Treatment Three

 TREATMENT THREE  -  November 4th 2021

On entering the Laurel Suite today, I notice a new addition, a bell!

I love this idea of sounding this bell upon completion of treatment. This bell is being installed in all cancer treatment wards by a charity ‘End of Treatment Bells’.

I t is an amazing moment when a patient can ring this bell and reflect on what has been both an emotional and physical journey and the bell has been especially significant  to children with cancer.

These bells are often used in sales offices to bring positivity to sales teams and encourage them to just ‘keep going’, even when times seem hard.

 

I look forward to ringing this bell at the end of my own treatment and remind myself today of the similarities of running training, not how far I have to go, but rather how far I have come! I am now potentially half way through (sounds good when I think of it in this way!)

I love the rainbow on this bell picture (there are a few rainbow pictures on the wall on the ward which have been created by ex-patients in praise of the NHS).

 

I love the song ‘Over the rainbow’ by Eva Cassidy

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eva+cassidy+over+the+rainbow

What is the significance of a rainbow?

Q.   How did the rainbow get it’s name?

       From its shape. A rainbow’s arc look similar to a bow for shooting arrows

 

Q. What is the original meaning of rainbows?

 In the Bible’s flood narrative, God places a rainbow in the sky as a promise to never flood the earth again.      

 

Q. . How is a rainbow formed?

       Similar to a mirage, a rainbow is formed when light rays bend, creating an effect that is visible but     not able to be touched or approached.

 

Q. what does a rainbow represent ?

    The dictionary calls it ‘a symbol of hope’.

      Often appear after a thunderstorm or when everything is seemingly at its darkest to then spread light and ultimately, HOPE!

 

I love this!

HOPE AFTER THE STORM!

Obviously, there are many more interesting facts about the lovely rainbow, but after reading HOPE, I decided to finish here..

 

 

Going back to our hospital bell, there is ALWAYS hope in every situation and storms do not last!

As a Christian, my hope is in God and all His promises to me, my favourite being

“I will be with you till the end of the age” (the very last thing Jesus said before He left the earth)  

Wow! What a promise to hold on to, that He is never going to leave me!

I am sat here feeling positive today as the sun is shining through the window above me, and a nice positive chat with a new nurse really encourages me (the staff here are really amazing people!)

After a few hours, my third treatment is done and as I continue to write, a great sound can be heard – it’s the bell!!  One patient is ringing it, followed by applause and cheers from all of us sat in the ward, as she finishes her treatment for the final time  and experiences HOPE for her future!

 

What an encouraging day!

The Chair !

 

TREATMENT TWO -   OCT 21^ST 2021

 

 

Today, I felt a bit better about my treatment because I knew what to expect!

I was one of the first patients of the day to arrive and therefore had a choice of which chair to occupy.

Once again, This was going to be my seat for the next few hours and I must admit, I wasn’t feeling excited about ‘parking’ here!

However, whilst sat here, I began thinking about chairs and their uses, both the positives and negatives of this piece of furniture

 

POSITIVE CHAIRS; -

·         Relaxing / Recliners       -                great after a day of working hard

·         Loungers                         -                  sunbathing and getting a nice tan

·         Rocking chairs               -                 great for babies, feeding and getting them to sleep during night hours!

·         High Chair                      -                   adjustable height baby feeding chairs, a meal time ‘must’

·         Deckchair                       -                  a ‘must’ if you are planning to sit on the beach all day!

·         Saddle chair                  -                   adjustable and on wheels, the hairdressers’ friend!

 

NEGATIVE CHAIRS;-

·         Dentist   chair                       -                  Feared by many, especially  years ago!

·         Waiting room chairs             -                Doctors’ surgery, hospitals, feeling of boredom at first sight

·         Pews                                        -                not made for comfort!

·         Electric chair                          -                 no comment!

 

Of course, there are many other types of chairs and although my chair was fairly comfortable, the thought of sitting there didn’t thrill me!

However, turning the situation into a positive and looking at the big picture, in a few months, my boring chair will become the most AMAZING chair ever, when I finish my chemo for good!

I will be so thankful of these hours spent in THIS CHAIR, when I know for sure I am cancer-free and able to live a normal life once again.

 

After four hours, my second visit to Laurel Suite was done and I wondered if the side effects would be better or worse than last time.

 

A few days on and yes, once again I have the side effects, fatigue, pins and needles in my hands (I need to wear gloves for fridge and freezer and walking outdoors)

A short walk is exhausting and I am trying my hardest to live as normal as I can. I have great encouragement from family and church ‘family’ and feel very loved!

 

I am trying to see the positives of this and realise it is a short time of treatment in the big scheme of things.

 

 

All About Me

 

Hello !

I am a happily married 62 year old with two children and four grandchildren, and I live in Stockport, UK

I love church life and keeping active, especially running, which I started in March 2020 and completed a 10k in June 2021!

I hope you enjoy my blogs as much as I enjoy writing them.

I am a positive person and love to encourage others through the struggles that life brings.

I love the saying, "There are no problems, just challenges"

                                          5k training at Chorlton water Park

                                          A good feeling ! The finishing line !

The offical medal

                                                                    

                                                                       

                                                                     A walk in the sun

TREATMENT ONE

 

THOUGHTS THROUGH CHEMO

 

Reaching for my reading glasses for the third time, I still can’t believe the letter received today from the NHS! This was July 2021

I had just returned from one of my twice-weekly runs and was shocked to read that the results of my recent postal bowel screening were “inconclusive and needed further investigation”

As a fit and healthy 62 year old, I had just completed a 10k run at Tatton Park, Cheshire with two running ‘buddies’ and was enjoying my life of running, Pilates, walks and general running around with my four grandchildren.

Fast forward a couple of weeks ( the NHS were working fast here!) and I had a colonoscopy  CT scan and consultation with the oncologist and I now needed a major operation to remove a polyp from the base of my bowel.

The op went extremely well and I recovered in no time at all (apparently due to my general fitness level)

I then had more news – the polyp was cancerous and I needed three to six months of chemotherapy ‘mop up’ to ensure there was no more in my body, three hours on a fortnightly basis

 

And so begins my journey –

 

My first thoughts were not so positive!

-           What about my running?

-           How time consuming!

-          Is this really necessary?

-          All that time I could be doing other things!

-          How will my body react to these strong drugs?

However, it didn’t take long to shift my negative thoughts!

-          I am grateful for the NHS!

-          I have a good husband and supportive family around me

-          I am grateful this polyp was removed – I would have been walking around with cancer and ne er known!

I had a visit to Christies Hospital in Didsbury to have a TIVAD fitted and was now all set for treatment number one.

7^th October 2021 - TREATMENT ONE

Armed with a new journal, affirmational Wordsearch, Bible and pen, I begin walking along the hospital corridor to begin treatment. Despite some uncertainty, I decided this was all going to be worthwhile and I was going to begin journaling my thoughts through this process.

As I enter the ward, I am greeted by the ’cheery’ ward manager and staff nurse and after taking my temperature, a nurse led me to a chair ( the ward was just like a typical ward with chairs rather than beds..) I immediately   felt comfortable and was offered a drink and Wi-Fi code from the student nurse.

During the next three hours, the staff were quick to inform me what they are about to do next and this really helped, as I had no clue of the order and procedure of the day beforehand.

Lunch was an egg mayo sandwich, served by the lovely Volunteer – I quite enjoyed it as I was getting a little hungry.  

Although there were only three patients sat in the ward, I was sure they were all thinking the same “why me?”

Life throws many challenges at us all but I believe it is how we deal with them.

As a Christian, I believe there is always a purpose for our ‘valley’ experiences

I turn to my Bible and just be chance   ( or God incidence!) turn to Luke 22 v 42 and read that Jesus Himself asked for the ‘cup to be taken from Him if it were possible” – Wow! The human Jesus wanted the pain and suffering that was about to happen on the cross to go!

I have been through a few ‘valley’ experiences in my life – so much so , that I wrote a book, Through the Valley ,to help others through the pain and problems that divorce can bring. I am pleased to say that, this helped so many others through their issues and encouraged their faith to believe BIGGER!

((2) Through The Valley | Facebook

My coming weeks in this chemo ward were going to be helpful to others also, and these hours were going to be well spent!

 

After the first session, I experienced fatigue for a few days, palpitations, constipation, diarrhoea and lack of appetite, but after this, I began feeling ‘normal’ again, so much so that one morning, I put my trainers and headphones on and went off for a short run , hardly a 10k, but for me, getting my trainers and headphones on was just as thrilling right now!