaw. One side is still a bit more puffed up than the other, but the swelling is going down daily ( I could still frighten the local kids ). The leg is healing well where the section of bone was removed and the skin grafts taken.The District Nurses removed the last of the stitches this morning and then took pictures for their training sessions. I dont remember ever being photographed so much, all different parts of my body, but I have said from the start that I know that this is not common , so I am more than happy to be photoed , prodded . examined, whatever is required to help spread the knowledge.
It looks highly likely that, as soon as the wounds heal, I will have to undergo a course of chemotherapy, but , as the chemical analysis of all my parts has not yet been concluded, a final decision has not yet been made. However, if it is necessary, then they are going to try to get that job done in Lincoln to save travelling. We should know better next Wednesday.
Thats all for now, folks. Thanks again for all your support, it really has been overwhelming.
Kind regards
Chris
Yesterday ,it was back to Birmingham for a review. Despite the long day, it was a resounding 'thumbs up ' from the surgeons, most of which came in to view their handiwork. They all seem very pleased with what they have done- I'm really impressed- There was a bit of banter between a couple of surgeons who reconstructed either side of my jaw. One side is still a bit more puffed up than the other, but the swelling is going down daily ( I could still frighten the local kids ). The leg is healing well where the section of bone was removed and the skin grafts taken.The District Nurses removed the last of the stitches this morning and then took pictures for their training sessions. I dont remember ever being photographed so much, all different parts of my body, but I have said from the start that I know that this is not common , so I am more than happy to be photoed , prodded . examined, whatever is required to help spread the knowledge.
It looks highly likely that, as soon as the wounds heal, I will have to undergo a course of chemotherapy, but , as the chemical analysis of all my parts has not yet been concluded, a final decision has not yet been made. However, if it is necessary, then they are going to try to get that job done in Lincoln to save travelling. We should know better next Wednesday.
Thats all for now, folks. Thanks again for all your support, it really has been overwhelming.
Kind regards
Chris
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