Yes, Caroline, I, too,was bragging that I had never had it, although all around me were falling victim. My mother always told me it doesn't pay to brag about anything! 
It hit me very suddenly in the middle of the afternoon on the hottest day of the year.  Thought it might be the effects of the heatwave, as I did once suffer from sunstroke as a child. Then my throat started hurting, and my head aching, so I did a test. When it showed positive, I didn't believe it, so I did another one, very carefully, so I had to believe it when that was also showing positive!

Yesterday I had the typical common cold/Omicron symptoms, cough, sore throat, headache, but apart from that I felt ok.  Today, I have all those on speed, plus, I want to go back to bed and sleep all day. My daughter is coming to take Archie to her house so I can do. I can barely speak, my head is banging, my throat feels raw and I am coughing for England.  I am so rarely ill,  that I'm grumpy when I'm not well, and I'm really grumpy now!  I will feel better when my meds kick in, I hope.

My son FaceTimed me yesterday and made me promise to let him know if I get worse and he will come up.  Hmm!  Do I want the tender administrations of my loved one? Mmm y-e-s, but do I want to be smothered with love and force fed, allowed to do nothing? Perhaps not!  Hopefully I'll be back to normal in the five days they say it will last.

It just shows, mother is always right!

Christine x

Oh dear and welcome to the club! Don't want you being in a special club full of the few that haven't had it...

Those social occassions are lovely but lethal...I hope you had fun at the get together....and it was worth it. I got mine en route back from the Edinburgh fringe last year - well worth it.

Glad to say I've recently had my over 75s booster as 'they' still think I'm extremely vulnerable (!!) and am not one to look a covid gift horse in the chops

Hope you're better soon...I think you love the extra attention from those ultra concerned children of yours really...ha!!

Xx

Hi girls,

I am happy to say I'm back in the land of the living! So much for five days! I was still testing positive two weeks later and then it took me another week to start feeling vaguely human again. Three weeks of enforced idleness is no fun when you have to catch up with all the jobs you should have done in that three weeks, but I am getting there, slowly but surely. The only outstanding task yet to be completed is to groom Archie.  I got as far as trimming the hair under his feet and cutting his toenails but he keeps avoiding me if I even look at his box of brushes, combs and sprays. A Sheltie takes a lot of brushing!

During my enforced idleness I reread all our conversations on here and was amazed at how much I had forgotten about my cancer stuff already. I was surprised to see how many people other than we three had popped in for a visit. If any of those people are reading this, please say hi and let us know how you are doing.

As I was reading our messages to each other, a little voice in my head kept wondering who holds the copyright to our ramblings because it felt for all the world as though I was reading an interesting and amusing book, and such a book would be really useful for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients to see there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  My brother sent me a book written by two doctors who had both had breast cancer who were able to write about the condition from both sides. That probably helped to make me as accepting as I was about the whole palaver!

I have done quite a lot of work today, so I am resting with my feet up reading news on the iPad. I feel for the mother of the little boy whose life support was turned off today, but totally get why it had to be and thank heavens I have been fortunate enough to never face anything like that in my life.

On that note I shall close, wishing you a fine and happy weekend, lots of love,

Christine xxx

Oh Christine, your message did make me smile. You fancy writing the book? :wink: 

Sounds like Covid gave you a tough time. But glad to hear you are now picking up, although I bet Archie is keeping a wide berth! Wow - to read through all those message must have taken a while! I am now tempted to go back to the beginning to read through too. 3 years does seem like a lifetime away and I have to say while my normal is kind of different nowadays (more appreciative of life but different worries too) I do think the cancer journey we went on seems so far away. 
Im currently waiting for a date for an MRI and my annual mammogram. Not overly worried about either to be fair - although I do seem to be checking my boobs quite a lot at the moment! 
Life is its usual busy. My eldest son is off back to the US on Wednesday to start his second year at college. Not home again until Dec. Got a few weekends away planned for this month and did have 5 days in Weymouth at the end of July. It was my 25th wedding anniversary last week and we are off on a cruise in October. My plan is now to shift some tummy stodge. I've bought myself a new trend hula hoop and am aiming to do it everyday (let's see how long I manage :laugh:

Sam - have you stopped working now? If so, how is life going? 
Right off to bed. Take care ladies xx 

Hi ladies

I am here and reading! Sorry it has been a delayed response – am just being cr4p.

And what a day, poor Liz eh, I mean she had a jolly good innings and all that but still sad, I do like looking at the vox-pops of funny stories/Paddington/James Bond etc., makes me shed a little tear.

Glad you are back Christine – though two weeks of idleness I could do with right now (not the cause though!).  Good to know you passed the time reading about us…am sure that helped the recovery go that little better.  My BCN suggested I write a book, not altogether sure why but it would fall into my CBA folder (can’t be ar5ed)

On a work countdown to finishing, thankfully, just really cannot be bothered anymore…luckily only 4 weeks left but motivation of any sort is significantly lacking and am having a really busy day (though not so busy I can’t finally reply – priorities and all!!). My leaving do is 6 October…am hoping my colleagues have taken on board that I don’t want any more clutter in my house and that John Lewis vouchers will be most welcome…we’ll see.  I think the boyfriend is worried that I’ll have nothing to do, I do keep reminding him that I have several long term projects that still require completion (like the cushions but worse) that are of a DIY nature and I find getting bored is just not in my nature.  Soon I too will have time to re-read our journey and will definitely be sorting an unruly garden out…

Caroline – bad news re son, be glad it wasn’t a car I guess but hope he’s doing well and recovering ok

Most excitement of late was my annual trip to the Edinburgh fringe; you will not be surprised to know it was not filled with highbrow events but with great (and dodgy) comedy and lots of food & drink.  We stayed in a lovely apartment on the Royal Mile, however now am semi-retired this will be the last of that sort of nonsense! Sensible hotels in future…

The excitement above was only marginally eclipsed by the completion of another long-term project, after a decade I finally defrosted my freezer (gosh, the fun in my life eh?). It had got to the point that I could not shut the door fully and then at all and what with all these ridiculous energy prices thought it probably was not a good thing so finally the day came.  I’m glad to say that the contents that I had been finely curated over a number of years survived and will now live to a ripe old age in a cold (but now snow and ice filled) home that I can now actually fit all the drawers back in.

Been suffering so much with all the hot weather of late, that combined with hot flushes ( think they’ve got worse since I stopped the zolodex which stops oestrogen production, goes to show its worked I guess?) have made me a very miserable lass….thankfully as I write it’s raining and a balmy 16 degrees…bliss!  I know the north still suffered from the heat this year but will be so glad to get back up there for the coolness (people and temperatures!!).

Recently had my annual mammo too and given I haven’t heard anything a  month later am thinking all is fine, I’ll chase at some point but not bothered tbh.

Caroline – hope your mammo & MRI went well and the hula-ing is going well, I have tried this and like tennis, dancing, aerobics there is just not enough co-ordination in my body to allow for such activities, some days ( well most days actually) it is a struggle not to fall over my own feet.

Keep well ladies X

Maybe I should change my photo to a freezer now??

Hi Sam,

Sorry, but I don't think defrosting (freezer) is on a par with making (cushions)  Nice to hear from you again, it feels a long time.  Roll on retirement eh?  My daughter has been officially retired for two weeks now.  She had her final salary payment with lump sum, but as yet she doesn't know how much pension she is going to get.  She had a letter from her pension department with higher figures than she was expecting, then a conversation with said department knocked her back down to her original estimated figure, then she got a letter from the Inland Revenue, acknowledging her new position of retiree with a warning that she will still need to pay tax on her pension, but, like you, she is an accountant and knows about these things, and she knows that she will only be required to pay tax on her pension, this year or in future, if she gets the higher figure she has been told she isn't getting. So she's none the wiser about her monthly pension.  The reason for the confusion is about how the pension is calculated. The pension amount is based on the highest three years of earnings in the last thirteen years, I think, but don't quote me.  Her problem is she had to reduce her hours, because of her health a few years ago, which sort of skews the calculations. She is sensible so is expecting no more than her original calculation, and if it's more, whoopee!  Her work colleagues gave her a good send off, with a night out and an envelope full of money, to buy her own present! Just casually mention that to yours and that might give them a hint!

It is my son who got knocked off his motorbike, not Caroline's. On the day of the accident he had to be lifted off the road and into the ambulance and spent hours in A&E, having  X-rays and scans done, ending up with them telling him he had a broken nose, split chin, six broken ribs and a broken arm in two places.  Great, could have come off much worse.  A few days later he had to go back to the hospital to have his chin sorted by the Plastics team, and he was supposed to be seen by Orthopaedics to set his arm properly BUT they couldn't get an appointment for that, so they got their doctor to refer him to go private.  His new set of tests, last week, showed he has two broken arms, a smashed wrist and two broken feet as well as the ribs and nose. He seems to be in fairly good spirits, despite everything. He suspected one of his feet was damaged in some way because it crunched (and hurt a bit) when he walked the dog! It doesn't bear thinking about if those breaks had not been discovered, he could end up crippled!

I was quite sad when the Queen died, it certainly feels like the end of an era.  From what I've seen, Charles will do a good job, he's had enough time to prepare for it. The wall to wall coverage has been a bit much, although I did watch the procession today.  My daughter, who is usually a tough old bird has been quite emotional about it all and I am the only person among those I have spoken to about it, who actually remembers the last Coronation.  I also remember falling in love with the Duke of Edinburgh thinking he was gorgeous. I was only six!  I have a distinct memory of walking in two's from our infant school to a canteen for school dinners, about half a mile away and the conversation was about Prince Philip now being called the Duke of Edinburgh.  Coronation day itself is clear in my memory, apparently  the pubs were selling a special Coronation Beer, that apparently was extra strong. We were the only family on our street to have a television, so the front room was full of my parents' friends and neighbours, and crates of beer.  The men were getting drunk and people who couldn't fit inside the room were outside  looking in the opened window!  According to my mother, there were more fights in the town that night than before or since. We lived on a main road, so my sister and I used to spend lots of time sitting in our bedroom window watching  the world go by. On Saturday nights, about 11.30, we used to wait for the last bus from the dance hall in the next town, bringing home all the teenagers. It always seemed so exciting, they were laughing and shouting and having so much fun, we were so envious.  Funnily enough, by the time we were old enough to join them times had changed and no one went there any more and they turned it into a bingo hall! 
I'm jealous about your Edinburgh trip. I used to go every year, to the fringe and to the Bank party at Hogmanay. Love Edinburgh but haven't been for a long time.

I'm a bit miffed that you've had your mammogram, I haven't heard from the BCN's since I had a phone call cancelling my July 1st checkup.  I used to get my appointment at that (telephone) checkup for my mammogram.  I called their office two weeks ago, to hear a promise to get back to me,"but it won't necessarily be today"  I called again, two days ago, still waiting for an answer to why I haven't  had either the checkup or the appointment date. It's a good job I don't think there's anything wrong. 
It is beginning to feel a bit cooler, in the mornings now, so no more heat wave. Actually, we might be glad of hot flushes this winter if we can't afford to put the heating on! 

Take care, 

Christine xx

PS Quick update, today, Friday, I have received a letter via the NHS Portal inviting me to an appointment with the Breast Specialist  Nurses on Oct 14th at 11.20am.  It will be interesting to see if I actually get there, or if it will be cancelled by telephone two days before, and I wonder if it was coming anyway or if it is a result of my reminder telephone calls.

Ciao xx

End of week 2 of not working and LOVING IT!  How I ever had time to do any work is quite frankly beyond me, most days I am really full on trying to get stuff done - luckily none of it that important.  Last week’s achievement was a jigsaw, the only problem is that I find such things very addictive and therefore will do them non-stop, hence I managed quite a challenging 1,000 piece in 2 days.  Love a jigsaw….

Do I miss work at all?  Not one bit!  Gave my leaving card/flowers and helium balloon a week before they were all recycled/chucked.  And even before your suggestion Christine I had already made it clear that I wanted ££ for my leaving gift not more clutter for my house! Am actually seeing probably the only ex-colleague I can be bothered to keep in touch with next week, a nice foursome with our husbands/partners….made even better by no work the following day.

Christine I hope your daughter is as over-joyed with her new life as I am, despite the fact that she wasn’t work shy like me and that she got her pension sorted to her satisfaction.

Anyway enough of annoying you with my (very lucky) non-work joy….

All good here, finally got annual mammo results back and all clear (never in any doubt luckily), after a brief hot weather related hiatus am back on the bike which, although quite muddy at this time of year, is lovely.  Yesterday I was cycling through loads of beautiful trees that were raining leaves on me, it was so uplifting….probably as a)its gorgeous but b)that nasty summer has gone.  The size of acorns and cookers this year re the heat of the summer…don’t think I’ve ever seen them so large.

As its going to be fine after today am going to tidy the garden a bit before it gets cooler-on the subject of which I reckon there’s a higher force at work making it warm so we don’t have to use too much very expensive energy - and long may it last!

My morning routine now consists of getting up at a normal time (7 to 8am - it used to be 5.30 to accommodate pre work exercise, ow!), a leisurely breakfast catching up with BBC news on iPad during which the cheekier of the cats walks all over the breakfast bar until I turn the tap on so it can drink from it which results in whomever is sat opposite me being covered in water spatter…nice.  Hygiene standards low here and all meal time are accompanied by at least 5 cat hairs.  It's also made worse by the propensity of cat hairs to stick to my compression glove, that and my naturally greasy skin ensures am always adorned somewhere by cat hairs....its a look!

Christine - hope your son continues his recovery, I love motorbikes and used to ride one (not very well or safely I hasten to add) but, due to car users, they are such a risky form of transport - one of the main reasons why I stick to bridlepaths as much as possible.  Hope your planned mammo happened, suspect like me you’ll be waiting weeks for results though.

Please tell me Caroline that you’ve had your MRI & mammo by now and all’s well?  And how was/is the cruise?  25 years is very impressive, especially by todays standards, I’ve been with my chap for 20 years but would only get married for tax reasons (ah, the romance…).

Hope all is well with both of you (and anyone else who is reading) and you’re having nearly as much fun as I am!

X

Hi ladies,

Lovely to hear from you both. All good here. I had my yearly mammogram in August - all clear. My MRI was also clear which was a relief! Also had to go for an urgent appointment at the gynae clinic, where they took a biopsy - the most painful thing ever!!! But all clear! So I'm "healthy" and cancer free! :happy:

Our 25th anniversary cruise was amazing. Far too much to eat and drink but walked a fair few miles around some lovely cities.  I even did a few visits to the ship's gym!! Going on the running machine while sailing through the Bay of Biscay was an experience :laugh: Think I only felt sea sick on the first night - but that may have been down to the amount of alcohol consumed - (well it was my birthday! ) as well as the choppy waters.
Work is pretty hectic. We've had people leave/go off sick/ due to leave so I've been doing extra to help out. Means I'm doing a lot of extra hours. Today was manic and I felt like I sat at my desk for all of 10 min as the day flew past so quickly.

My kids continue to make my life "interesting" My eldest, who is over in the US called on Friday to tell me he had gotten very drunk on his birthday night out, had his phone stolen, then found his phone but was unable to retrieve it (long story), retrieved his phone but case with drivers licence and bank card were gone. Phone then not charging so he has no access to money, potentially no phone! And is so far away there isn't a great deal we can do. Anyway, he has frozen bank card, using an old account and phone is now working. It's no wonder I have to dye my hair to cover the grey!! 

Sam - I have to say I did feel slightly jealous reading about how much you are enjoying "not working" and it did cross my mind to start thinking of how much longer I would want to work. My hubby has his own business and his plan is to retire mid 50's and travel. I think, in my head, I feel like a ticking time bomb - just waiting for the cancer to come back, so don't want to leave it too late but don't feel ready yet.

Christine, how did your appointment go on the 14th? Did you manage to get there, without it being cancelled and have you had your mammogram yet?

Well, I am knackered so need to head to my bed - had too many late nights recently and I'm looking more tired now than before I went away! (Only been back a week :laugh:)

Take care, catch up soon.

Caroline xx