Back in the land of the living…ish

Well, it’s been a while folks, but to be honest, the last couple of months have been the toughest I’ve ever had to cope with – and updating the blog was way down my list of priorities.  When the lovely people at Royal Berks told me the stem-cell transplant treatment was tough, they weren’t joking.  Although in reality, it’s the high-dose chemo you receive immediately before the transplant that causes the problems - as I said in my last update, it felt more nuclear-dose than high-dose.  Suffice to say, I never, never, never want to have to go through that again.

Anyway, although I do still have to go through a series of radiotherapy, I feel like I’m now on the mend.  This means I’ve now got a semi-reasonable level of immunity (enough to see people and get out and about) and am very slowly regaining my strength.  Along with that, my desire to return to some semblance of normality i.e. leave the house occasionally and get back to doing some work has kicked in big-time.  I've never been famous for my patience! I drove myself to the shop and back for the first time last week, have started going on short dog walks with Kevin and the hounds and even went out for a birthday meal on Saturday night (a friends, not mine – that party will be in June!).   

My taste buds have started to come back as well which is fab – being able to actually taste what I’m eating feels like such a bonus!  And thank the Lord, after pouring a glass and tasting it with much trepidation, I'm delighted to confirm that I do still love wine!!  So, I have also been enjoying the odd little tipple of a lovely NZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc I found… ;-)

The only downside of all of this activity is that whenever I actually do any of these things, I need to ‘have a little rest’ afterwards, which makes me feel bloody ancient.  I mean, I know I’m getting on, but this is ridiculous!  I’m hoping that this requirement for ‘rest’ will reduce as time goes on – after all, Spring has now well and truly sprung, which means we’re approaching silly season in the Henley neck of the woods and I’ll need to be fully recovered to cope with that…