Tuesday 22nd January 2019
“I don’t think there’s a public in the world who respond like the British to a call for charity” — Terry Wogan
I slept like a log last night thanks to resisting having a nap when I got home from hospital. Yes I had to get up twice to pee in the night, that goes without saying. I’m still drinking lots to flush the system. That said, it’s the codeine keeping the back pain at bay. I had some before bed, and needed it again when I woke up, although the pain is improving. The Solpadeine packet tells me I could be addicted after just 3 days. Today is day 2. I will be mindful of that !
I also woke about 2am in a bit of a sweaty state, clearly my body is still up to something, fighting off this infection. I thought it best to sleep on a towel and in a t-shirt in case it continued. Lovely.
The first order of business each day now is remembering to take a multitude of medications. Antibiotic 1, Antibiotic 2, painkillers, along with the vitamin c and multivitamins I’m proactively taking, and then the needle into my belly. Still 3 of them to go after today.
Today was all about rest. I’m still fighting the infection, I’m still tired from it and the less I do, the quicker it will pass. No work today, pure rest. I planned to just sit and do nothing most of the day, with a quick trip to the supermarket to pick up some necessary supplies like milk and bread. On the whole, that’s what I’ve done, and I haven’t felt up to much more at all. Roll on bed time…
I’m back at the hospital tomorrow to find out the results of all of yesterday’s tests, see what drugs I need to take ongoing, and hopefully get the OK for chemo on Friday.
However, in other news, this morning I looked like this, as chipper as ever…
You may recall I joked yesterday about going for a Mohawk before all my hair falls out. (Incidentally I pulled at some hair above my ear this morning and ended up with a small bald spot. It’s really happening. I am also one of the chemo patients putting on weight, they weigh you a lot and I notice it’s a consistent upward trajectory, note the 2nd chin appearing.)
Well, I woke up to a good friend having posted on my facebook timeline suggesting a £20 donation for charity if I do the mohawk, already sporting comments from others also willing to donate. In hindsight, I sold myself out a bit too cheaply, agreeing to get it done tomorrow if I got £100. I setup a justgiving page, which I was due to do at some point to raise money for The Christie through my September bike ride. I then posted it to facebook, and it was less than an hour before we hit £100 !
Given I’d pulled a big chunk of hair out already, I thought to be fair I’d wander to the hairdressers today. It’s not hard sitting in a chair for 20 minutes for a good cause, I could always nap afterwards 🙂 I wasn’t sure if there would be enough hair left tomorrow, and now there was charity money on the line ! So here I am…
I have no idea how long it will last before it falls out. I was actually bricking it in the hairdressers chair, I can’t tell you how much I’ve been dreading parting with my hair. Quite trivial in the context of other things that could go wrong. It’s not really “Job Appropriate” either but I’m currently sidelined from work with the infection, at best I’ll work from home and with 4 days of chemo coming up, the mohawk will never see the office.
The best thing by far though is that Sue’s initial £20 pledge has already morphed into £335 for a fantastic cause. That’s one third of what I was hoping to raise in the whole of 2019. I’ve done a lot of fundraising over the years, but this was one of the simplest things I’ve ever done. Sue, I raise a Peroni to you !
A huge thanks to those who have donated so far, you are all amazing. A huge thanks in advance if you decide to contribute too, you are also amazing. And not forgetting those of you who would like to contribute but for one reason or another you can’t, or you already donate elsewhere. That’s great too ! (Maybe don a mohawk instead.)
The Christie is an amazing place, and as I’ve said on my fundraising page, bluntly, it’s keeping me alive. This feels like the least I can do… and it’s far easier than lugging my fat ass and 2nd chin around 100 miles of hills is going to be in September…
Phil's BEP Chemo Journey 