Hi everyone, it's been a while.
I have not been writing because in all truth the material I want to share is not really suitable for this blog. I want talk about politics, about the financial crisis, change in the world and not the same old same old about me. So from today I will be going BACK to my normal and main blog at Pete's Place
Updates about my illness etc wqill still remain right here but items that I wish to comment on will be placed on the other site.
How is my illness? To be perfectly honest I have no idea.
My oncologist was surprised (hopefully delighted) that I was still around and my doctor from the Hospice was delighted that his suggestions thus far have kept me from oblivion.
I have a lot of oedema in my limbs and pain in my right arm. In discussions about this I have some reading to do about bier blocks and about having a neural block in the arm. Essentially what seems to be proposed is that by killing off the nerves in the arm and the hand the pain will go bye bye as well. Alas what this is also likely to mean is that the arm does not function at all either.
Before I have a completely dead right hand and arm I think I would like to think about the pain and my ability to tolerate it versus having no pain with a dead arm just hanging by my side.
I think I will get back to people about this when I have done all the relevant reading. Off the top of my head I am not sure I can handle a deead hand as the price for lessening of the pain.
Apart from that we have beeb busy with other matters that I wiil now discuss on Pete's Pages.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Birthdays, Friends and genealogy - what more can you want? Freedom from pain and frustration for one thing
We had a lovely time celebrating a birthday for one of the members of this group of people from l-r Nancy, Steve and Roberta. Leanne and I were both there of course , with me being somewhat worse for wear. The sunshine was very pleasant and by the time the clouds rolled in and the wind turned less than nice the afternoon was over and with it went the joys of the dayThis was so nice in fact, that I actually tried to eat some of the desert and to my surprise I actually succeeded in getting a small portion down my throat. It's nice to know that Marmaduke has competition, albeit in a very small and insignificant way.
Pain is still the major event in my day and at present it requires what is known as breakthrough medication every four to six hours. It appears that the oedema in the right hand and the legs is not getting any better and the pain that accompanies this is excruciating.
I am also troubled by sleep during the night having fears about all sorts of things and being kept awake by all of these. I keep hoping that things will get better, but I suspect that this is not going to be the case.
So now, it's off to my makeshift day lounge where I can elevate those legs and try and reduce the swelling. I then look forward to being reconnected to Marmaduke and with a little luck, get some sleep after all this while the Saturday night movies drone on around me.
Yesterday I was fortunate to have a visit from a former work colleague called Salim who is also doing family research and unfortunately experiencing far more problems than I am. So if anyone knows how to get information from Turkish authorities about the populations of the countries that were part of their empire prior to the first world war, please let me know so that I can pass this on to him. Frankly I am out of my depth for both the periods and the locations of the research. Apart from the Mormons who may have been allowed into the areas that were ruled by the Turks prior to the first world war and who of course may have an office here in town.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
PAIN, GENEALOGY and Cirque du Soleil
It's been a while since I last wrote. Yep, you guessed it, pain.
A couple of weeks ago I had some massage done and it was lovely. Then I had it again and once again it was lovely, then I had another session which I recall as lovely as well. At some point after this though, my right arm started aching more than normal.
We have had this looked at and we think its the pain killing drug I am taking. One of the possible side effects seems to be to cause swelling - oedema I think it's called - in limbs. Since my legs and ONE arm have swollen - its a smallish leap to make this connection. So what to do? In the interim SUFFER - that was written under pain duress - there are other drugs taken for breakthrough pain which I can take four to six hourly. I could of course stop the other drug but that would let through even more pain (go figger)
There may be a hope in the drug's earlier version which does not have the side effect.(No doubt it has others) and do I am not stupid enough to mention its name in the open.
We will see.
Meanwhile genealogy occupies my brain when it's awake and relatively pain free for both my family and Leanne's side.
On my side things are a bit slow, but on Leanne's side may I say in the words of Fats Waller, "The joint is jumpin!"
I joined Genes Reunited the other day - a pommy run site, paid my money, and even this non colonial boy is getting a lesson in organisation. I have had hot flashes from people I have never heard of who may turn out to relatives on Leanne's side. Some have been kind enough to send links to their ancestry site and I have had a wonderful time just starting to look at them and see who we have in my data base and who we need to add. It's simply fabulous!
Speaking of fabulous we went to see Cirque du Soleil - THIS is sheer magic.
It's not often that I advertise places but you simply have to check this out. Try Cirque du Soleil
We sat four rows from the front really in the thick of the action and it was fast and furious. At times I thought we would be part of the show like some poor unfortunate (probably a member of the cast) who was behind us at the start and then suddenly at the bidding of one of the clowns (if I dare call them that they were so much more) he was starting to clamber down over the seats to the end of our row (and we were in seats 9, 10 and 11) from whence action began with the clowns chasing him to do things like read the program etc with more jokes happening along the way.
There were people who did things with a trampoline we never learned at school including climbing walls that from my position must have been at least 20 - 30 feet high.
Then there were the acrobats, the fliers, the tumblers, the jugglers etc. but, what flying, what tumbling and what juggling. Amazing stuff.
Don't just read about it, get up off your well polished behinds and go and see them, they are simply magic and not in Canberra all that long.
(Yeah, go on you sceptics do check the site and just TRY and find any ways in which I am making money from this. Just once I am doing it for the lurve!
A couple of weeks ago I had some massage done and it was lovely. Then I had it again and once again it was lovely, then I had another session which I recall as lovely as well. At some point after this though, my right arm started aching more than normal.
We have had this looked at and we think its the pain killing drug I am taking. One of the possible side effects seems to be to cause swelling - oedema I think it's called - in limbs. Since my legs and ONE arm have swollen - its a smallish leap to make this connection. So what to do? In the interim SUFFER - that was written under pain duress - there are other drugs taken for breakthrough pain which I can take four to six hourly. I could of course stop the other drug but that would let through even more pain (go figger)
There may be a hope in the drug's earlier version which does not have the side effect.(No doubt it has others) and do I am not stupid enough to mention its name in the open.
We will see.
Meanwhile genealogy occupies my brain when it's awake and relatively pain free for both my family and Leanne's side.
On my side things are a bit slow, but on Leanne's side may I say in the words of Fats Waller, "The joint is jumpin!"
I joined Genes Reunited the other day - a pommy run site, paid my money, and even this non colonial boy is getting a lesson in organisation. I have had hot flashes from people I have never heard of who may turn out to relatives on Leanne's side. Some have been kind enough to send links to their ancestry site and I have had a wonderful time just starting to look at them and see who we have in my data base and who we need to add. It's simply fabulous!
Speaking of fabulous we went to see Cirque du Soleil - THIS is sheer magic.
It's not often that I advertise places but you simply have to check this out. Try Cirque du Soleil
We sat four rows from the front really in the thick of the action and it was fast and furious. At times I thought we would be part of the show like some poor unfortunate (probably a member of the cast) who was behind us at the start and then suddenly at the bidding of one of the clowns (if I dare call them that they were so much more) he was starting to clamber down over the seats to the end of our row (and we were in seats 9, 10 and 11) from whence action began with the clowns chasing him to do things like read the program etc with more jokes happening along the way.
There were people who did things with a trampoline we never learned at school including climbing walls that from my position must have been at least 20 - 30 feet high.
Then there were the acrobats, the fliers, the tumblers, the jugglers etc. but, what flying, what tumbling and what juggling. Amazing stuff.
Don't just read about it, get up off your well polished behinds and go and see them, they are simply magic and not in Canberra all that long.
(Yeah, go on you sceptics do check the site and just TRY and find any ways in which I am making money from this. Just once I am doing it for the lurve!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
