Weary, weary, weary... The first phase of chemotherapy may have been particularly intensive from a toxicity point of view – and the delayed recovery to my blood counts was reflected in that – but it didn't come anywhere near this phase in terms of tiring me out. In terms of toxicity, this round has generally … Continue reading Toxicity vs tiredness…
Knowing your limits
For me, one of the great joys of being at boarding school was the time and opportunity to do all sorts of different things (here I go again); the days were scheduled so as to be able to get involved in sports, theatre, drama and whatever else might take your fancy. Being a keen bean … Continue reading Knowing your limits
The weight of relatively minor inconveniences
The most concerning moment in my initial treatment for leukaemia back in 2005/2006 came when I managed to pick up an e-coli bug while neutropaenic and was rushed to the Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU), where I was rapidly filled with blood, plasma, antibiotics, tubes and anything else anyone could think of that might help me … Continue reading The weight of relatively minor inconveniences
A Christmas to remember; and Happy New Year!
Every year for almost eight in a row – with one year's break for my first bout of leukaemia treatment – I helped to look after disabled people for a week in Lourdes in southwest France with the young Catholic charity the Order of Malta Volunteers. As you can imagine, I wouldn't have gone so … Continue reading A Christmas to remember; and Happy New Year!
Driving forward
Can you help with lifts to/from Hampstead? Skip to the final few paragraphs if you don't want to read about my hopeless driving exploits first... Being a little lazy, and a little contrary, I shunned the chance to learn how to drive when still in the supportive bosom of my family home, where my father … Continue reading Driving forward
A very special Christmas – best wishes to everyone!
HAPPY CHRISTMAS! I'll not be going out (except perhaps for a walk on Streatham Common, during which I'll be making people wonder what they've done wrong when I change my course to avoid them, or cover my mouth and nose when they approach) for at least the next few days. Instead we'll be enjoying our first Christmas … Continue reading A very special Christmas – best wishes to everyone!
How to be a domestic god
Although it's been wonderful to get home, with all its many comforts, I'm also starting to understand why Mariacristina always enjoyed coming to the hospital. After a long day at work, she would get to the Ruth Myles ward, unload the various cheese, juices and ready meals she had bought for me, before collapsing in … Continue reading How to be a domestic god
Risky business
Life is full of risks, and we constantly balance the risk of undertaking, saying or even avoiding something against the benefits as we get through every day. A lot of the time we do it without thinking, particularly for the little, everyday moments such as walking down the stairs – where clearly the benefit of … Continue reading Risky business
Home sweet home
After several months of unsuccessful house-hunting in Balham, Wimbledon, Tooting, Colliers Wood, Clapham and various other areas after we got married in July 2011, I asked Mariacristina where we would end up living. Out of left field, she came up with Streatham – by that point one of the very few zones in the locality … Continue reading Home sweet home
Decisions, decisions, decisions
The luxury of time Given my domestic indecisiveness and patience (what Mariacristina would call my snail-like speed at getting things done) on the one hand, and Mariacristina's decisiveness and, erm, insistence on getting things done as soon as possible on the other, it's a small miracle that it was I who proposed to her, and … Continue reading Decisions, decisions, decisions