Heath updates: Fairly straight forward week of pain levels to deal with and what I had to handle, was self-inflicted (read below). Managed the usual walks, but was unable to complete the usual quantity, due to being away for a few days, which also impacted the cycling plans, with none of those completed in the past week. On Sunday evening, I managed a long walk of 13:02 duration, which was impressive after the impactful second half of the week, but also my second best time for these long walks.
The week has been dominated by helping my son Karl reallocate from the southeast coast of the UK, to the southwest coast. The elements needed to make the move possible, have all come about very quickly and pre-planning has been rapid, but successful. That is a big change for him, but something he has been dreaming of for more than a decade. Staying within the same company he works for, he was able to get a location transfer (larger site with more opportunities and potential), then him finding somewhere to live (nice, self contained, house share), then undertaking the physical move, which started Wednesday (loading everything), Thursday (journey to there), Friday (return trip), then Saturday (his final leg back there).
For him, start of a new phase in his life, but an intensely emotional one for all involved. I went with him on the trip down and back again, to help, but also to see where he will be working, sleeping and also where he will be creating a new life. For Sandra and I, it does not matter what age your children are, you still want them to be happy and safe and it is a constant worry when watching them deal with ‘life’ and the challenges it presents (for each of us). I know many of you may not think like that, but we do and we are a close family. When I returned home, I became aware of an online friend’s situation, where his son has just passed away, following an intense battle with this same disease. A deeply heartbreaking outcome for him and their family, and a reminder of the fragility of life and the stories that play out in our lives; make the most of your time, spend your time on what gives you happiness, with those that add enjoyment to life, and remember that it is a short journey that we have, so do not ‘wait for tomorrow’.
The past week has been an emotional rollercoaster, with multiple aspects to work through and sort, then in depth conversations about the practicalities, life, death and the universe, kinda things. With the backdrop of my health situation, that adds another dimension, as he is a 6-7 hour drive away now, not just 10 minutes. The move itself and the drive (which we shared), gave me some short term aches and pains, which are easing. I also have physio on Monday of the coming week, so good timing. One of the side effects of the AD world, is that I have a notable increased need to drink more liquid. In the BC world, I was known for not consuming much liquid throughout the day, but I have found that my intake has at least doubled, with scheduled water intakes throughout te day. Despite doing this during the journey, I have been left with very dried out and cracked lips, which also change colour and are painful / have a burning sensation. This is something that never existed in the BC world and it is one that I have to constantly adjust to; it will sort itself over the coming days, just go to work through the short term impact.
At the start of the week, I did manage to get both current writing projects moved on further, but not to the same usual degree that a ‘normal’ week would allow.
In summary, not a week with a lot of ‘illness’ related aspects (which I appreciate may not be as interesting for some of you), but one where a significant family change was undertaken. This week’s image shows my son in his new location, happy and looking forward to what his future potential holds, but an image that belies the intensity of the emotions of the past couple of weeks for all connected to this one change, in one person’s life, in one small corner of England.
Thanks for the continued support and interest.