Brain Man

Christmas cheer

Good afternoon fellow downhillers. My consultant has just rang to say my MRI scan carried out last week shows no change it is stable.

I am so chuffed, admit was worried as head had been hurting recently but possibly due to my medication.

My consultant says he will book new appointment for March and then we will discuss my medication as may change my Dexamethasone to another drug dependant upon the next scan.

I am going to party like it is 1999 in self isolation. I hope everyone is ok and taking care. Please all be safe.

We are all ready for the big day, food and drink in abundance that will last till 2021 and beyond. Presents wrapped.

Merry Christmas everyone and a better 2021 I hope.

Blah blah blah

Morning/afternoon/evening (delete as appropriate). How is everyone keeping in this time of gloom and despondency? I hope you are all going ok.

What news from me well, unfortunately one of our cats had to put to sleep at the vets last Monday due to a tumour that had spread to her brain, I know f@*#ing tumours. It was heart breaking seeing her having seizure after seizure and she was so scared, me and our lass just held her until she calmed down. At least with humans we know what is happening.

We bought her a wicker coffin with a pillow inside and buried Clarryann in the garden. We have bought a rose we are burying next to her, she was 11.

We have painted the dining room a sort of dusky pink, it looks nice. Spend 2 days doing my inner Van Gogh.

So is Christmas going to be a washout I hope not because that would the ultimate kick in the festive baubles.

I have my MRI on 16 December and my telephone consultation is booked for 23 December (Merry Christmas filthy animal). We did ask if there was any anomaly would we be told sooner the receptionist couldnt comment. How excrement is that.

Apart from my tale of woe, everything else is hunky dory. As I said I hope you are all being careful.

I will leave you with these words of wisdom

how many tickles does it take to make an octopus to laugh ten-tacles.

I used to be addicted to the hokey cokey but I turned myself around

What is the most confused animal in the jungle a polar bear.

Whilst you are thinking jeez he is weird I leave stage left. Ciao fellow downhillers

And so it goes

Good morning downhillers. I know been aeons since my last comments have been published. I hope is ok and keeping well.

What news during this apocalypse. Well appointments are being rescheduled from consultation face to face to over the phone, how do you diagnose something over the phone.

I have a further MRI on 16 December which is also the date of my phone consultation with my doctor to discuss my MRI, WTF is happening to the world its like i am falling down the rabbit hole.

One of three cats Clarryann was off her food recently so we took her to the vets and she had a tumour on her intestine, they have removed the tumour and she is now back home, amazing how animals recover quickly.

Looks like another lockdown is imminent, to try and slow the increase in cases, so normality is suspended indefinitely it appears.

Everyone please keep stay safe and self isolate where possible.

MRI latest

Hi downhillers

I know been aeons since my last post first and foremost sorry. Have my most recent MRI scan on 1st September and today the nurse rang me to say no change its stable and will arrange another MRI for 3 months time. So yippee 🥳 life goes on.

How is everyone keeping? What news in your world?

We are currently on second lockdown so life is decidedly crap, but if it protects everyone then so be it.

I am reading “Raffles gentleman burglar”. What are you all reading? I have been doing yoga (wobbles when doing the left and right tree) but am getting there. French is coming on and still using my gym so all good.

We are currently having our garden refurbished, decking is hopefully starting either end of this week or beginning of next. Composite decking round the pond with a gravel that to decking at the top of the garden. Having a day bed and movie projector for outside movie evening. I will send a photograph when it is done.

I had a tattoo earlier this year with the brain cancer logo in it. What you think?

I hope you are all taking care and please all take care during these troubled times

Good news

Hi fellow GB downhillers. Well the nurse rang me yesterday and said there has been no change on my last MRI and no further signs so chuffed with that. Next MRI is sometime in September.

I have also taken up painting (commissions taken), but only paint blue sky and sea so dont expect a Vermeer or Van Gogh.

On personal levels I have been learning french on level five or as they say en francais level cinque. On the travel section.

I have also started growing a beard, it’s a cross between Capt Ahab and an Capt Birdseye. See what you think from my captured image.

I hope everyone is ok and not suffering too much with this lockdown. Boredom seems to be biggest kicker hence I am trying to do anything to relieve the monotony.

Dont let life get you down just nolo submerso as they say in latin (I refuse to sink).

I forgot (side effect possibly of this bloody thing) I am doing yoga as well 🧘‍♂️ I have discovered right side not as stable as left when doing tree pose.

Latest news

Good morning my fellow downhillers. I hope everyone is well? I had my MRI scan yesterday, face mask and had to go in alone.

First attempt to insert needle into my vein failed miserably, second one successfully completed, however left bruises on both arms. I have to wait now for the results, (whenever that is). The bonus was I was able to go into shops oh the delight. Hat, face mask and collar pulled up, just needed the paparazzi following me. Oh forgot my sunglasses.

I received a letter from the hospital to say my oncology appointment had been rescheduled on 1 July to later time the same day, then in the same post another saying it had been changed to 15 July and will be conducted by phone. WTH.

On another note as the lockdown has been partially released I went for a walk with our lass, my daughter and her dog, typical me I fell over a tree root, face planted the earth (didnt even have chance to get my arms out), that is the end of my career on the cover of vogue lol.

Apart from that everything is same old same old. I hope everyone is staying safe and not being as foolish as me when walking. Think our lass is buying me some toddler reins Haha. We will soon get over this and can get our party clothes on. Take care fellow survivors.

Life is what it is ……

Hi downhillers. Hope everyone is ok? Everybody’s life is on hold with this virus and that is not good for us select few with underlying conditions. So how do we get over this boredom threshold? The cornflakes jigsaw lasted one breakfast and I ate my finished article. Tasty but it was never going to make the Tate or Guggenheim galleries.

I have just started my chemotherapy treatment , woowee 😀, it’s my 6th cycle now and I have my MRI middle of June and consultation with my oncologist first week in July. It means going into hospital to have the scan carried out, not looking forward to that (lot of sick people there, could catch anything).

Days are consisting of watching the Golden Girls (anyone remember that!!!) and garden rescue ha ha, I am having a garden day today to see if I can get ours into some semblance of English loveliness. I am also reading. 10 books down and 11 to go, totally eclectic choices though, Peaky Blinders the real ones from Birmingham in the early years, the life of a English Godfather (Owney Madden) and Titanic Thompson 1920’s card shark, looking at those books it doesn’t appear to be as eclectic as I originally thought but defined by crime in the early part of the 20th century.

Our lass has said I need a hobby but unsure what to pursue, as I am a curmudgeonly yorkshireman with limited talent in any field, (for limited talent insert none) so any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

The family had an online quiz last Friday night, my niece Lauren and her fiancee were the quiz masters and our lass, my daughter Charlotte and myself finished second behind my mother in law and my brother in law. It came down to a sudden death question, congratulations to them for winning. It was a brilliant night.

I will leave you with this thought ” I was told if you work hard you can be anything you want. Well I’m still not an elephant”

Lockdown

Hi everyone. I hope you are obeying government guidelines regarding self isolation. How am I, probably the same as everyone else bored.

I may or may not previously mentioned my MRI was supposed to have been carried out on 3th April but as my wife and daughter had a cough I cancelled it to be on the safe side. The nurse said they would reschedule the appointment, but as I didnt hear anything I contacted them yesterday and was told it was being vetted for new appointment, ( I haven’t a clue what that means).

I was also scheduled to have my bloods taken last Monday and a consultation with the chemo nurse for yesterday, however, I was contacted by a nurse last Thursday to say dont come in on the Wednesday your consultation will be carried out over the phone, confused.com as no mention of my bloods. So our lass rang them and they said yes come in for them on monday but different unit, so trooped off to have them done.

I received a letter today from my local medical practice advising that due to my vulnerability I am in lock down for 12 weeks from today, so I cannot go out for any reason.

Chemo nurse rang me yesterday to advise me my platelets have risen to 166 so am able to resume my chemo treatment, and to check if I could collect them. I explained the hospital pharmacy had already rang me to say they would deliver and they did. My next consultation is the middle of May over the phone at this moment.

I have been using my gym down the bottom of my garden, gym I actually mean a shed with gym equipment in it, i e running machine bike, rowing machine and a vertical gym stepper.

I have started learning French and once I have mastered parlez vous francais like an Englishman abroad, I am moving onto German.

Remember this will not last forever and we can party like the celebrations after the black death in 1350.

Latest news

Hi fellow downhillers. I hope you are all keeping safe and isolating. If you are all like me you must be totally bored not being able to see family and friends.

I can only watch so much TV without getting bored. It’s bad enough we are the people who are classed as vulnerable and we stay in as instructed and then people go out as they feel it does not apply to them IDIOTS!!!!! You know who you are. The rules apply to everyone please obey them.

I have stocked up on books, to occupy my mind. I did try to find jigsaws online, but it appears there is a shortage on them so i have decided to make my own out of cornflakes, i am struggling though as it looks nothing like the picture on the box. May have to try cheerios next. It could come down to cutting up last years Christmas cards as a last resort.

We daughter and wife are self isolating as both of them are coughing. So I am self self isolating if there is such a thing.

How is everyone occupying their time?

My wife and myself were supposed to be going to see Woman in Black this afternoon at the Alexandra theatre but due to this virus all venues are closed, and the Simple Minds concert has been suspended until next year.

My wife and I also took part in an online pub quiz last Friday for a local hospice. There was 129 teams entered and we finished 33 so not a bad result. Believe would have finished higher but my brain got confused with some of the answers and as it was timed the quicker you responded the more points you got.

Life is on lockdown at the moment around the world but it will get better and to all medical staff and auxiliary workers I personally want to thank you for the amazing job you are all carrying out during this crisis

We could start an online whatsapp quiz to keep us all stimulated if you wish. Let me know your thoughts for keeping us all upbeat.

Keep safe and look after yourselves.

Treatment during this crisis

Good afternoon fellow downhillers, apologies for time between postings. So where am I? Well I had my bloods carried out on Monday and my nurse spotted me in the clinic and said have your bloods done and go straight home, however in these turbulent times we needed food shopping.

The theatres and concert venues are closing or closed so the shows our soon have arranged as a Christmas present are cancelled. We have been told to self isolate as we are in the vulnerable category, as Wolverhampton is the epicentre of the crisis in the West Midlands. I went to see Joseph in Birmingham in January with a slight cough and no it wasn’t the beginning of the virus just a cough (besides I only coughed during the applause).

Overall I am good usual aches and pains frequented by tired periods, so basically no change.

We have been online shopping but now appointment slots are getting more and more random, in fact they are offering earliest slot beginning of April. We have been in the supermarkets and people have cleared out on toilet rolls and kitchen rolls. No hand sanitizer either. We were looking at fresh chicken to freeze to make meals but all the fridges were empty.

Today was another hospital appointment to start my 4th session of chemo, the nurse was waiting in reception signed me in and took us straight into her office. My platelets are 156 down 2 so still good from the last reading. Downside is due to overstretched resources the drugs are not ready until later on today so our lass has to return to collect. Nurse also said I only have two more chemo sessions left, confused by this I thought it was 12 sessions or indefinite, as unmethylated nurse says we can review this with the consultant on 6th session. Any ideas folks what it means?

I have purchased books to get me through this, totally electic from the mythology behind Stonehenge to the true story of the Peaky Blinders. Hopefully should tied me over got 10 books in total to trawl through.

I will close now because if your like me you will have nodded off half way through reading this and wish you all a stress free time.