Back to the usual time this week.

Before getting into what this week looked like, I would like to thank all of you who took the time to respond to my query / suggestion on the frequency of updates, as I move through this current phase of relative normality. The resounding conclusion is that you would like me to keep it on a weekly update; my challenge is now to keep it interesting enough!

With the head cold effects almost gone, the mid and upper back pain remain, as does the pain and stiffness in the leg muscles. Continuing with the light exercising, with a view to easing the impact. It is clear that sitting down too long, does not help. However, being on my feet for sustained periods of time does not help either, so another ‘balancing act’. The monitoring of the toe nails continue and managing the returned growth of the finger nails is there too.

As the relative normality continues, that presents other issues to deal with - a nice place to be, but an odd one. This week’s theme is ‘hair’. Over the past couple of weeks, the lost bodily hair, from head to toe, is making a progressive return. The most notable is the hair on the top part of my head, which seems to be growing daily and something that we are noticing ourselves. I even had to get the sides trimmed, as they were taking on the look of a ‘mad professor’, against the growth of the head top hair. That is the third hair cut I have had, since I began treatment. The first was a tidy up, after the majority of it fell out. The second and this third one, have both been done during periods of re-growth. This may not sound a big thing, but psychologically, it is huge! That outwardly visual sign of the disease, when chemo began, is now going the other way, which is nice and helps with the general uplifting feel to this current phase. I have attached a photo taken of me this weekend, by Sandra, to provide some visual backdrop to the hair return phase.

The second weird thing has been the return of eye lashes. They were one of the elements that went early on and now they are making a return. It is certainly a very strange physical aspect to deal with. We are all born with them, and unless we find ourselves in a situation like mine, they are with us for life (whether some of you extend them, or not). The overall return of the hair is very good, but having to get used to eye lashes again is odd. During their return, which has not quite finished, they have a ‘sticky’ feel to them, in that they affect the eye lids and they stick together. They are also itchy and therefore rubbing them, irritates the eyes. Aspects like that are never contemplated when the treatment begins and certainly prefer to be in this place, compared to where I was two months ago, just odd side effects to work through.

Regarding the ‘normal’ activities side of things, I would say this week can also be viewed as ‘Vespa shaped’. I live by the southeast coast and that location holds ‘Skabour’ every September, which is a three-day ska music festival. I (and my son Karl for some of the years) have supported this annual event by attending their scooter ride out every year and I was aiming to do the same this year, health permitting. Thankfully, I was able to and some of the preparation involved a clean of my vintage Vespa - which sounds normal and easy, but was a challenge, as it requires bending down and getting into nooks and crannies. My body certainly felt it afterwards!. The ride itself was not to far from Folkestone, so I took part and glad I did. There were some side effects, which affected both hands, resulting in pins and needles. They are in constant use on a vintage scooter, with brake, accelerator, gear change and clutch all being on the handlebars. Unsure if these side effects are part of the long-running ‘arm’ issues, or just me using muscles in different ways for more sustained periods of time than the previous months. I also done a small bit of DIY, which probably did not help either?......

In summary, continuing with the balance, but not getting it right all of the time still; I will continue to adjust with a view to making this ‘normal’ phase more enjoyable / less painful.

Thanks for the ongoing interest and input folks.