The chemo has started!

A Puppy Returns

Much to mummy Nutty's dismay, Rosie's surrogate parents have gone off skiing and we rashly offered to look after Rosie. As you can see, Rosie seems to have wheedled her way onto the sofa where our dogs seem to spend 90% of their time!

Happy new year

The end of another year and the ringing in of a new one...

Having piled off to the Isle of Wight on Tuesday afternoon, 18 of us congregated at Hugh and Suzie's for the last black tie event of the year. As usual, fine food, fine wine and great company and in came the new year with a bang. The Chinese wish lanterns were a great success apart from the one that descended into the neighbours garden and set fire to their thatched outhouse... It's OK, small children were dispatched with buckets of water!

New Year's day required a good walk from Whale Chine to Freshwater for those that were strong enough. So 2009 has arrived and it promises to be a fine vintage.

More results and stabbings!

As promised, those fantastic NHS doctors at Reading have confirmed that the large lump growing inside my chest is as follows:
                  - Classical Hodgkin lymphoma, Thymus
                  - Nodular sclerosis
                  - Type 1
                  - LCA(-), CD20(+), CD30(+), CD15(+), MUM-1(+), MIB-1(+)
This basically means that I have one of the best forms of cancer that one can have, if one has to have a cancer! The treatment is 6 months of chemo with ABVD every other week. The chemo will be starting on the 9th Jan unless the private system kicks in quicker. We now feel that we have a plan for the future and this is a huge step forward.

Yesterday's other activity was a bone marrow biopsy, this I really cannot recommend to anyone! I opted for the no-brainer - sedation, or so they thought. They started with the usual 2 units, but after 8 units I was sill not going down, so the cracked on with the procedure. As far as I could work out, the procedure entailed anaesthetising the area then winding a corkscrew into my hip. Once the corkscrew was well into the bone, they just pulled it straight back out without unwinding it bringing out a core of bone, ouch!
Now the sedation started to work, so Boo took the opportunity to whisk me down to the Isle of Wight for the planned party tonight. Bring it on, I'm battered and bruised but that will not stop a good party..... Here's to the end of 2008.

Boxing Day hack to the pub

On a beautiful, blue skyed day and a little help from Diane we blew the cobwebs out and took all the horses to the pub for a quick pint. Any excuse... well we did have to meet up with Ciara, Paul Rosie and Josie, and the pub just seemed so convenient.

What a happy Christmas

So after giving the horses a Christmas breakfast and having ridden those that needed riding, it was off home for Christmas brunch and prezzies. As you can see, Dizzy got so many prezzies from her surrogate grandmother the she decided that it was all a bit overwhelming!

Post Prezzies and more pony faffing it was time for the goose to be sacrificed in the name of Christmas Dinner, though the only real casualty was Boo, who just couldn't say no to just one more helping!!

The latest news from the wonderful doctors is that it is definatly Hodgkin's Lymphoma that I have, so we should have the full battle plan when I see the docs on the 30th. This was the best christmas prezzie that I could have hoped for... if you are going to have cancer, seemingly this is the one to have!!

Thanks you for all the messages of good will at this time, they are so appreciated. Happy Christmas to you all, I hope that you all got what you where hoping for and not that baggy old jumper that seems to be to the eternal rounds....

Having a quiet afternoon

What better way to spend Christmas Eve but having a quiet afternoon after all of yesterday's fun and excitement. I finally made it back onto a horse yesterday stiches and all, boy, did it feel good especially as Bea let it slip that she has a fine piaffe in her, all I need to do is find those buttons!! So Nutty and I settled down on the sofa to catch up on a few issues in H&H.

I had the remaining stitches out this morning, that feels so much better! The latest news from the doctors is that it is definitely Hodgkin's Lymphoma that I'm dealing with, they are emailing the full results through shortly. Watch this space for more news....