Saturday, I am up the blood results are in:

Its the all important drop in PSA that is the crucial score. I am relieved that it is going down again. My kidneys and liver are good and the rest of the systems are holding up well. Now is the time to keep training and paying attention to my diet.

Time for a leisurely breakfast and then my partner and I go off to buy a new i-pad. Its of course Currys we go to and we wander around and look the goods over. The deal gets done and we head for the gym. Rather than head for the gym floor straight away we sit in the lounge with coffee and and have a long chat about where we are and managing what is going on for us. We eventually get up and go to the gym floor to get a machine. I cross train for 50 minutes and manage to burn 554 calories and travel 6. 36 kilometres. My back is hurting a bit. I shower and return to the lounge for coffee and a cookie. We drive home and have a sandwich before getting ready to go out for the evening.

I drive my partner and I to the pub where we are to meet friends we have not seen for two years. Its very busy and car parking requires all my skills to get the car into a parking space. We get our table and wait for our friends to arrive. It is as if nothing has happened, we settle back into catching up with each other and sharing our news. It is a lovely evening and very good to renew the conversations. Before we leave we get another date in the diary. Given our ages and the fact that my partner is the only one still working full time we all appear to have very busy lives. There is clearly no shortage of things to be doing be it supporting family with new babies or just maintaining a fit and healthy life style. We say our farewells and drive off to our respective homes. My partner goes off to bed and I start the blog but the pain in my back is getting worse and I am tired. I give in and go to bed.

I am up again at three o’clock in pain and taking paracetamol. All my old fears about my kidneys resurface but I know from the blood results that things should be alright. I return to bed but wearing an old wrap around back support to try and ease the pain. I doze fitfully until the morning.

Sunday. My back is hurting. I make drinks and take the back to bed and start the Dr Google routine. Of course once I start that all sorts of possibilities are revealed to me. Kidney problem is still my best bet, kidney stones to be precise, followed by muscle tear, but I think that unlikely. Of course a relationship with my cancer comes to mind and I wonder about spread. In the end I ring 111. It took what felt like an age to wade through all the information intended to deflect me elsewhere but eventually I got through to a very helpful person who ran me thorough an assessment. There was a brief pause while she consulted a clinician. I was to see someone in 12 hours and she found me an appointment for 5:30 pm today at a health centre on the other side of town. So I have breakfast and continue, and extend last nights blog draft. I shall while away the day and try not to fantasise too much before my appointment. It could be an interesting end to the day. As the nurses in Jamaica would say as they waved me off from the dialysis clinic “See you on the other side”!