Hello folks and firstly, thanks for the wealth of positive comments from last week’s update; absolutely blown away and humbled by the sheer volume of people who got in touch and wished us well, off the back of the very recent positive health situation updates. What was also unexpected, but superb to read, is how many of you got a mental boost, just through reading my update. I started it to help other cancer sufferers understand what may be coming for them, but this Blog has gone beyond that and more than 18-months of comments regularly remind me of that; thanks to each and every one of you.

My main health focuses this week, has been on repair and improvement. I managed two walks, which are very helpful on many levels. The new exercises have become part of the bi-daily wider routine and they are helping. A further session with the physiotherapist covered some physio, deep tissue massage with a massaging device (interesting!) and some more acupuncture. He is happy with the progress and does not plan to see me for 2 weeks. What he is doing is helping, with the pain becoming more defined in location, but more notable there too, partly as a result of what he is doing. During that session, I had the chance to ask him to explain what he was doing and where, as he was working through the various aspects. The outcome was that everything he is doing, is purely muscle based, and nothing in the joints / bone structure. This is a further psychological improvement for us, as it reinforces the cause of the current issues and my confidence in him being able to make a notable difference, once the round of treatment is done.

We had our normal Dr Rahman 4-monthly phone call, which lasted less than 5- minutes, as very little to discuss. He did mention that my Bilirubin was a little higher than normal, close to - but still within - normal limits. It has not been the first time of a rise and it is something that he will keep an eye on. I followed up with the Canterbury team, checking the suggested dosage of the supplements, which will be discussed this coming week. We had a follow up letter, from the MRI review and in that, it states that I have been referred to an Orthopaedic Surgeon, to discuss the bulge at the top of my spine and whether that may be causing nerve issues. No-one had mentioned that at all, so it was a bit of a surprise. However, we will be happy to talk to anyone who can help improve the health situation and allow us to adjust the cancer impact / life ability balance; watch this space.  

We had a nice meet up with my former work colleague, Martin, where we had some food and a nice catch up with each of our lives / situations. We keep in frequent text or phone call contact, but a face to face meet is always nice. Alanna and the grandkids were with us as normal, but a key change this week was me informing Jameson that, once the physio sessions are complete, I should be in a position to return to playing as we used to. The increasing restrictions have forced me to adapt how I play with them and he has noticed the changes; this aimed for change pleased him a lot. On Sunday, we had a nice day with Karl and Rachel, which began with us attending the Remembrance Parade in Folkestone, then moved onto lunch in a local restaurant, then finished off with us going back to theirs for a bit.

I had a short, but key, car update on Friday, initiated by me. The gearbox has been installed, but they are trying to get the final aspects connected and working. Clearly a complex task and one that they have not had to deal with before. They are liaising directly with the manufacturer for this final stage. It will be nice to get it back and hopefully not too much longer, but I can live with the courtesy car in the meantime.

Final update for the week is regarding the Fritz Witt book. I have completed the main draft, which now includes the photographs and images placed, together with the captions. It has taken slightly longer than planned, but great to get this key step completed. The next steps are proof reading, alongside reviewing the proof version for any changes, then a visit to the co-author to take some better imagery of surviving artefacts, then wrap it all up.

Thanks again for all of the engagement from you, superb and immensely helpful.

Regards, Peter