Social Sunny Times

It's a week on since I had my clinic in Harefield, it was a bloody exhausting day even more than usual as I had done all my tests by 10.30am & had to wait til very late in the afternoon to be seen as they were short staffed. My lung function had actually dropped so I wasn't feeling too optimistic even though everyone was telling me I looked great, the wonders of make up (even if it was applied in the dark at 3.30am) !

I saw Dr Reed & I wasn't in there for very long at all, as expected there were no changes whatsoever to any of my results really so the plan was simple, to go home, with a very low threshold on if my lung function drops further I'm to come straight back & to remain on my high dose pred & antifungal treatments & be seen in 3 weeks time... This however landed on a very special day, so I sneakily moved the appointment forward til after the weekend. After all, I am always so careful with my lungys that if anything feels wrong I know I will be the first to call, & I'll be dammed if I'm having a 'clinic' day on my hubby's birthday & missing out on our special trip!

Stef turns 24 on 20th June & on the day before, he is driving us to Oxford where I have booked a little working farm B&B for the night, that evening we will have a nice dinner (I have already scouted the area with my tastecard in hand & booked a little Italian!) & then the following day on my amazing man's birthday we are off to meet Shaun Foggett at Crocodiles Of The World!! What a treat! I am absolutely buzzing & cannot wait, I just don't want any blips or anything to ruin it in the meantime, I'm counting down the days & it's exactly a fortnight today so please behave little lungys.... !!

Since coming home I have been really quite busy this week, for once, the weather has actually been bloody lovely & the sun has been shining, even though I am not really supposed to be out in it, I have been using my factor 50 & definately tried to make the most of it whilst it's here...

We had our first BBQ of the year on Saturday evening (thanks to our friend Darren who actually surprised us with a new BBQ because ours went bang!) so we invited him over & I got some yummy meat from the butchers especially. Stefan & I haven't drank a drop of alcohol in 16 weeks since his cousins wedding back at the beginning of February, I've felt brilliant for it, both mind, body & pocket! For me, it was a real sense of achievement especially as I used to drink quite a lot before. However, as it was a nice sunny evening we thought we might have an ice cold beer / cider or two with our food - We really shouldn't have bothered! I think I had about 3/4 bottles & it did absolutely nothing for me, I would have rather an ice cold mango juice & I reckon I would have enjoyed it a lot more, not to mention the money we paid when I got to the checkout just for a crate & a few bottles, it came to our normal weekly shop! Let's just say, I can live without it! I am really not bothered in the slightest, it has done me good not drinking for so long & I certainly don't intend to go pissing it up the wall anytime soon, don't get me wrong, I'm not dead against it. If someone was to ask me out for a glass of wine on a nice summers evening then hel yeah I haven't turned t-total! But I am just enjoying looking after my body a bit more & reaping the benefits from all angles of not boozing it up every weekend...

This week I have been catching up with some lovely friends & making the most of getting out the house, on Monday I went to Cockington with my friend Hayley & her son Chase before he went to preschool, we had a giggle on the swings & in the park & then once we dropped him off we had some girly adult time with a nice cuppa & a toastie!

Hayley & I

 

 

In The Park With Chase Man!

 

On Tuesday, I called into see my basically 'sister in law' (Stef's brother's partner!) Kelly at her beachhut & my nephew Jack & spent a few hours in the sunshine with her catching up, Jack spent most of it asleep mind! But we had a lovely few hours before I went to do the food shop & meet Stefan from work. We have arranged to have Jack stay with us on Saturday night so we are both really looking forward to that, the weather is meant to be staying nice so we will do something fun with him on the Sunday before taking him back to Kelly & Dame.

 

Our Nephew Jack

Yesterday, (I sound like Craig David now) I went to see my lovely friends Dave & Marie in Exeter before having to go to the RD&E for what I thought was clinic but turned out it was just pre annual revews tests! I had a lovely morning in their gorgeous garden catching up on all the gossip, Sarah, their daughter & Vic, their niece called into, aswell as his sister Penny & just before I left Dave grilled some lovely burgers on his BBQ so I was all set for a boring afternoon in the hospital room.... I had to be there for 1.30pm, & all I done was my bloody bleep test, some bloods & had my picc line changed! I still didn't get out of there til 5, the only thing I came away with really was some new exercises as I have a really bad neck / top of spine from where I was unable to breathe pre transplant, it's become all swollen, almost like a hump at the top of my back & my physio doesn't want it getting any worse so I have some exercises to try & help it, whether I remember to do them daily along with everything else I have to do is another matter however! I also spoke to Harefield yesterday who have booked me into have my impedance test on the day I go to clinic, this is where I have a tube placed up my nose & down past my throat for 24 hours to test for acid reflux, one of the most common causes of rejection post transplant. If it comes back positive I will more than likely have the fundo op like a few of my other post tx friends, but we will cross that bridge when I come to it. Having the tube in for 24 hours does mean I won't be coming home that night though & will have to stay until the following day... All being well I hope to be back without a problem as the following week starts my wedding anniversary & 30th Birthday celebrations! Not that we have anything planned for my birthday. Just a very special meal on the Friday night for our anniversary at a place called Memories, we have never been there before but you have to book well in advance & some very special friends kindly put some money in a card towards the evening so we can splash out on some delicious food!

 

I May Be Turning 30 In 4 Weeks But I Won't Grow Up!

The sun is shining again today, I don't have any particular plans as I have been so busy I could do with some rest, but I will more than likely pop out later to give my lungs some attention & enjoy a bit of sunshine, then tomorrow I am catching up with my friend Sarah & her son Leo, so all in all a busy & social week! I hope it continues!

 

Having A Swinging Time At Cockington

Thank you as always for taking the time to read, I hope you have a great weekend in the sun wherever you are xxx