MCL and Me

A non-medical post, which must be a good sign. However for those who hang on my every word of my medical condition: This week I came off the gabapentine nerve pain killers completely and have had no twinges from my shingles which themselves are fading fast and barely visible as light blemishes around my middle. Back to School Some of you may know that I did a degree with the Open University in the late 1990s in maths and computing subjects. Well I am now back with my old Alma Mater but this time doing my first course where the code for it begins with an A indicating it is in the Arts faculty. Specifically I am embarking upon A215 Creative Writing . This is a second level course but it does not need any pre-requisites as long as people are used to or can cope with studying on their own. Having done a lot of self-study not only with the OU I should be able to cope with the demands in terms of managing my time. After completing NaNoWriMo to write Reunion last year (did I mention I wrote...

Today is the second anniversary of my Bone Marrow Transplant. Or if you prefer it is my immune system's second birthday. Two years on and things are going really rather well. Apart from the little hiccough with shingles last month, since the beginning of this year there has been a steady reduction in medication and a steady return to normal life. Looking back to this time last year things were a bit rough as the steroid withdrawal was causing a problem and I had the beginning of my under active thyroid taking effect. Even so over two years I've only been back in hospital twice ( by a strange coincidence both in August almost exactly a year apart. Trust me I do not use the Queen Elizabeth hospital for my Summer holidays. ) I also passed another small milestone along the way. The 12th September was 900 days since I first started chemo in preparation for the transplant that was to follow a few months later. By this time next year I really should be back to being as normal as I am ...

Welcome to Wales The end of my convalescence was spent with a relaxing weekend in Wales. By happenstance Gareth and I had already decided we were going to go away for a short break somewhere over the August Bank Holiday and it coincided nicely with the end of the sick note for my shingles. We stayed at the Plas Morfa Hotel in Llanon , Ceredigion overlooking Cardigan Bay. As you will see from the pictures the sea was literally a stone's throw from our hotel room. We arrived on the Saturday and just walked along the local beach and had a very nice meal in the hotel on the evening. On the Sunday we did a four mile coastal path walk into the small town of Aberaeron which according to the sign was just four miles away. It was quite a hilly path and I thought I coped pretty well really. It took us 90 minutes to do the walk but later that day we got the bus back and it took 9 minutes. ( Though the view wasn't that good). We had a fish and chip lunch on the front at Aberaeron and afte...