Update for the week.

Don't you just love it when new things come along to ruin your week?

The PEG tube that is inserted into my duodenum and enables me to have feeds, medicine, water and so on is giving trouble. Somehow - lord only knows how, it seems to be discharging rather nasty looking stuff that is bright yellow in colour, spotted throughout with dark black looking stuff. Wait for it - the description gets worse - it is also somewhat problematic in that it interacts with the skin leaving it raw and very sore.

Well what would you do? We went to see the doctor - the GP of course and when we showed him how the juices just oozed out of the tube's site and within an hour or so had managed to soak through a bandage thing that was gauze on the outside and cotton wool on the inside taped with some very expensive but supposedly resilient tape.

His comment?

'That looks nasty - possibly infected - we have to hit it with some antibiotics.'

So out came the computer and another script was born. Of course there was an additional piece of action - a swab was taken inside the PEG tube and the contents will be sent off for analysis.

Similarly, since I have been hacking up some white bubbly mess and this changed to a light cereal coloured mess that was more sticky and difficult to deal with a small amount into a container was obtained and also left with the doctor to be sent off for analysis. With any luck, by sometime on Monday , we will have an idea about what is going on.

Our good physician suspects that I may need to go back to the hospital and get a new site for the PEG tube and that he can make the necessary referral to get things done.

We also mentioned to the good doctor that I was retaining fluid on the legs and of course he told me to walk and to elevate the feet above my heart. Great advice, but then how and when do I sit and get this blog written.

The very thought that I would have to go on a regimen of diuretics was not one I even wanted to visit.

The new rule is one hour on and one hour off. So if you all have been waiting for the news - sorry about that - with one hand and one hour to do things in stuff will just have to wait. Friday being a nice day enabled us to literally walk around the block. Tired when I got back but am persevering and writing this diatribe for your entertainment and then back to the elevation of feet.

Interestingly, this week's responses to the regime of chemo is different from last weeks and does not seem to have hit me as hard. Maybe that's a good sign. We will see.

Looking forward to hearing from you all through feedback or a phone call if you know me - just to say Hi and well met.

On a completely different subject - while on our walk, we noticed that buds had not only formed on some of the trees but that they were actually in bloom, in July? Marvellous colours - probably a hotter drier winter than we could have expected. Keep your eyes open - for us at least that was surprising.

Tomorrow, I will try and find the time to talk about something pleasant - even if it's a TV show or a video. I can't keep my audience satisfied with discussions about yellow oozing stuff that looks 'nasty' can I?