Morning Jules,

Was just wondering how you got on when you visited your Mum this week, and also how your daughter got on at hospital?  I do hope things are not too stressful for you and that you can try and have a relaxing weekend.

I'm waiting for my eldest to come home, he has spent somewhat of Freshers sleeping on fellow pupils floors after social events - latest was a toga party last night!  I'm off to my counsellor this morning, had originally been thinking I wouldn't need to see her for too much longer but have been so emotional this week so will talk things over with her.

The weather is forecast to be nice this weekend but is looking a bit gloomy at present.  Here's hoping it brightens up and the sun shines on us all.  Take care  Hope x

Hi Hope

Hope you visit to the counsellor was helpful and its good for you to be able to talk things through and this should last as long as you need it.

I have just returned from visiting Mum and she was ok though I am sure a little concerned at how long she will be able to stay where she.  She has amazed the staff at how forthright she was when social worker 'interviewed' her and they are left in no doubt as to what she wants. All the care staff came to see me whilst I was visiting to make sure I was okay too - very sweet.  I stayed until she was due to go into lunch and we even managed a bit of a laugh when I showed her latest photos of her great grandson.  He has really enjoyed his first week in Reception and keeps telling his mum that his teacher is the most beautiful one in the school!!

Hubby and I picked him up from school on Friday as my daughter had to return to hospital for a second day of tests and monitoring.  Specialist blood tests with regard to her liver function have been sent off and unless she hears otherwise she returns to clinic next Friday.  The last set of bloods were borderline but all readings for the baby were good.  If the new blood tests show certain 'rises' she may have to be taken in and possibly induced (she is now 37 weeks and would probably welcome is being over and done with!!).  Anyway so far so good.  I have an overnight bag ready and waiting and she has several friends on standby to get her to the hospital if her hubby is at work.  Mind you she is still driving herself at present!!

When we met our grandson at school (its only 10mins to his home) he told Grandad that he could meet us there as it was healthier to walk!!!  My hubby's face was a picture as he drove off and I walked the little tyke home!!

Life's stresses seem to come and go but having the forum to offload certainly helped me to see things in perspective this week though I think my mood swings are more due to hormones than current circumstances.

Sounds like your eldest having a great time during Freshers but will no doubt be looking forward to some home cooking.  Have a great weekend with the family and will catch up again soon.  All the best and look after yourself. Jules xx

Hi Jules,

Glad to hear your good / positive news from husbands consultation.

Hope you have a really good time in Bournemouth with your friends etc.

And your extra time off work.

You deserve it.

Hugs

Annabel. xx

Hi Jules,

Hope you are not too tired after work today. Brother in law will see the specialist on Friday and I will be pleased for I don't think his new local doctor has much knowledge of prostate cancer. For he should have had his second hormone injection about two/three weeks ago and yet this doctor has said he doesn't need it for another month. Sister in law has no faith in him either. Haven't heard wither my father had heard when his operation can go ahead.

My wife likes her new table top for her puzzles as she has been able to put all the pieces on it at once. Have not been able to see my grandchildren tonight as two of them have bad colds. Tomorow night I have another meeting of the small local cancer charity.

I bet you are looking forward to your weekend away. How did hubby get onwhen he drove in to work on Monday? Hope it all went well.

Hope work starts to be a little easier for you tomorow. Do take care, Brian.

Hi Brian

Well.have to say doing over 2hrs extra on my feet has left its mark!!!!  ( I was lucky some of the staff have been doing 12hr shifts during this audit)  Was so glad to get home and flop in chair but it did not last long as we both needed a drink and there is only one person in this house who knows where the kitchen is.

How annoying for your brother and sister in law that they feel let down by their local GP.Trouble with new faces is they do not know family history etc and really hope his appointment on Friday goes well and his injection programme can be sorted quickly.  Added stress is not what the doctor ordered!! Iam sure you will h ear from Canada as soon as they know anything - it cant be easy worrying from a distance.

Hubby managed reasonably well with the trip into work though was tired by time he got back (still know he would rather be there than here but nothing to be done about that - at least they are keeping his brain active by phoning when they need advice).

Well its only 24hrs since his appointment and already the consultant has been in touch with the GP to set the wheels turning so to speak.  He also gets to see the GPnext week so that she is kept in the loop.  Still waiting to see if he gets new medication before we go away.  Have been very impressed with his hospital consultant and her support team which apparently also now includes community nurses attached to her so when that need arises she will arrange that to as she says that will save some trips to the hospital later on.  I know how lucky we are to be be within a 20min drive (when traffic light).

Hope your grandchildrens'colds soon clear up as I am sure you all miss seeing each other and it great that MrsB can now spread her puzzle pieces out as it makes it much easier to see whats going on. Keep sayingI will get us one to do (I quite enjoyed doing the ones with our grandson though they were only 100 pieces - he 'let me start them' as long as he put in the last couple of pieces when he then announced 'he had finished it!! ).

Well looking forward to a quiet evening as we have just finished dinner and myManager  wondered whether I would like to start at 6.30 a.m. tomorrow (he knows I have trouble sleeping) - needless to say I dont think I will be that eager to leave the comfort of home!!!

Have a lovely weekend.  Jules xx

Morning Susananne

Many thanks for  your encouraging words and your lovely tale about rusty - really made me smile.  Animals certainly have a way of lifting the spirits.  My son has a little westie and she is full of life at just over a year old now.  They have lots of lovely walks locally but being white they are getting used to the bathing process with so much mud around.  We actually have no pets of our own now (plenty when the children were  young but the biggest was a cat!!) but two cats who live locally regularly come and visit and spend time being fussed by hubby (and me when i am in).

Hubby's consultant wasted no time and he has already had contact from GP  following up after his appointment.  We are very lucky to get such good medical support and hope the new regime (another one to master!!) helps with his backache.  After a long day shifting lots of books yesterday its debatable whose back ached the most!!! At least after today I get a little break from work and the kitchen sink and plan to make the most of it.  Hope you have a peaceful weekend and that you see more of the sun (not great here yesterday - got soaked walking home from the station despite a  brolly). By the looks of the forecast might be worth taking wellies with me but there is plenty to do where we are going so do not expect to be worried by a bit more rain.

Take care and chat again soon I hope. Jules xx

Hi Annabel

Thanks for your kind message and I am counting down the hours till tomorrow I can tell  you.  Just need to get through work today (more book moving about to make sure we get our returns done on time).  My manager actually wanted me to get in early today and possibly stay on again but I have politely refused as I would like to enjoy my short break, not spend it recovering!!!

Hope you are keeping okay and that your son is enjoying his new job and Ava is giving you some lovely smiles 'over the web'.  How long before the family visits again?  My daughter was happy earlier in the week as Zack slept through the night two nights running (she hope it carries on this time - that last time he did this it did not last long!!!).  They are enjoying baby massage classes locally for four weeks and then she will re-join mum and baby group (has a couple to go to) much the same as she used to with her eldest.  Time is passing all too quickly but they bring a lot of joy.

Have a peaceful weekend, speak when I return.  Jules xx 

Hi Jules,

Hope you didn't work too hard yesterday and that you and hubby have a relaxing time in Bournemouth tomorrow.  Fingers crossed the weather is better for you.  I am a little nervous today as I have a meeting at the hospital with the consultant who was in charge of my Mum.  Won't go into detail but there were some issues when both my Mum and Dad were diagnosed and I wrote a letter a short while ago.  A&E have already replied regarding my Dad admitting that I was correct and that errors were made, which I still fail to understand; but my Mum's consultant wants to meet with me.  People have told me I will make myself feel worse by going over things again, but I just want to highlight things so that hopefully nobody else has to go through what I did.  Anyway wishing you a peaceful weekend.  Hope x

Hi Jules,

Hope today flies by at work and all that book shifting doesn't leave you sore!

Enjoy your pre-weekend pamper tomorrow (hair appt and manicure,)  have a safe trip to Bournemouth and enjoy a fabulous weekend!

Look forward to hearing about it when you return!

Love and hugs to you and hubby, Jo xxx

P.S. Annabel, have PM'd you xx

Hi Jules

Great news you can still make your weekend away which you truly deserve.  Forgot to ask have you now recovered from your tumble on the stairs.

Hope hubby gets some relief from the backache he has been experiencing and hopefully the steroids will give him more of an appetite.

I don't know how you do it Jules and then having to visit your mum and then hold down a job at the same time.

You are one true superwoman.

Take care and enjoy your weekend and chat soon

Mickied

Hi Jules,

It's yet another wet day here today, not raining hard but enough to get you wet and it's quite dark so if I have any typos it's because I am having trouble seeing the keyboard.

Hope your back is not so bad today; books are deceptively heavy. Don't blame you for not going in for 6.30 a.m. and glad you didn't have the 12 hour shift. I am very impressed with your husbands specialist and pleased you have someone who cares so much. It makes such a difference.

My youngest grandson was quite upset that he didnt get his story last night. He told his dad to phone me up so I could do one over the telephone for him, cheeky monkey.

Hope you both have an enjoyable weekend, take care and look forward to talking again soon, Brian.

Hi Hope,

Just read your post to Jules. I think you are doing the right thing by making the hospitals aware of the errors. Too many people seem to be prepared to accept bad treatment which in my humble opinion only makes things worse in the long term. I admire you for for taking action for as you say it may stop it happening again. Yes there is the possibility it may brings things back that you would perhaps sooner like to try and forget but if what you are doing changes the system, it may even make you feel better. For if you had done nothing and had just accepted what had happenned, that in itself could have played on your mind and end up being something you had regrets about in time to come. So well done Hope and as always, if today's meeting does cause you upset, your forum friends are here ready and willing to try and help you, you have only to let us know.

Best wishes, Brian.

Hi Hope,

Just read your post to Jules. I think you are doing the right thing by making the hospitals aware of the errors. Too many people seem to be prepared to accept bad treatment which in my humble opinion only makes things worse in the long term. I admire you for for taking action for as you say it may stop it happening again. Yes there is the possibility it may brings things back that you would perhaps sooner like to try and forget but if what you are doing changes the system, it may even make you feel better. For if you had done nothing and had just accepted what had happenned, that in itself could have played on your mind and end up being something you had regrets about in time to come. So well done Hope and as always, if today's meeting does cause you upset, your forum friends are here ready and willing to try and help you, you have only to let us know.

Best wishes, Brian.

Hi Brian & Mickied,

Thank you both so much for thinking of me today.  The meeting went well, and went on for an hour.  The consultant was nice and agreed that the complaints I had made were very valid and that practice needs to change.  He made suggestions for change and asked me what I thought; now he wants me to write a letter to him to clarify what we discussed so he can take it higher.  So I am very glad that I followed my gut feeling and went ahead with the complaint; although I felt a little emotional after I also feel quite proud and that I have done right by my Mum and Dad.  Brian, hope all is good with you ad Mrs B and that your brother-in-law gets on OK with his new consultant.  Mickied, hope all is good with you and that you haven't had too much rain. 

Jules - sorry for hijacking your thread, hope you have had a good day too.  Hope xx

Hi Jules and Hope,

Thank you both for your kind messages. What a change in the weather at the moment, not a cloud to be seen.

Brother-in-law saw the specialist yesterday and didnt seem happy with their local doctor. In fact he told them he was going to phone him personally. They were told he is to have the hormone injection on Monday (nearly three weeks after he should have had it) So all in all they were quite pleased to get things rolling.

Hope you both have a great weekend and look forward to talking to you both again soon. Best wishes, Brian

Hi Annabel, Hope and Brian

Well,the galavanting duo got back p.m. yesterday.  Managed to get away just after 12.30 Friday having had visit from community nurses in the morning (just to get hubby registered in the system now that he has extra 'as and when required' drug to take.  Despite teeming rain half way through journey 2hrs later hubby drove into hotel car park. Right on the seafront with one hell of a gale blowing we fought (literally with the elements) to get inside. This left hubby gasping for air and unable to speak at the reception so I did the necessary whilst he caught his breath.  The staff were great and came and helped me unload the car then took everything to room. From then on it was a very good weekend. Beautiful food, great service, good company. Lovely meal Friday evening followed by disco till midnight.  Hubby drove (5mins) into Bournemouth town centre on Saturdayafter leisurely breakfast and we strolled through the gardens, watching a few 'maniacs'kayaking and surfing' the waves, dodged a couple of heavy downpours (pub for cofee and cake) enjoying company of friends.  Returned to hotel mid afternoon and the 'boys' went for a nap whilst the 'girls' had tea and a chat before changing for main evevent banquet and then live music till  1 a.m. (hubby coped fairly well but told my friend he was frustrated at not being able to do things - she told him she was just glad he was there!!)  (He rarely danced when he was well and that just meant us women carried on as normal - no handbags to dance around though) (I was not at the table when this took place but she told me later - she has a very good insight into things as her son in law has battled bone cancer twice as a 19 yr old and then some 9 years ago when their grand-daughter was just a year old - he lost the full use of one arm but does an amazing job has house husband and his remission continues at present).

On Sunday it was a beautiful morning and we had a good run home (but its very obvious today that he is drained). Great that we managed the time away (and have the photos to prove it!!).  I am pleased I booked today as holiday and have caught up with the housework/washing and so normality (whatever that is) is restored.  Next week his doc will go through things with him as to how he coped with new medication (well he is taking the steroids for 1 week and so far has taken  a couple of the extra pain relief pills (whilst we were away) but he did enjoy wine with meals and several shorts each evening (without appearing to suffer adverse affects). Today he has managed breakfast but has been asleep most of the morning and suspect a lot of this is due to the effort he put into the weekend (and now he is in the comfort of his own home again).

Hope you all  had good weekends too and have not formed webbed feet with the rain.  Will be back to chat again.  Jules xxx

Hi Jules,

So pleased you had a great weekend and enjoyed your time away. It will have done you both good especially you for you have been working so hard at work and have face the added stress of not knowing how your husband was feeling. So pleased to hear your specialist is so good and that she made arrangements for your husbands medication to be available before you went away. They do say a change of scenery is as good as a rest. It must be so frustrating for your husband not being able to do things he used to as I found out when I broke my bone last year and was confined to the upstairs for three weeks.

Brother in law saw the oncologist on Friday and he was not happy with the local GP. Brother in law has got to see a bone specialist as well now for he has cancer in his hip joint. If he has a fall this could easily break so has to very careful. He was told he may need a hip re-placement. His oncologist also phoned his GP and has sorted things out with him. Would like to have been a fly on the wall when that conversation took place. Brother in law has today had his hormone injection which is nearly three weeks overdue and was also still being prescribed a tablet which he should only have taken for a short while. He was told to dump the rest of them. Sister in law again reiterated I seem more knowledgeable than his GP and has thanked me for the information I have given them. My wife seemed very relieved it has at last been sorted out.

I hope your visit to your mother goes well tommorow and that you are able to hold a two way conversation with her when you tell her about your weekend trip.

Anyway I have rambled on enough, take care and am sending best wishes as usual, Brian.

Hello Jules Im so glad you both enjoyed your time away and that you took photos to look back on I was a little worried when you said hubby was gasping for air as my Tony was put on home oxygen and portable to take out although that was coming to the last year of his illness.Tony was diagnosed in Oct 2010 and passed away Feb 5th 2013,bless him he had to have his lung drained 3 times a week to start with district nurses came in to do that eventualy he didnt need this done thank goodness ,he never complained and didnt want to know any details about his illness ,I found out as much as I could via Dr and mc millan nurse ,he was so brave .The weather here in Cornwall is realy bad I have never seen rain or heard wind like it it seems to be non stop I havnt been out with Rusty yet but must brave this weather soon he needs walk he dosnt mind the rain .I bet the time away recharged your batteries.and time with friends will have done you both good and I expect you will be back to work soon .Take care Jules hope to talk soon ..Susananne x

Hi Jules,

Welcome back,so lovely to hear from you.

I am glad to hear you had a great weekend, despite the weather!!!! hasn't the wind been awful, and despite your husbands condition and the fact that he doesn't dance, so many men of our generation don't. Or if they do you wish they didn't !!!!!!!LOL. !!!!!!!

It sounds to me like your husband put a lot of effort into the weekend so that you could both enjoy it.

Good friends and fun times to be rememberd with photos. Lovely.

Back to reality tomorrow, but for the rest of today enjoy.

My husbands Birthday today so off to bake a cake for him now I have finished cleaning.

Better make some cakes for when Ava brings her Mum and Dad up on Thursday.

Haven't had chance to see if feet are webbed, boots firmly still in place. LOL.

hugs

Annabel. xx

Hi Susananne

Yes I have no doubt there will be more difficult times ahead although the people I have had contact with so far (mesothelioma sufferers) have so many differing symptoms/time scales (from 3 months from diagnosis to still living reasonably 7 years on!!) that I am learning to take things on a day to day basis.  Hubby suffers slight breathlessness when going uphill though still manages two full flights of stairs (our bedroom is in the loft space!!) every night and his breathing returns almost to normal once he has sat down for a few minutes.  His consultant said this has been down to his general health (pretty laughable for a 40 a day man!!).   Its 2 yrs next week since formal diagnosis and so far so good as he has not needed any drainage procedures or hospital inpatient care but has had very good consultant/gp support (ongoing) and now has a district andcommunity nurses (on his consultant's team) to call  as and when he feels necessary and they are also monitoring his pain relief from time to time. Like your Tony he does not complain about his illness but I know his biggest frustration is not being able to work and that is the cause of much of his sadness. He popped into his workplace last Monday and though the driving left him tired he was so pleased to have been able to help guide them through a problem.  They keep him in the loop from time to time (his boss was his former apprentice and they have a special bond which has led to continuing personal support to us both so we are very lucky).

I too will be very happy when the weather improves (we were like Peter Pan and Wendy in the hotel car park - huge umbrella was a definite mistake as it made it harder to walk just a few yards to the reception desk - so much for trying to protect my newly cut hairdo!!)  At least it gave us something to laugh about later when we chatted to our friends about it.  We already have front garden full of crocus and snowdrops with daffodils in bud and tulips growing - I am surprised they have not been washed away.  Today however has been dry (frosty start) and have got my washing dry and ironed so not all bad.  Tomorrow is my  normal day off so I return to work on Wednesday but am facing two days of travel nightmares as tubes are due to go on 48hr strike so will have longer walk and then have to get a  bus into town - hey ho.  Hopefully you and Rusty will soon be enjoying the delights of St Austell walking for pleasure again soon.  Have been there many times in years gone by as many of our holidays were in Cornwell (the last one down your way was to Mevagissey where we stayed at a B&B which is now owned and run by the manager who used to run the store where I work) - he finds it less stressful cooking breakfasts for guests that he did in retail!!

Well thats enough rambling by me.  Had better check that my meat has defrosted so I can start sorting the plans for dinner.  Hubby polished off double scrambled egg and a pint of milk for lunch so perhaps the steroids are having an impact on his appetite as he ate better at the hotel as well (though that could be down to a better chef than he has at home).

Take care of yourself my virtual friend and thanks again for taking the time to chat to me.  Its really appreciated. Jules xx

Hi Brian

So pleased you were able to help your sister and brother in laws with some much needed information/advice and I do hope now that its been sorted out with his doctor they will be able to moved forward with his treatment on a more even keel.  I thinks its so important to have trust in those that are helping you with your illness not matter what you are suffering from.  Peace of mind can help the body and certainly helps with the stress.

Hope  you will be able to see your grandchildren this week and your cheeky youngest enjoys more stories by his grandad.  My hubby is going to the hospital with our daughter on Wednesday to hold the  baby whilst she has her bloods taken (follow up to check that her iron levels are okay following difficulties at the birth).  She has a cold at present and though my hubbymight prefer to postpone  the trip but as he says you can pick a cold up anywhere and he wont let that stop him!!  I think the driving at the weekend was the most tiring aspect (though no complaints from him) as today he has been napping quite a bit but has not needed the extra pain relief  yet so that it  a good sign.  Alsothe steroids do seem to have helped with his appetite a bit.

Will let you know how visit to Mum goes (I have learnt to expect nothing and be pleasantly surprised if I get feedback - maybe thats my protective shield coming in to play!!).

Sending peaceful thoughts.  Jules xx

Hi Annabel and happy birthday to your other  half. Bet he will enjoy the cake - made my mouth water just reading that bit.  Hope you have a lovely time with your daughter, son in law and Ava when they visit and it would be an added bonus if the wind/rain would let up. Today has been dry in Middlesex so got my washing dry and ironed (does not take long to get back into the 'norm'  once more.  You are right that hubby made a really big effort to enjoy the weekend as best he could (am sure the extra steroid medication is helping which is what the consultant planned when she arranged for him to have the drugs prior to us going away) but so far since being back he has not needed the extra pain relief (we have to keep a diary note of when he needs it so that when the community nurse calls in it can be monitored (next due in a week to check all going okay with new meds).

Look forward to hearing all about how Ava is getting on (bets shes gorgeous) and hope you are taking some time for yourself when you finally shed your boots.  Chat again soon.  Jules xx

Hi Jules,

So glad to hear you and hubby had a well deserved break, sounds like you both enjoyed yourselves.  Will keep fingers crossed that hubby's new medication regime goes well, hope you didn't have too much washing/housework to catch up with today on your day off work.  Hope x

Hi Brian,

Good news that your brother-in-law has a specialist that is finally getting things rolling; must be a relilef for the whole family.  Take care.  Hope x