Week 18: w/e 26th July 2026

HI Folks and thanks for continuing to support these Blogs; buckle up for this one, as things moved fast in the past week. Health front first and it was a busy week with the 3-monthly bloods and bone scan undertaken on Monday. I had the expected tablet collection and second Zometa infusion planned for Wednesday, however, I had a phone call on Tuesday afternoon which changed that. The team that look after me, phoned with the blood results, which showed a PSA level of 90 (you may recall that I started with 70, 3.5 years ago, when they first told me I had the disease). That was an utter shock, which was closely followed by being informed that my liver markers were raised too. As a result, I have been told to halt all medication and return next Monday for another blood test, which will determine whether I get my tablets and Zometa infusion in the coming week. Connected to that, I had a letter come through on email, from Dr. Rahman, to confirm that he has moved my face to face forwards one week, to this coming Friday. Add all of the components together, and as I am sure many of you can imagine, things are not looking promising. The impact of all of those updates upon me, then Sandra (who left work early on Tuesday and came straight home), then Alanna and Karl, who both called in around 1 hour later, was instant. I am expecting nothing good from the coming face to face with Dr. Rahman. Whilst I grapple with what may be coming, I am dealing with what I can feel and the discomfort continues to increase, as does the pain side of things. The pain is not there all of the time, but certainly on the up. We absolutely need to know what the scans have found, then find out from Dr. Rahman as to what they mean for me, my remaining time and the impact upon myself and my family. To try to stay sane, as I await the discussion and results, I have taken my expectations down to a very basic level. That is, I have woke up each day, how have I felt physically, then mentally and then I have just tried to get on with normality. That thought and physical action process is the only thing I have some control over, until I get the answers we need. As the week has gone on and the various changes have come to light, I can see the direct impact on Sandra, Alanna and Karl. Things are very challenging for us all at this point in time. I am finding myself having to face the inescapable reality of my own mortality, at a more stark level that previously, as I can feel the physical changes and the combination of medical results show that something notable is underway. 

Some of the above mentioned ‘normality has included 3 walks conducted in the past week (I forgot to mention that I managed one the previous week, but the show and other things prevented any more). The times for this week were variable, with 13:52, 13:38 then 13:50. Against the backdrop of what has unfolded this week, I am pleased to be able to complete any of the walks. On Friday, I undertook a small bit of gardening, but that had a very adverse effect on my middle back muscles. As you read this, I have pain across the middle of my back, but thankfully, I have a prescheduled physio appointment for Monday afternoon. In my assessment, the recent and unusual back muscle issues are connected to what may be developing with the disease; that is something I will discuss with Dr. Rahman on Friday. 

Monday seen me help my nephew Conor get sorted for the next phase of his holiday, then say goodbye to him, his partner and the kids; it was great to have time with him in the previous week and create some new memories. I spent Tuesday catching up on various things. Wednesday was one of Sandra’s days off, so we went out during the day for a couple of hours and had a nice lunch. Book work was the main focus for Thursday, together with a hair cut. During the book focus, I received a small number of new files from Albert, one of my archivist visitor friends. In those 4 new files, we have been able to confirm 2 more ‘117’ men, which is simply superb; we are now at 109 confirmed members of that fledgling formation and he has more files to extract in the not too distant future. 

Friday was food shopping day, both Sandra and I were not feeling 100% (mostly mentally), so it was a more leisurely day. We did get a walk along ‘the path of tranquility’, otherwise known as the tarmaced cycle route along the top of the cliffs from Folkestone to Dover (as shown to me by my friend Davy recently). The weather remained stunning, the scenery was awesome and the company was unequalled. We had planned to go out Saturday, but in the morning, I had notification of a delivery that was not due until Tuesday. That was a large order of WSS Knight’s  - Volumes 1 to 4, direct from Schiffer and something that has been underway for months. We got the delivery of 3 boxes just before lunch, had lunch, then started our journey for a few hours out. Less than 10 mins up the road and we had a second call at the door, different driver, with 11 more boxes! We had to rush back home, then the rest of the afternoon was spent moving, unboxing, checking, then reboxing, the hundreds of books. After that unexpected physical exertion, we took it easy for the rest of the day and treated ourselves to a chinese takeaway. We rounded off the week with Karl, Rachel, Alanna and the Grandkids (Dan was dog sitting their recently new puppy) coming round for Sunday lunch. That was an enjoyable few hours of catching up, playing in the garden with the grandkids, but also Karl washing both of our cars for us, as that task is too much for me now, plus I do not wish to spend hours of my remaining time washing cars. 

In summary, an absolutely rollercoaster week, in all aspects and looking back on it, as I write this, I cannot quite fathom just what was fitted in and what has changed; tune in next week for what will be a key update. 

Thanks and regards, Peter