Daily Routine.

I thought today I'd give you an insight into the daily routine I'm settling into. Then, typical - my daily routine was disrupted, hence I'm a little later posting today.

Not that I minded the disruption one bit today since it entailed a surprise visit by my wife whose face appeared unexpectedly at the door and we spent the morning together. It was fantastic to see her and I think gave some reassurance to each other that we're both coping during these times.

So, the day normally starts about 7 am when I am either already awake or am woken up for my first observations (obs) of the day which are generally repeated every 4 hours or so. The nurse checks my blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation and temperature. Most mornings they also take blood samples from me for analysis which enables them to check what the treatment is doing, effects of the drugs, and whether there are any signs of infection or impact on the function of my main organs.

I usually settle down to snooze a little longer till I switch the TV on about 8am and watch breakfast TV before the pharmacy round about 9am with any tablets I need to take in the morning.

Once the tablets come I get up and have breakfast. Cooked breakfasts were mentioned but so far I haven't managed to blag one, so I'm making do with cereal and fruit followed by some toast and jam. The one thing I'd say at the moment is that my appetite is still good but I'm conscious that as things progress it may drop off so I'm trying to keep eating whilst I can. My weight usually gets checked daily and is also remaining fairly constant at around 99Kg (infact this morning I broke the 100Kg barrier - but I'd just had my breakfast!).

After breakfast I switch on the laptop and usually have a few emails to respond to from family, friends and colleagues. I've set up a separate folder for the loads of emails I've had and will keep every one.

Time to freshen up then and have a shower, which can be difficult at times due to the need to keep the cannula they use to adminster my drugs through dry. But I'm getting freaky about cleanliness and hygeine and it feels to good to have a thorough clean and put on some clean clothes. Most of the time I'm just wearing shorts and a t-shirt which is comfortable and practical. If you were picturing me in a surgical gown with my rear exposed I'm sorry to disappoint you!

So the rest of the morning is usually the time I settle down to do the days blog which takes me up to or over lunchtime depending on how verbose I'm feeling. The TV is usually on throughout but it's times like this that you realise how poor daytime TV is. Thank god for re-runs of Top Gear and some of the history programmes that I enjoy.

The morning usually includes at some point a visit from one of the consultants or registrars to see how I'm doing. They have access to my blood tests so I guess get a lot of information from that but they need to check that I feel OK in myself as any strange feelings, aches or pains need to be investigated. So far the indications are that I'm responding as expected and they are happy with my progress.

Usually around lunchtime I get to choose from the next days menu for lunch and tea and I have to say I have no complaints at the food I've had whilst I've been here. There is always a choice with something I like and when the meals come they are tasty and in good portions. I'm probably overdoing it a bit but what the hell.

The afternoon is normally a combination of reading a book or magazine, watching TV if there's anything decent on, or having a sneaky snooze. Usually the afternoon passes quickly and before you know it my tea arrives around 5.30, usually with another selection of tablets to take.

By the time I've finished my tea, cleared my pots to the kitchen and had a coffee to finish off it's time to call my wife and the boys to catch up on things at home. The boys are chattier than I've ever known them and it's good to speak to them each day and to know they and my wife are OK.

Then as most other people do I settle down for the evenings TV viewing again until my sleeping tablet comes about 10 and I get changed ready for bed, usually turning in about 10.30 - 11. I've been sleeping really well, especially since my wife brought me some nice thick pillows last weekend and I guess the sleeping tablets help.

I half expected to get bored when they told me I'd be spending weeks in hospital but I'm pleased to say it hasn't been the case. I still have loads of books to read, my own book to complete and my website to update, so I doubt I'll run out of things to do any time soon.

As far as treatment is concerned I've had a couple of days off the steroids, which has been good as they were starting to give me quite a painful heartburn. Thats gone thankfully and I'm feeling good ahead of my next dose of chemotheraphy and the re-start of the steroids which happens tomorrow.

Thanks again for reading.

Steve.