Hi there, I hope everyone is ok after storm Ophelia? We got away very lightly in Bray. It was no worse than a normal wintery day. Brian is on the way and apparently he's bringing lots of wind and rain with him, which isn't so great.
Yesterday was meant to be chemotherapy day but my bloods let me down. I had almost no platelets so my treatment had to be held until next week.
So I'm back in this morning to have two pools (med speak for bags of) platelets. They look like a slightly thick yellowish coloured liquid (between us it looks like a bag of thick urine). They're normally incorporated in the blood and they help the blood to clot. So if you get a cut your platelets will rush to the wound and help the blood to clot and stop the bleeding. Without them I'd be in danger of bleeding a lot if I got a cut and it also means I'm ultra prone to bruising. The nurses were telling me that donating platelets is much more painful than normal blood and a very large needle is required, ouch. So I am doubly grateful to the doner. Apparently there's a shortage of blood products because nobody could donate on Monday due to storm Ophelia. It never occurred to me that the storm could affect so many things...
So I should be done and dusted soon and I'll trot off on my merry way, grateful that I have been saved by the generosity of a stranger once again. Thank you, who ever you are.
Meanwhile I have a weekend of nothingness planned! Maybe some baking, writing in front of the fire and taking the dog for walks. How rock 'n' roll am I? Seriously are you jealous of my glam life? All I'm missing is the purple rinse, hair rollers and tartan slippers.
My energy is improving each day - so you don't think I'm loosing the run of myself - I've gone from being in bed most of the time to being out of it most of the time. I won't be climbing Everest any time soon. But I'm back to wearing clothes again. Not just pyjamas! The excitement of it all! It's a relief also because now all the clothes I've been buying on line can have an outing. If the truth be told (but not to my husband of course, to him, everything is "that old thing") I probably have enough clothes to keep me going for the next decade. But I still can't find anything to wear each day. Is it just me? How can there be so many purchases and yet there's not a stitch to wear?
I'm blaming the confusion on the season change. In the mornings it's freezing, by the afternoon I could almost sunbathe some days and then by early evening it's suddenly back to being baltic again. At this point I'd be delighted if the weather would make up it's mind and just be cold so we can wear our winter clothes without having two hours of tropical moments. It's a bit like giving the entire country menopausal symptoms isn't it?
Poor little Tom the cat is still being held hostage inside the house. He's a great boy for using the litter tray for number twos. But he is refusing point blank to pee in the tray. Instead he cries pitifully and looks at me as if I'm a murderer when I don't let him out. Then he finds a nice bit of skirting board and gives it a good spray. So I am now like the lone ranger going around the house with my spray gun of disinfectant. In spite of those valiant efforts I returned home yesterday and the house smelled like a cross between a badly attended public toilet and a zoo. Not so nice. So the hunt began as I scanned the house for little yellow puddles and cleaned like a woman possessed. Then I lit enough scented candles to light the entire neighbourhood should the electricity fail.
I'm hoping Tom will be allowed outside next week and then we can be friends again. His little furry trousers are growing back slowly and he's looking less skinny and traumatised.
Herbie the dog is up to his eyes busy meanwhile. We have an old pear tree in the garden and each day a tonne of pears drop to the ground. Herbie clearly feels it's his civic duty to capture said pears and round them up and bring them into the house. So as well as the yellow puddles I am constantly picking up semi-chewed pears. I can only put them in the bin when Herbie's not looking or else he sits at the bin and barks. Seriously, only I could have a dog with his own pet pears who protests if I so much as touch them.
I have started my Christmas shopping in ernest. I know, I know. It's not even Halloween yet, but Christmas is a fabulous excuse to buy things and because they're for other people, there's no guilt attached. I'm always organised well before Christmas because I'd be a nervous wreck if I had to leave it all to the last minute. Also, once it's spread out, the idea is that I'll be less broke. But I am one of the people in this world who will always spend what I can. Don't get me wrong, the bills come first but what ever is left over will be gone, gone, gone! Life isn't a dress rehearsal so what's the point in being miserable? I'm all for being kind to ourselves and others. Little gifts make people happy and they know you're thinking of them. So really, when I'm shopping I'm being charitable. Do you like how I did that? I have many excuses for my shopping addiction and I even believe myself at this stage!
Have a lovely weekend folks. I hope storm Brian doesn't cause too much damage for us Irish people. Where ever you are, if you need a little yellow puddle or a semi-chewed pear, I can help you out.
I'm finished my platelet transfusion, so thanks for keeping me company. Chat to you soon!
Love and light
Emma xxx
Yesterday was meant to be chemotherapy day but my bloods let me down. I had almost no platelets so my treatment had to be held until next week.
So I'm back in this morning to have two pools (med speak for bags of) platelets. They look like a slightly thick yellowish coloured liquid (between us it looks like a bag of thick urine). They're normally incorporated in the blood and they help the blood to clot. So if you get a cut your platelets will rush to the wound and help the blood to clot and stop the bleeding. Without them I'd be in danger of bleeding a lot if I got a cut and it also means I'm ultra prone to bruising. The nurses were telling me that donating platelets is much more painful than normal blood and a very large needle is required, ouch. So I am doubly grateful to the doner. Apparently there's a shortage of blood products because nobody could donate on Monday due to storm Ophelia. It never occurred to me that the storm could affect so many things...
So I should be done and dusted soon and I'll trot off on my merry way, grateful that I have been saved by the generosity of a stranger once again. Thank you, who ever you are.
Meanwhile I have a weekend of nothingness planned! Maybe some baking, writing in front of the fire and taking the dog for walks. How rock 'n' roll am I? Seriously are you jealous of my glam life? All I'm missing is the purple rinse, hair rollers and tartan slippers.
My energy is improving each day - so you don't think I'm loosing the run of myself - I've gone from being in bed most of the time to being out of it most of the time. I won't be climbing Everest any time soon. But I'm back to wearing clothes again. Not just pyjamas! The excitement of it all! It's a relief also because now all the clothes I've been buying on line can have an outing. If the truth be told (but not to my husband of course, to him, everything is "that old thing") I probably have enough clothes to keep me going for the next decade. But I still can't find anything to wear each day. Is it just me? How can there be so many purchases and yet there's not a stitch to wear?
I'm blaming the confusion on the season change. In the mornings it's freezing, by the afternoon I could almost sunbathe some days and then by early evening it's suddenly back to being baltic again. At this point I'd be delighted if the weather would make up it's mind and just be cold so we can wear our winter clothes without having two hours of tropical moments. It's a bit like giving the entire country menopausal symptoms isn't it?
Poor little Tom the cat is still being held hostage inside the house. He's a great boy for using the litter tray for number twos. But he is refusing point blank to pee in the tray. Instead he cries pitifully and looks at me as if I'm a murderer when I don't let him out. Then he finds a nice bit of skirting board and gives it a good spray. So I am now like the lone ranger going around the house with my spray gun of disinfectant. In spite of those valiant efforts I returned home yesterday and the house smelled like a cross between a badly attended public toilet and a zoo. Not so nice. So the hunt began as I scanned the house for little yellow puddles and cleaned like a woman possessed. Then I lit enough scented candles to light the entire neighbourhood should the electricity fail.
I'm hoping Tom will be allowed outside next week and then we can be friends again. His little furry trousers are growing back slowly and he's looking less skinny and traumatised.
Herbie the dog is up to his eyes busy meanwhile. We have an old pear tree in the garden and each day a tonne of pears drop to the ground. Herbie clearly feels it's his civic duty to capture said pears and round them up and bring them into the house. So as well as the yellow puddles I am constantly picking up semi-chewed pears. I can only put them in the bin when Herbie's not looking or else he sits at the bin and barks. Seriously, only I could have a dog with his own pet pears who protests if I so much as touch them.
I have started my Christmas shopping in ernest. I know, I know. It's not even Halloween yet, but Christmas is a fabulous excuse to buy things and because they're for other people, there's no guilt attached. I'm always organised well before Christmas because I'd be a nervous wreck if I had to leave it all to the last minute. Also, once it's spread out, the idea is that I'll be less broke. But I am one of the people in this world who will always spend what I can. Don't get me wrong, the bills come first but what ever is left over will be gone, gone, gone! Life isn't a dress rehearsal so what's the point in being miserable? I'm all for being kind to ourselves and others. Little gifts make people happy and they know you're thinking of them. So really, when I'm shopping I'm being charitable. Do you like how I did that? I have many excuses for my shopping addiction and I even believe myself at this stage!
Have a lovely weekend folks. I hope storm Brian doesn't cause too much damage for us Irish people. Where ever you are, if you need a little yellow puddle or a semi-chewed pear, I can help you out.
I'm finished my platelet transfusion, so thanks for keeping me company. Chat to you soon!
Love and light
Emma xxx
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