The day after the 28 day injection.
It is always the same after the 28 day injection. The injection site is sore and it feels like I have a lump under the skin, which irritates. I know that the liquid will disperse over the next forty eight hours but until then its there niggling away. In the scheme of things its a small thing but it chips away all the time and means I need to keep busy to distract myself.
The day found me up and about quite early as todays “to do” list included a Sainsbury’s delivery, a plumber and a vistor for tea and cake. Of course knowing that people were going to come into the house meant that there was a degree of clearing up to do before I felt comfortable about visitors. You know the sort of thing, clear the kitchen or at least fill the dishwasher, scan all areas for discarded underwear and socks, ensure there is adequate supplies of loo roll in the appropriate places and that it is possible to walk across all floors without too many hazards to fall over. All that done I indulged in toast and coffee and as I looked out into the gaden I realise that the chap we have to do a few hours in the garden has arrived and is clearing away the weeks debris. This chap has been doing this since our daughters were small and has become part of the family. He is the same age as me and we regularly compare notes on how neither of us can do as much as we used to. A result of this is that our chats over coffee become longer as we walk around and plan for next year and point out things happening in the garden. We decided on the front garden priorities and then I retreat inside to get on with the day
In the time I have before the plumber arriving I clear the bathroom and start to look at the blog page and wonder how I can get stats and how I can get better pictures. I grab WordPress for Dummies and discover something called Jetpack and install it. I can now massage my ego, or not, with a daily look at my “hits”. I was adding pictures to my media when the plumber arrived. So life became all business and coffee making. Bit of a shock when we discoverded my stopcock did not work! Not a euphamism. We could not turn the mains supply off. My plumber is resourceful and managed to do the work needed without a functioning stopcock. What was nice was the post plumbing conversation we had. I had said I was doing chemo and we chatted about what that meant for me and he shared his own experience of family who had faced it. It was nice to have someone just ask about how it was for me and what things I could do and not do as a result of it. We aslo talked about going to the gym and how it had benefited us both when illness struck. Having given me the invoice and booked a date next week to put a new stopcock in, he left and I checked I had put away the Sainsbury’s delivery properly, that had arrived earlier.
Life is now good, new bathroom taps and a cistern that fills properly. I have some time to look at my new media. I am struck by the difference between the English and Australian approach to cancer. I think the pictures below sum it up.
England, a cup of tea and cupcake. Australia, a barbie with all its life threatening indulgences AND a chance to win a blokey prize. How about a sponsored world rugby party with signed england player jock straps or balls. (Rugby balls obviously, not players balls, althougth rugby tours can get a bit hectic I guess there are limits to our boys charitable inclinations).
By the time I had finnished playing with the blog techno stuff, which I am still very raw at, my afternoon tea visitor arrives and we settle into tea and coffee with walnut cake. This is a good friend who I have known from my early days in the prison service back in the 1970s. She has just completed her PhD and promptly retired. Life is proving tricky as retirement seems to have come too soon and the challenge of keeping her lively an enquiring brain satisified is testing her. There are friends and then there are things that can be volunteered for but I sense the right balance has yet to be found.
My partner returns home to me all pleased that I’ve done my tick list for the day. I proudly relate how I’ve discovered the non working stopcock and with great efficency have booked the plumber for Tuesday next week. It did not take me long to realise this was a mistake as I had ignored the fact that my partner had taken next week off so as to have a break. I difficult time led into making dinner and eating before we prepared for my partners singing teacher to turn up for tonights session. I really need to lift my head and remember its not all about me.
