Neglected Blog

I seemed to have done it again, sometimes I can write on my blog and have plenty of things to say and other days/weeks I forget or feel that there isn’t more worth while mentioning.

So far things are going ok and the last few days have been really good. It was Charito’s birthday on Saturday and we spend the day visiting garden centres and doing a bit of shopping for a few handbag. For some reason every woman needs a new handbag to match something else they haven’t bought yet, like a blouse or a pair of shoes that they will need to buy to match the handbag. So forever the circle goes!

The sun has been shining and made such a difference to the way I feel. I’ve also gone back to using my bright yellow Toyota Celica. Although the Citroen Xsara Picasso is a good car, for some reason I felt as though I was a disabled person on my last legs. (which may or may not be true). Driving around in the Celica makes me feel a lot better especially in the sun, although it is harder to get in and out of.

I’m not the type of person to give up and not to be positive, but I felt that the Picasso was doing that to me. When ever I parked up in a disable location and looked around at the other people, they were all driving similar vehicles, which just isn’t me.

I may get strange looks using the Celica as a disabled car, but at it makes me feel a bit better. Maybe I am different, always staying positive when I can. I obviously have my down days as we all do, but if it helps keep me going, then why not have a bit of fun.

I have a feeling that my platelets might be a bit low this week, I will have to wait to find out on Friday. I’ve had a few little cuts on my hand and they are taking a while to heal.

Nigel is coming over to stay for a couple of days (or at least one) so we are planning to try and get some photographs done, especially while the weather is good.

He hasn’t had any information regarding his DLI yet, but I think that will be done in the next few weeks as they aren’t going to be hanging around with it.

I always feel a bit guilty when I write about myself and what I am going through, compared to other blogs that I read, I have it relatively easy! (at the moment anyway). I know I whinge about my treatment not working and my paraprotein climbing all of the time, but at least I don’t have the liver and kidney problems that others have. I do have bone pain and nerve damage to my feet and hands, but I’d rather have that, than go through some of the treatment that my blog friends are going through!

From one myeloma patient to another, it is difficult to give encouragement as I’m sure we have all found, everyone is different. We all get treated differently the drugs work differently and our outcomes are different. So what do we do or say to stay positive. Well basically what everyone else is thinking, hang on in there and do what needs to be done, we don’t have much choice really.

Meeting up with others with the same or similar cancer can be encouraging, knowing what they have gone through, but it shouldn’t be taken as that’s how it is going to be for you.

When I speak to newly diagnosed patients, I try to avoid telling them that I have had several lots of treatment, all of which have have failed and two transplants that didn’t work. For them it may work first time and give them several year, we are all different, instead I try to stay positive for them and tell them how I got through the treatment without too much pain etc and hopefully encourage them to continue with their own treatment, without too much worry.

I personally get to have the same type of encouragement from others that have gone through similar treatments and been told they haven’t got much longer to live, only to prove them wrong by living several years more than expected and are still going. I’m going to be one of those.

So driving around in my yellow car makes me feel better, especially in the sun and if it helps towards getting some extra time on the earth with Charito, I don’t care what other people think.

Maybe I should dye my hair pink! to see if that helps as well!!!

Watch this space.