Well, I’ve given you all plenty of time to read about last Thursday, so now I’ll tell you about Wednesday and Tuesday, as promised.

On Wednesday evening I went to Adam’s, where I found not just Adam but also Rachael. We enjoyed a lovely meal courtesy of Adam’s mother, and after lots of OMV chat (well, what would you expect?) we went to see where Adam “works”. I put that in quotation marks, as I can’t really see how any work gets done there… It’s more of a playground than an office, with comfy chairs everywhere, a ping-pong table in one of the meeting rooms, a slide to get from one floor to another, and a bar and balcony on the top floor. Pah.

The rest of the day had, as you might expect, been spent mostly in hospital. Having turned up in good time to get my blood tests done before my intrathecal, I didn’t actually get my blood taken for a couple of hours or so… Fortunately I employed the time well, helping one of the nurses by typing something up for her on the computer, though this was almost entirely wasted when it transpired that the account under which she’d saved it doesn’t exist. Oh well! At least I’d printed it, so there was a copy that just needed to be typed up, and I guess it made a change from sitting in Peabody’s drinking coffee.

Tuesday night was lovely, too, as I met up with Rob, whom I hadn’t seen for a while, and caught up with his news over a beer or three. And, to remind us what a small world it is, we bumped into a couple of other people from Jesus, who were out celebrating someone’s birthday (I think). Rob and I lived together (in a flat) or next-door-to-each-other (in rooms) for all but one term of our years spent in Oxford, so I do miss not having him around. His band has almost the least-developed website in the world, but I’ve put it in my links (along with the bands of my two cousins on my father’s side) over on the right anyway.

Earlier in the day, before dropping in to Literary Review to find they’d all bunked off early, I’d met up for lunch with a group of people who have or have had leukaemia, or are caring or have cared for someone with leukaemia. It was great to meet them all, and they were even lovelier in person than they are on the messageboard on which we all met. It is good to be able to talk to people who have been through the same things, and understand what it’s like, and all in all we had a very enjoyable meal.

The danger with having a group of friends like that, of course, is that there’s always going to be a good chance that someone in the group will have bad news. Unfortunately this is the case at the moment, as Jess, who had originally invited me to have a look at the messageboard, is in Intensive Care with an infection that has spread from her lungs to her brain. Please include her in your prayers, as she needs all the support she can get as she fights this thing. She’s almost my age, has ALL like me, is following the same treatment (long-term chemo) and is at almost exactly the same stage as me: she’s a real fighter but the infection caught her with her neutrophils down. I think I’m particularly shaken by it because we’ve almost been running in parallel, and while I got through my infection and can look back on it, she’s still in the thick of it not knowing what will happen. It’s also, of course, a big reminder that I’m far from being in the clear: there but for the grace of God and all that. She had hoped, before getting this infection, to be there on Tuesday, so her presence was seriously missed, and there was a lot of talk about her and good vibes sent in her direction. Please please remember to pray for her.

4 thoughts on “On to the past

  1. Hey George!

    Glad you are doing ok; getting out and about etc. And you’re a gent as ever, helping out with the typing! Got to love technology, huh?

    Sending a double order of vibes & prayers to both you and your friend. I hope it all turns out well.

    I know my troubles are tiny compared to what you’re going through just now, but bouncing a few prayers back this way would be a real boost; things at work are being a bit tricky a la wheels which is turning into a real bore!

    Hugs & as much love as ever,
    Fi
    x

  2. Hey George,
    Good to hear you have been out and about – sounds like it has all been fun and games!
    See you soon and take care.
    Lots of love, Ellie xxx

  3. Hi George, SNS’s myspace website is much better than their actual website! (as im sure you know) Myspace is a wonderful thing.

    Take care,
    Love Anne xx

  4. Hi George, so pleased that you are enjoying meeting up with your friends outside the hospital again, looks like it is all great fun. Love and thoughts ,wishes and prayers that you continue to progress so very well.
    Much love
    Melanie xxxx

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