The Computer Says No

Thursday 26^th May – A Brief Update

I said I’d update the blog when I had a health update.

Today I had my monthly meeting with the ENT Team.

If I’m honest it all seemed a bit “Sausage Factory”. My appointment was as 3.45, I eventually got seen as 4.30 by a Dr who’s name I didn’t catch & I hadn’t seen before. He didn’t seem overly interested in the answers I gave to the questions he asked & gave no real comfort to a couple of concerns I’d got. My taste buds had improved dramatically, but they seem to be heading south again & my throat is feeling pretty darn sore for the past 10 days or so, no answers or comfort came my way from the unknown Dr. Unfortunately there was no CNS Nurse in the meeting today, I guess they were tied up with new patients which is entirely understandable. So it was really a case of camera up the nose, down the throat, say cheese & we’ll see you next month. I doubt I was in the consulting room more than 5 minutes. I suppose I should really be grateful as I’m sure if they had any concerns I’d be told.

Earlier in the week we’d travelled up to deepest darkest Wales for my mother’s funeral. 440 miles, 8 hours driving, two cappuccinos, one bacon roll, three cheese & pickle sandwiches, a pint of bitter shandy. A long, long day. 5.30am start for the drive to Aberystwyth & the crematorium. As far as Crems go, this one got a 10 out of 10 Trip Advisor review. What a view from the room, right across the valley with just sheep, green fields & red kites in your vision. Apparently there’s an old people home just below the Crem, so at least they don’t have far to travel. It was then back to my folks house before an afternoon service of thanksgiving in the Methodist Church in Lampeter. It was an “interesting” service. I’m not religious at all I’m afraid & the minister seemed to be staring directly at me whilst the prayers were being read & the hymns sung, oh well that’s me going down below I guess. There was one fellow at the back of the congregation who’s singing voice was probably slightly worse than mine, & I’m tone deaf, hence miming. Anna & I both had to control a potential fit of giggles whilst he was attempting to hit the high notes. A quick dig in the ribs from Carol kept us on the straight & narrow. My young nephew Owen made a pretty darn good speech about his Nan, funny & accurate (mostly). It was then off to the Black Lion for the wake. The octogenarian Lampeter locals who were at the service suddenly came to life, elbowing all and sundry to one side, throwing women & children behind them to be first in the queue to for the cakes & sandwiches. My father uses this pub on a fairly regular basis, they obviously hold him in high esteem as whilst the rest of us devoured the cold platters he was treated to a dirty great big steak with all the trimmings! It was good to catch up with some reli’s we don’t see very often & I was quite surprised to find out that my blog had made it as far as Peterborough J By the end of the day my throat was bloody painful. This was the first time I’d worn a collar & tie since December, not counting the black tie night at OBR. I’m pretty sure my neck size has increased, as embarrassingly I was unable to do up my top button!

Now, a quick word about profiteering. Carol & I are off to Corfu in 2 weeks time. Our travel insurance has always been covered within our bank account. I thought perhaps it would be prudent to let them know I’d had a quick battle with cancer in case it made any difference. After giving AXA my details & explaining I was now in remission they promised to call me back the next day with a quote! And they did, £400 to cover a single 12 day journey. I went ballistic at the poor old rep on the phone. How the heck could they justify that sort of premium? A question she wasn’t able to answer, other than saying it was down to the underwriters. So after insisting on being transferred to the Underwriters I asked the same question. Justify that premium. Again, they weren’t able, or more likely weren’t allowed to tell me how that figure had been arrived at. Needless to say I didn’t take them up on their kind offer, but I’m sure there will be people who agree to that sort of ransom fee. After getting some advice from someone who’s been through the same type of treatment as me I managed to obtain a quote at £70 from “Insurance With”. Their Underwriter called me back, went through my treatment in detail, listened to my answers & made a commercial decision, rather than saying “The Computer says no!” which to be quite honest I wish AXA had said, rather than insulting me. I’m still debating whether to take the insurance out or not as I’m covered for anything not related to cancer & we’ve both got EHIC cards.

The next update, all being well, will be after my next Consultants meetings at the end of June. In the mean time Carol & I are off to do our best for the Greek cash crisis by injecting as many Euro’s as possible into their economy via local tavernas. It’s a tough job but I reckon we’ll be up for it!

Thanks for reading.

To be continued……………………..

#Shouldertoshoulder 

“Hello Darkness my old friend….. ”

Week 18

Saturday 7^th > Sunday 8^th

Well a quick recap of last night’s plans! Sea Bream is still in the fridge. The current Mrs Clark got home around 6pm, knocked back a glass of Prossecco & suggested we go to Nino’s as it was just the two of us! Well who am I to say no to a working woman! Off we trotted, hadn’t booked but were luckily squeezed in as even at 7pm they were just about full.

I had a wonderful cod dish done with olives & tapenade. Apparently it’s always been on the menu but after all these years I can’t recall having seen it. Back home by 9pm to finish the bottle of bubbly & an early night was taken.

Saturday started a bit early with me getting up at 5.45am!! After having a bowl of porridge, cup of tea & slice of toast I thought sod it! So went back to bed for another 3 hours J Even if I was sharing the bed with Snorey McSnoreface! That’s what the best part of a bottle of red wine does.

Then came the heart stopping moment of the day, yep it was getting the DJ out & seeing what state I’d put it away in last time I wore it. Luckily it was just before Christmas & I’d just had the biopsy which tried to kill me, so I wasn’t drinking that night. A quick trip to Reading Station to pick up the daughter & latest squeeze & then back home for beer on the patio with baked brie that was just about to make a break for it from the fridge, head down to Dover, jump on a ferry & get back home!! Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey!!

Tom took the obligatory photo of us looking smart before we headed off to OBR 

It was a cracking night, emotional in places. Max was awarded the Hutchinson / Frost Young Player of the Year award. 

This was a total surprise to all of us, but very much deserved. He’s got a few names to live up to who’ve won the trophy in the past. Azza. Duffers, Olly Poole……………. No pressure Max! 

I was quite moved by the good wishes I received from numerous different people on the night. OBR is very much a second home to us, having the whole family there for the first time in ages made the evening extra special.

Sunday was spent sitting in a deck chair in the garden, reading. & waiting for the hangover to disappear. That’s the first time I’ve overindulged since Christmas, I’d forgotten quite how bad I feel with a hangover. My throat is also pretty swollen today so I think a few days alcohol free are called for.  Early nights all round for us tonight.

Monday 9^th > Sunday 13^th

Monday wasn’t great I’m afraid. A poor night’s sleep again followed by an early morning. I managed to start work by 7.30 but was struggling to concentrate on even simple tasks. I eventually packed in around midday having completed probably about 75% of what I’d hoped for the day. A light lunch of Sea Bream & salad was followed by a 3 hour sleep in bed! Well they do say that sleep is a great healer. My throat has been extremely sore again today, as previously mentioned, the pain is now of the left of the throat, the tumour was on the right? Go figure.

It looks like British Summer Time has been & gone. After a glorious weekend Monday is drawing to a close with heavy rain. Now where did I put that thick sweater?

I’m a massive reader of books, especially self published authors. Some are good, some are poor & some are simple unreadable. At the moment I’m reading a book about Corfu in the winter. It’s written by a chap who knows Arillas well, & stays at Anna’s which is where Carol & I will be going in June. His book has given me a number of pointers for my own book converted from this blog. So far I’ve written 5 chapters & I’m only half way through January 2016! A good friend of mine offered a couple of years ago to look at another book that is in skeleton form before I even looked to publish is. Marjie, does the offer still stand? J

The rest of the week I’m afraid was a bit of a daze. As expected my mother passed away on Wednesday. Even though her quality of life had been non existent for the past few months it’s obviously a great loss & she’ll be sadly missed. My father is away with the fairies I’m afraid & phoned me three times to tell me that mum had died. I was as patient as I could be, but by the third call I was getting a tad feisty! You’ll have seen through this blog that I’m not exactly close to my father, but I do really feel for him at the moment. Hopefully he’ll be getting the care he needs in the Nursing Home he’s now in.

The date for the funeral hasn’t been set yet, but I’m guessing it’ll be the week commencing 23^rd May. It’s doubtful if the kids will be able to make it as they’ll both be in the middle of their exams.

Friday evening was spent in possibly the most expensive pub outside of London. £4.20 for a pint of Speckled Hen!!! But the company more than made up for the beer price. I’ve known Jools for over 20 years. We don’t see each other as often as we used to, but when we do we just fall back into the old ways. Friends like that can’t be bought.

I was feeling pretty rough on Saturday, very tired & a rather sore throat. However we still went out to dinner at some friends & had a wonderful evening. Superb food, lovely wines & best of all great company. Just what the Dr. ordered. As I was feeling a bit rough I drove so it was Carol who managed to sample the wines & single malts. A slightly sore head on Sunday morning.

Having read through the blog again, it’s obvious that the last few posts are turning into diary of day to day activities. That wasn’t what I’d originally planned & not how I want it to continue. As I’m recovering slowly there is less to write about cancer & the effects it’s having on us as a family. I think now is perhaps the time to put the blog to rest until there is something worth posting health wise. That’ll also give me time to concentrate on getting the book into some sort of order.

So for now, thank you for reading & your continued support.

To be continued……………………..

#Shouldertoshoulder

Apparently I’m in remission, often wondered what that means…….

“Remission….

A decrease in or disappearance of signs and symptoms of cancer. In partial remission, some, but not all, signs and symptoms of cancer have disappeared. In complete remission, all signs and symptoms of cancer have disappeared, although cancer still may be in the body.”

Monday 2^nd May

The rest of this blog is going to be written with just my own eyes in mind, however it’ll probably be published as per usual. If truth be known I’ve enjoyed putting into words what’s been going on in my life since Christmas. My decision to end the blog last week was taken in haste after getting the good news. Since the euphoria of the news from the hospital it’s been down to earth with a bit of a bang. My throat is as sore as it’s been since my treatment ended, I’m struggling to swallow properly. Sleep is becoming difficult too. So all in all not a great place at the moment. In my mind’s eye I guess I heard the news that cancer had buggered off & expected everything to be better straight away. That was never going to be the case & I’m still going to have really tough days ahead for the foreseeable future. The past Bank Holiday weekend was a case in point. I’ve hardly left the house since Thursday & have little energy to do anything productive. The weather was half decent, but I couldn’t even get the energy together to go for a bike ride.

Tomorrow I’ll be going back to work after 4 months off. I’m looking forward to the day to day contact with people, I’m not necessarily looking forward to the politics & box ticking of a big organisation. It’ll be for around 3 or 4 hours a day & I’ve only 5 weeks to work prior to going on holiday, so it’s a case of easing myself back into the flow. They key will be to ensure I don’t overdo things in the early days. This quote was posted on FB, probably sums things up perfectly - Road to recover is full of grumpy bear traps so don't let the idiots spoil your calm by being idiots.

This will be the next step on my road to recovery & probably worth recording for my own purposes. 

I’ve contacted the CNS Nurses regarding a Fitness Support Group that Jo mentioned when I saw her last. Whilst I’m cycling as & when I can I think a more regimented regime could do me some good. The lack of rugby between now & September means I’ve a bit of time on my hands, so let’s not waste it & get myself fit. Rams finished their season with a 33-33 draw down at Redruth, sounds like I missed a cracking weekend. Even as late as the Friday night I was considering driving down, probably too far to go in one day though.

A quick rant for this blog. I’ve been doing quite a bit of the household shopping of late & I’ve noticed that the vast majority of people in front of me at the checkout appear to be surprised that they have to pay! By this I mean when they’ve packed there last item into their shopping bags they haven’t already got their purse / wallet out ready to pay the cashier, or they’ve busy ferreting around for that one voucher that’ll save then 10p off of their £70.00 bill!!! Folks, if you’re buying stuff, be prepared to pay for it in a timely manner!

I’ve mentioned that my mother is in a Care Home in deepest darkest Wales, well it now appears as though my father will be joining her in the not too distant future. He’s been losing his marbles for some time now, it’s probably for the best & will make visiting easier when I can drive that far, not that either of them will know who the heck I am.

Tuesday 3^rd May

First day back to the grindstone. A pretty poor night’s sleep, but perhaps understandable. We were up fairly early, the laptop booted up by 8am. Not the most productive day I’ve ever had, but I didn’t really expect it to be so. A shed load of emails deleted, if I haven’t replied by now, I’m not going to! 2 sets of Statutory Training completed & a few mails sent to key contacts to say, “Hello, I’m still alive”.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM0zINtulhM Some pretty amusing replies too. One of which was "Don't worry about getting back to normal, normal is over rated!" The laptop was shut down at around 1pm as I’d done enough for one day. The morning was broken up nicely by a visit from old friends who were down from Solihull for the weekend. Mike & I used to work together, originally 35 or so years ago for Lloyds Bank & then again for Security Pacific. It was good to catch up over a coffee, it’s been too long. Carol & I will be making our way up the M6 later in the year. I rewarded myself for my hard work with a ribeye steak I found in the freezer (An advantage of only having 3 of us at home & buying steaks in packs of 4) topped off with a fried egg! Decedent? Moi? My intention was to take the bike out for an hour or so after lunch, my intention didn’t happen. After lunch I stuck the TV on for ½ hour or so, promptly feel asleep & woke up at 3.15 just before Max came back in from school!

Another couple of calls from darkest Wales today, my father is going into a care home as from tomorrow for a minimum of 4 weeks. My sister who lives on their doorstep is going away for a couple of weeks, & there’s no way we could get up there, or he could come down here, so little choice really & best all round.

There was a slightly strange feeling about today. I was almost thinking “Well, that’s the rest of my life planned out then”. Whilst I was off sick & waiting for the prognosis a part of me wondered if I’d ever get back to work again. Now that I’m on my way back it’s feeling a bit flat. Maybe once we get our holiday out of the way I’ll be able to settle back into the work routine. If not I may have to decide on my future plans.

The evening light was too good not to get the camera out - 

Wednesday 4^th May

“May the forth be with you” J

My morning at work was spent completing my first section of mandatory training. I’m sure most large companies do the same sort of thing, & I’m equally sure that those of a certain vintage don’t bother reading the workbook & go straight to the assessment. Well I failed one of the test 5 times (we need a minimum of 80% to pass) before finally getting a pass. I packed in around 1pm & went out for a bike ride. I reckon it was only about 8k & again I forgot to set Strava, but the exercise certainly got the blood flowing on what was probably the warmest day of the year. A now “AS PER USUAL” doze on the sofa was the recipe for the remainder of the afternoon, before prepping dinner :

A Clark patented recipe for your delight :

Chicken with pasta

Four chicken breasts, cubed.

1 red chilli, finely sliced.

1 red pepper, finely sliced.

1 stick of celery, finely sliced.

12 cherry tomatoes, quartered.

Large glass of white wine (drunk!)

Another large glass of white wine.

Put all the above ingredients in a large oven proof dish, season well. Stick in a oven, preheated to 180 degrees for around 30 mins.

After 30 mins stick your favourite fresh pasta into a saucepan of gently boiling water for around 5 mins, drain well & divide between 4 plates. Pile the chicken on top, open a half decent bottle of red & jobs a good ‘un! The sauce will be perhaps a bit runny, but the pasta should wipe that up nicely. You could add some grated parmesan if you wished, but I’m not a massive fan of the heat of chilli combined with cheese.

Having looked at the weather forecast for the next few days I think I’ll be digging out my shorts & flip flops, an advantage of working from home for sure & a chance perhaps to get a base tan before hitting Corfu! (In case anyone from RBH is reading, I’ll be wearing factor 50 on my face / neck)

Thursday 5^th May

Not a good day. I was up early after a poor night’s sleep & logged onto the laptop just after 7am. However I struggled to get much done as my throat was giving me hell & I was close to resorting to paracetamol to calm down the pain. Overall not a very productive day, either work wise or my own time.

Friday 6^th May

Throat was pretty darn sore again today. I worked through from 7am until midday & then packed in for the day. One of the things I’m finding quite challenging with going back to work is smoking. I very rarely smoked in the house, but as I work from home I’d often pop out onto the patio whilst speaking to people on the phone. Obviously I haven’t smoked since mid December & I won’t again, but I am finding it difficult at the moment.

I think I’ve found this week harder than I thought I would. Even the simplest of tasks have been difficult if you know what I mean! I guess I’ll have to head the advice given & take things easy for the first few weeks. I have no intention of making myself ill over this.

Max is over with current squeeze this evening, so Carol & I have a night to ourselves. Sea Bream has defrosted, I’ve yet to decide how to cook it, probably simple fry with potatoes & a salad as I can’t be bothered to do anything overly complex this evening.

The weekend should be good, health permitting. Anna is back down from Uni with the latest squeeze (Tom), & we’re all off to the Rams May Ball & Presentation evening tomorrow night. Max & Bella make up the Clark contingent. I think it’s the first time the whole family have been. It’s the one night of the year I get to wear my Honours Cap, awarded to me in the 2012/13 Season. I know I look a bit of a prat wearing it, I’ve never had the head shape to suit caps, but I’ll wear it with pride. An evening of Black Tie, Ball Gowns & decadence awaits.

Probably a surprise to be reading a blog post so soon? Well, I’m nothing if not a self publicist!

To be continued…………………………….

#Shouldertoshoulder 

The End??????????

#shouldertoshoulder

The End?? Who was I trying to kid……………….