COLD

HSMSHS has now moved to a new Facebook group which means I am more likely to join in as I spend a fair amount of time there!

Taken at Nantcol Waterfalls - his face says it all!

Today Pete goes to the hospital for a heart scan to see if there is any reason that he ended up in A&E with a dodgy ticker a couple of weeks back. Fingers crossed that they don't find anything.

COLD & CHATLESS

I keep meaning to post and then I realise I'm not in a chatty mood and stop, this seems to have been happening for a while now and more so in the last week. Not sure why as everything is OK and it's not like me at all, I am sure I will find my chat lurking in a dark, cold corner very soon.

Pete had 2 hospital visits to attend last week which were very well timed as it happened. Out of the blue 3 weeks ago Pete's driving went a bit strange and he ended up reversing into a kerb thingy at Matt's friends house to cut a long story very short it ended up costing us £112 to replace the tire that he shredded. The following Sunday he decided that he was on holiday and started to drive on the wrong side of the road, stopped only by my very loud screaming and grabbing at the wheel. The scary thing was he didn't realise he was on the wrong side and he wasn't even looking at the road while he was driving which explains why he didn't see the car heading towards us at speed. We had also noticed that he was having problems when he was speaking as he frequently couldn't think of the word he needed. Pete was worried which never happens. We re-read the leaflets that come with his medication with no luck so it was looked up on the Internet and hey presto his new tablets can cause, dizziness, confusion and hallucinations.

As luck would have it he was seeing the nurse 2 days later about his medication and it was here that he told them he would not be taking this medication any longer due to the side effects. They have now prescribed a better drug that does the same thing and that he was due to start this week but Pete has postponed this until we return from our hols. The next day he went to see Dominic, his kidney Doc, to get some results and have his quarterly check up. So for our records his kidney function is stable, low but stable it may have even gone up a little bit but Pete's weight has gone down so that could be effecting the results. Blood pressure and cholesterol are both OK. Blood count had dropped from 100 to 92 (160 is normal) in the space of 5 days which is not good but on the other hand it is high for Pete even with the sudden drop. His folic acid levels are high so he has to reduce that tablet to once a week. His epo injections are now ever 8 days instead of every 10 much to Pete's disgust. His B12 levels are low so he may need to start having injections of that in the near future as the tablets are not doing enough.

Since he stopped taking the immunosuppressants last week we have noticed a difference mainly that he is making a lot more sense when he is talking and his driving is back to normal and we feel safe again!
Last week we all had to go shopping for summer clothes, which is not easy when it is so cold outside and the shops still have their winter stock and dark colours. I failed miserably on Sunday at the Trafford Centre but thankfully Pete and the boys managed to get what they needed. I was luckier yesterday in Chester and managed to get enough things to see me through the holiday. I didn't need a lot but I did need some very light weight things to cover my shoulders as I am not allowed to show them when we are out and about in Oman and my whole summer wardrobe is full of strappy tops. So now the only thing left to do is get the suitcases out of the attic and pack them ready to go. I'm just hoping that this snow stops and Manchester Airport doesn't get closed before we fly out as I need to get warm and we will definetly manage to get warm in temps of 26c in the day and 18c at night.

Having a Whinge!

I'm in a moaning mood tonight and like Sue I think it is a good idea that I start making a record of what is happening health wise so that I can look back on it when I need to. Pete has been to the hospital today to get the results of his blood test from last week and to check on how his new drugs are going. The drugs (immunosuppressants (not sure this is how you spell it)) are going OK and he has to stay on the same dosage for the next few weeks and as they are not effecting his Liver at the moment the blood tests are now every 2 weeks instead of every week. They want him to start lowering the dosage of steroids down but he has told them that with the way he is feeling at the moment that there isn't a chance of that happening and it will just have to wait. The blood test taken last Tuesday says that his blood level is about 74 (should be 160) and the iron level is 3 (10 is very low). We know that it is now a LOT lower than that as he has was really ill on Thursday and Friday which will have effected his blood count with out a doubt. He was booked in for an iron infusion tomorrow BUT the hospital phoned late this afternoon to tell us that they could not get the iron until Monday !!! So now we have to wait and Pete has to suffer until then. He is going to see the Doc tomorrow to get a sick note for the rest of this week and next as there is no way he should be going in to work like he is.

Sorry that this post is a little depressing and boring but as I said this is more for me than anyone else. I will try and make the next post a little more up beat!

Pink or Not?

Over the next few weeks as I am going to busier than usual due to a rash decision that we made at the weekend while we were having a lazy day in Chester. For some reason we decided to go and have a wander round the sofa shops and ended up ordering this little beauty to go in our winter living room. We ordered the poof thingy in the plain grey material and my plan is to make some bright covers for some of the cushions. The first colour that came to mind was bright pink but I don't think I will get away with that living with 3 men so I have now narrowed it down to lime green, dark red or orange, the problem is my gut is still telling me to go pink.

So instead of the 12 weeks that I thought it would take for this sofa to arrive at we are now left with only 3 weeks to rip up the laminate floor, replace the rotten floorboards and beams, strip the walls, re wallpaper, paint and get a carpet fitted before it arrives. All this on top of me going away for a girly few days with Mima and Sue, having a plumber in to fit a new boiler which will take 3 days, school holidays, my step sister visiting with her 4 year old and 2 year old for a few days, work and college work. Hmmm not sure how this is going to work but I am sure I will make it, somehow. Just to make things a little more complicated I am picking up Pete's new medication tomorrow ready for him to start taking tomorrow night. Apparently it may make him feel really ill but unless he is actually sick or gets bad pains in his pancreas (not sure how he will know that's what is hurting) he has to ride it out until it eventually stops. Which means that he may not be a lot of use over the next few weeks - how well timed is that?

HS:MS - PERCH

That's it from me for now as I have to go and watch Heroes as I am finding it difficult typing and reading subtitles at the same time.

Eeeee By 'Eck

I managed to take a picture on the day instead of using a photo I already have. Wonders will never cease!! I'm not holding my breath though as I will probably have "can't be arseditus" again by tomorrow.

Anyway on to the shot I actually took this morning.

We have a waiting game going on here at the moment as the powers that be have decided to mess with Pete's medication. It was supposed to happen yesterday but the nurse that he needed to see was off sick so we have to wait until we can get another appointment with her before it starts. Apparently he needs to come off the steroids, which keep him from getting Crones, and he is going to be taking immunosuppressents instead. It is going to take a long time to get him from one to the other and lots and lots of blood tests - no wonder the poor bloke is anaemic. Can't say I am looking forward to this as Pete tends to get what ever side effects are going with every drug he is given, his kidney failure is a side effect of a drug given to him 9 years ago for the Crones. The side effects for this drug? It is a good job I find bald men sexy is all I am going to say!

I eventually made a decision about next years holiday at about 11 last night so we are now going to the nice lady in the South of Croatia (Pete better get a hat). It's the first time I have been so organised about a holiday so far in advance but I really needed something to cheer me up and look forward to and this way I am going to work for a reason which makes it much easier!

It's funny really as we went skiiing near to Dubrovnik for our first Christmas together in 1990. We flew into Dubrovnik but had to fly back from Split as while we were there they stopped people going on holiday to Yugoslavia and declared Dubrovnik unsafe. This was the year that Pete gave me a bag of Cheese and Onion crisps as a present and made me eat them early on Christmas morning. Not easy to do when the crisps were stale and I had been drinking the night before (heavily as there was not much else to do due to the huge blackout). It took a while but I did eventually find the gold locket and necklace at the bottom of the crisp packet all covered in grease and crumbs!

Right it's time for me to get off my butt, tidy up the scrabble, get dressed and take myself off to work for the next 9 hours. Hi Ho Hi Ho

It will have to do!

I don't like cakes that much, we never have them in the house - I am a cruel mother. Pete will buy some occasionally but they never interest me. Cookies do, I like cookies but cakes I can take em or leave em. So with the distinct lack of cakieness in this house this card I made last year will just have to do.

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HS:MS - Cake

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Pete went to the hospital yesterday to see Dominic, his Renal consultant (sounds posher than kidney guy) for his 3 month check. His kidney's are still functioning at the same level (Yay), his iron levels are still high (Yay) but his blood count has dropped back down to 86 (Boo) when it should be around 160. So he now has to have the EPO injections every 10 days instead of every 14 in the hope that this will use up the iron he has to make more blood. At the levels he is at he should be really having a blood transfusion BUT every time he has a blood transfusion it means that he is compatible with less donor kidneys so they need to be avoided if possible. He is feeling good at the moment and the news yesterday wasn't bad so all is good in the Tunbridge household.