A Major Health Setback

Warning – medical details, but some nice photos at the end!

After being discharged from hospital recently for the second time after the bleeding from my stoma, I was hoping to make a good recovery and start picking up the threads of my life again.

However, although the early days seemed to be going OK, I didn’t pick up as quickly as I’d hoped, and for several nights running, woke up soaked to the skin having had night sweats – something I’ve never suffered from before, even during the menopause. I mentioned it to the district nurse and she agreed that it could be a reaction to ongoing use of paracetamol and I tried cutting this down but it didn’t help. Later, several doctors and nurses said that paracetamol didn’t usually have this effect. (So much for Dr. Google…)

Towards the end of that week I was starting to feel worse and was off my food, until on the Sunday (15th April) I couldn’t bear the smell of it cooking. I kept feeling extremely cold and shivery and that night we took my temperature and it was around 38 degrees – I didn’t really trust our little thermometer and decided to ask the district nurse to take it again the next day when she came.

That night I started to feel quite poorly and my hubby phoned the out-of-hours doctor – why is it that I always get ill over weekends and bank holidays when nobody is around??!! – he was absolutely useless and was clearly going down through a printed checklist and wasn’t really listening to me. At the end I said, “What about my high temperature?” He said I’d probably got flu!!! I said I definitely hadn’t got flu because I’d had no throat or nose symptoms – he said you can get flu without those. I knew I hadn’t got flu! Anyway, if someone reports a temperature and has recently undergone surgery, you don’t think “flu.” He said to phone the GP surgery in the morning if I was still concerned.

In the morning I felt terrible and collapsed in the bathroom. My hubby happened to come in just at the right moment and helped me back to bed. We took my temperature again and it was still high.

Then the district nurse arrived and we asked her to check it and she was so concerned that she immediately phoned the GP surgery and a doctor came up within 20 minutes. He examined me and said he was calling an ambulance. I was apparently showing two markers for sepsis and this needed dealing with immediately. Apparently if we’d left this another 24 hours it could have been curtains for Shoshi…

Once we got to hospital we had a bit of a wait but at least I was able to be lying down. I was in a cubicle in A&E and various people came in and took details and examined me, and all the while I felt absolutely freezing cold and my hubby wrapped me up with extra blankets etc.

Eventually a bed was found for me and they said that my feeling cold was my body deceiving me – my temperature was in fact quite high – nearly 39 degrees – and if they didn’t bring it down I was likely to have a seizure. They therefore proceeded to take away all the blankets, saying that they were actually making things worse rather than better, and turned electric fans on me to cool me down! I spent the next two nights shivering uncontrollably and not sleeping at all, but my temperature did fall a bit, and over the next few days was up and down.

The first thing they did was to try and identify the source of the infection I evidently had – I had a chest X-ray and they tested my urine, both of which were OK. I had a CT scan that revealed some post-operative haematomas and this was believed to be the source.

I saw my surgeon and he said that haematomas can often cause night sweats, so that was the explanation for those. I continued to have them during those first few nights in hospital – one night having two – what a hassle having to change all the bedding etc.

I was put on my first cocktail of IV broad spectrum antibiotics and was given one unit of blood as my haemoglobin levels were falling alarmingly. They were supposed to give me two units but they said a side effect of blood transfusion can be to increase one’s temperature so they held off on the second one – this happened a few days later.

Once they had established the location of the haematomas, they inserted a drain on the left side of my abdomen, with ultrasound guidance under local anaesthetic. I was pretty nervous about this procedure but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. This drain was a fairly fine tube and didn’t penetrate very deep; it was attached to a bag from which they took samples for culture, and at the top end it had a two-way tap to enable them to flush the drain daily. This drain wasn’t uncomfortable at all but limited my movement somewhat. It also had the effect of lowering my temperature quite rapidly as the infected fluid was draining away, but it was apparently not having completely the desired effect, so a couple of days later I had another CT scan that revealed more problems.

It’s hard to remember the exact sequence of events because I was feeling pretty lousy most of the time.

 

I do remember that my surgeon wasn’t on call for ward rounds for a few days and I was looked after by one of his colleagues, and he hummed and haa’ed about the infection being under the mesh, and query remove mesh? He wrote this on my notes. This gave me great cause for concern because this is a very serious matter and extremely difficult to deal with. When my own surgeon came back, he read this and said, “What’s all this about removing the mesh? We don’t need to do that!” He wrote in large letters in the margin, “Leave mesh alone!!” and signed it, putting my mind at rest straight away.

He said I needed a second drain, and as this one would be bigger and deeper, it would have to be put in under general anaesthetic. This was done, and afterwards I remained in severe pain until a couple of days after it was removed – it was very difficult to get out of bed and I managed to get onto the commode and that was it. This drain was connected to a vacuum bottle to assist the drainage of fluid, and with drains on both sides of my body, with a bag on the left side of the bed and a bottle on the right, my movement was even more restricted.

During the rest of my time in hospital, they tried me on two more cocktails of IV broad spectrum antibiotics because we were clearly dealing with what my mum would have described as “a very virile germ” haha! The final lot did seem to start working, and all through this time my temperature remained within normal limits, and my blood pressure (always on the low side) began to climb a bit so that the systolic pressure was up to three figures again – when it was down in the 80s they were quite concerned.

After a few days my surgeon decided I should have another CT scan to see how things were going, and said that the large drain on the RH side needed to be withdrawn by 2 cm in order to continue to drain more effectively. When the nurse tried to do this the pain went through the roof, before it had even moved a millimetre, and she said she wasn’t going to touch it any further without consultation.

They tried again, this time administering gas and air, but this had absolutely no effect except to make me feel slightly woozy. The pain was absolutely excruciating and I dreaded the moment when the wretched thing would have to come out altogether.

This drain was the first of the two to be removed. I told my surgeon that the gas and air had been useless and he said that because of the risks, it was not usual to remove drains under general anaesthetic, but he would give me some sort of sedative. I was given a Valium tablet which I had very little faith in, and again, all it did was make me feel slightly woozy – and less so than the gas and air. When they pulled out that drain I thought my last hour had come! It was about the worst pain I’d ever experienced.

By this time I was at a pretty low ebb, having been through so much, and all my reserves seemed to have gone, and everyone who did anything to me seemed to hurt me in one way or another! My poor hubby was so worried because I was at such a low ebb physically and emotionally, and it didn’t take much to reduce me to tears. Everyone has told me in the past how strong I am but on this occasion I definitely wasn’t, and felt completely at the end of my tether.

My surgeon said that that drain was very large and deep, and had penetrated through the same complex muscle layers to the right of the stoma (which is why the hernia operation had caused so much pain as well), and when a drain has been in for a few days, one’s body tends to develop tissue which “glues” it in place, which is why it is painful to remove. He said that after a day or two the pain should reduce, and it did. He said that the other drain was of a different sort – a much finer tube, less deep, and into simpler muscle layers. It came out a day or two later, and although it was pretty uncomfortable, it was nothing to compare with the removal of the deep one.

From the beginning I had problems with cannulae failing again. I had requested a PICC line from the outset before my hernia repair surgery but they were reluctant to do this and for once, the cannula they put in did stay the course. However, with this recent admission I was having endless problems, and having them dig around for a new site, causing me yet more pain and then for the wretched thing not to work from the outset, was becoming very wearing. They left the first one in for a couple of days longer than regulations required because it was still working and I was anxious about how a new one in a different vein would perform, but eventually they said it had to come out because of the risk of infection. Over the weekend I again requested a PICC line and they muttered on about risk of infection, and it not being necessary for short-term treatments, etc. until I was getting desperate. On the Monday my surgeon turned up again and I told him the trouble I’d been having, and immediately he said, “Let’s get the vascular access team straight down here and get a PICC line in right away, shall we?” He cuts through all the flim-flam with such authority but with such charm, and I always feel so safe in his hands! While I was in, I told him I’d already trusted him with my life three times, and he knew more about my insides than anybody but God, and I didn’t want anyone else messing about with me! He laughed! My hero.

I must share this funny photo with you. My hubby was endlessly amused by this chair – there was a stack of these chairs in the corridor for visitors. He pointed it out to quite a few other visitors and everyone had a good laugh!

Note the redundant apostrophe before the final “s” – this is something that always bugs me lol lol! We both thought that the writer’s spelling and grammar left a lot to be desired!!

After being in for 2 1/2 weeks they said I could be discharged. The infection was 90 percent plus dealt with, the drains had done their job, and the current course of antibiotics (now being taken orally) would do the rest. Because I’d had almost total bed rest during that period I was almost unable to walk, but could only shuffle very slowly with a walking frame. Because my hubby was so tired and so worried, and to give him a break, and also to allow me a transition period during which I could regain enough strength to be able to wash and dress independently and also to be more mobile, he fixed for me to spend a few days convalescing, and found me a room in the home where Mum had been.

This was rather a bizarre experience! I had had pretty negative vibes about the place because she had been so difficult, although I knew it was the best place and the care second to none. I knew a few of the staff and knew them to be efficient and caring. So off I went, last Friday, 4th May.

I didn’t sleep well throughout my time. On arrival there was a regular mattress which proved to be too hard after resting on it for half an hour, so they gave me an air mattress – I spent several hours sitting out of bed getting very tired indeed as they tried first one, and then a second, mattress – both of whose pumps were not working properly – they had been put away without being checked. In the end, I had to sleep the first night on the regular mattress, and they found a third air mattress the next day which did work, but the pump made such a loud buzzing noise that I had to continue to wear my earplugs as I’d done in hospital! Also, the room was small and the window couldn’t be opened very wide and I got very hot. I had come out of hospital in winter woollies and suddenly we were in the middle of a heat wave!

They cared for me so well. After that first night, a carer showered me and washed my hair – I was still very weak – and this gave me a tremendous boost, not having been able to do this for nearly 3 weeks!

The next day my mobility improved greatly, and I was able to walk, not shuffle, with the walking frame, up and down the corridor several times. The weather was glorious, and my hubby came over and we spent quite a bit of time over the few days I was there, sitting on the wonderful roof terrace they have, high up, overlooking the beautiful bay, and it was so hot that I began to catch the sun, and we had to go back nearer the building to sit under the umbrellas there.

The care home is part of a retirement village, which consists of the original beautiful Victorian manor house where I believe there is some accommodation, and where you can have meals; they have various functions there, and people who are not resident can join the club. My hubby belonged for a while during the time Mum was in the care home – he would often sit in the lounge with a book and a cup of coffee if his visit had been a difficult one. He got to know the staff there quite well.

Another part of the complex is a small building above the care home which is for convalescence, but since there were no available beds, I had a room in the main care home.

Below, there are some luxury apartments for people who are able to live independently. You can see the edge of this building on the left in the next photo, opposite the manor house.

Last year they had an open day and we were able to visit a couple of vacant apartments, and they were stunning – one or two-bedroom apartments with a small kitchen, bathroom and a lounge with a balcony looking straight over the sea.

Higher up, above the retirement village, is a block of luxury apartments, privately owned. In the foreground is the overflow convalescent home.

Looking back towards the care home from the roof terrace.

I think if the weather had been bad during my few days’ stay, I would have gone stir-crazy a lot sooner than I did – but sitting up in the sunshine and getting my first taste of fresh sea air and warm sun, and the sight of natural beauty after so long being confined in a place where everything you looked at was functional, was bliss. The views over the bay were stunning, and just what I needed!

On bank holiday Monday (2 days ago) my hubby took me out for a little drive and we went along the sea front, and enjoyed seeing all the holidaymakers in their summer clothes and the kids fishing in the rock pools with their little nets – some things never change – I remember loving this when I was a child! – and being so grateful for the glorious weather which would attract the holiday-makers and give a boost to the flagging economy of the town.

It was so lovely to get out and about, to be in the car, to see how much more green the trees were – just to look at something different and alive!

During my stay at the home, I got to know quite a few of the other residents (I was the youngest by far lol!!), most of whom were absolutely delightful and charming. I sat with the same people in the dining room and they were good company. The home has a weekly schedule of entertainments and activities, and on my first full day, you could go down to the manor house for a meal, and my hubby joined me for that. Half way through the meal my energy suddenly drained away and my hubby knew immediately that I had to go and rest, and said afterwards that it must have been serious if it prevented me from staying and enjoying some pudding!! He knows me too well… Yesterday was the day when residents could go out for a meal – this happens about once a fortnight. They have a mini-bus which can accommodate quite a number, including several wheelchairs, but my hubby drove me, and joined us. We had an excellent meal in a place near Dawlish, and when I came home, arrangements had been made for the continuation of my injections by the district nurse at home, and I was allowed to go.

Staying there opened my eyes to a few things. I was aware that there were social activities laid on, and how kind and efficient the staff were, but when Mum was there, she did not avail herself of any of this and preferred to spend her whole time in her room. I know that her deafness really isolated her, but having met the other residents, it saddened me that she didn’t make the effort to make any friends because they were all so lovely, and it was not surprising that she got so depressed, not taking advantage of all the lovely facilities in the home – there were several beautiful sitting rooms, one with a TV (she preferred to watch the TV in her room) and the beautiful sun lounge on the top floor giving access to the roof terrace. There were always jigsaws out, and lots of books and magazines. One of the things they provide is for someone to sit with residents in their rooms to keep them company on certain days each week, to prevent loneliness for those who perhaps are not well enough to leave their own rooms. Mum never took advantage of this, and then complained that nobody ever talked to her!

I am very glad I went, but oh so glad to get home yesterday afternoon – a few days was enough for me. My hubby had anticipated me being in for a week, but as I was so much better and he was looking so much more relaxed and less tired and strained, we decided to call it a day and get me home. Never has “Home, Sweet Home” meant more to me!

As for the kittens, when I first got home, they ran away from me, and when I attempted to get close to Ruby she was having none of it – I tried to cuddle her a couple of times but she squeaked and pulled away. Very disappointing when she had missed me so much during my absence but I thought maybe I smelt different! However, later in the evening I had two lovely long cuddles with her and she purred her little head off and got quite drowsy in my arms – this morning she’s again been a bit wary of me but things are definitely improving! My hubby says she’s a lot more settled since I got home, and isn’t looking for me and crying any more. I’ve never been away from home for so long and it must have been very worrying for her, wondering where I’d suddenly disappeared to for so long. I have missed them so much and last night I told my hubby how glad I was to be home, back with my little family! Life will soon return to normal, I am sure.

Meanwhile, he is doing the meals, which he was doing anyway in my absence, and having had that few days of convalescence, he doesn’t need to help me with any personal care. He is coming and going, and not worrying about leaving me on my own – all visitors (including the district nurse) have been told to let themselves in round the back to save me from having to get up to answer the door! Oh, it’s so good to be home!!!

Oncology Appointment

Full details on my Cancer Diary page.

I had my appointment with the oncologist today, a charming Chinese lady called Dr. Lo, who immediately put us at our ease. I had been told that the surgery was considered curative, but would need some chemotherapy afterwards as "belt and braces" to mop up any rogue cells which might still remain in my system.

I had been hoping for a single cycle of oral chemo, but in view of the fact that my cancer had invaded through all layers of the bowel wall and also into one lymph node, and was the most aggressive kind, I was told that it would be administered intravenously over the next SIX MONTHS!!! I was horrified when she told us that. Also, the oral chemo isn't suitable for someone with heart problems.

I am having Oxaliplatin (eloxatin) intravenously, every three weeks, for six months. This is far more radical than I'd hoped. I shall have a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter) installed for the duration of the treatment, and the chemo and any other drugs will be administered through the cannula in the crook of my elbow, from which they will also be able to take blood.

The PICC line will have to be flushed every week by the district nurse. Each treatment will take about four hours. Side effects will be cumulative over the course of the treatment, and which will be most severe immediately after treatment, and may include increased risk of infection, anaemia, bleeding and bruising, peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling in the hands and feet), and almost universally, extreme fatigue. Nausea and diarrhoea should not be a problem because drugs are prescribed to counteract these. There may be other side effects too; it all sounds pretty unpleasant.

As we left, my hubby took me into the chapel, which is just near the oncology department. It's absolutely beautiful. All around the altar are lots and lots of little teddies given in memory of babies who had died, and this moved me so much. Thinking of that made me count my blessings, and realise that whatever I've got to face, it's never going to be as bad as that. The chapel is such a beautiful sanctuary and I'm so glad we went in there before coming home.

I will be called in again probably early next week, when they will talk to me about my treatment, and possibly fit the PICC line and do my initial blood test and prepare me for the beginning of the treatment which will follow soon after.

I just hope I stay the course and can put up with it all... I am still finding it quite hard to get my head around the idea that I've had cancer at all, and haven't been able to think about that aspect much until now, because my brain has compartmentalised it all, allowing me to focus first on the surgery, then on managing the stoma.

It's a bit frustrating to think that I shall be made to feel poorly again just when I feel I am picking up after my operation and thinking I would soon get my life back again, but I feel it's still on hold and will be for some time now.

The Result of my Colonoscopy

This morning I went in for my colonoscopy. I had my first one in August 2013, as a result of a call-back from a positive test result on my first bowel cancer screening test – this is a test undergone by everyone in the UK when they reach the age of 60, and at regular intervals thereafter. My first one revealed blood in the stool, which totally freaked me out, and I was told I had to have a colonoscopy so that they could establish the cause.

What they discovered was that the whole of my large bowel was affected by ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease. Many years ago I had suffered from IBS, which cleared up when I moved to get married, but which returned with the onset of M.E. (or so I thought) – the condition is very common with M.E. and I simply treated it with Immodium and tried to get on with my life. I was suffering from chronic diarrhoea, with on average 10 visits to the loo daily, and while this was unpleasant, I managed it the best I could.

After my colonoscopy, I began seeing a gastro-enterologist regularly at the hospital, and was put on colitis medication (Pentasa), and told that I would have to have a colonoscopy every two years, not just to check on the state of my colitis and how well the medication was working, but also to check for bowel cancer which is more common in sufferers from inflammatory bowel disease.

This regular colonoscopy came due today, and as usual I had to go through the dreaded bowel preparation over several days, with two days of low fibre diet, followed by a day of clear fluids only, and the taking of powerful laxatives to clear the bowel, resulting in visits to the loo every 10 or 15 minutes, and a very sore bottom, despite gentle hypoallergenic moist toilet paper and Vaseline (petroleum jelly)! Yesterday was a very exhausting day and I alternately drank lots, watched DVDs, ran to the loo, and slept, spending the day in bed, a few steps from the en-suite bathroom.

My appointment was at 10.45 this morning and I went in early as they were running ahead of schedule. I was soon under sedation and not too aware of what was going on. It did take me a while to wake properly, and they kept trying, and giving me oxygen, and taking my blood pressure. Eventually I was fit enough to get dressed, and was taken into a room and offered sandwiches and tea – quite delicious, and making me feel quickly a lot more human!

My hubby came back to collect me, and we were taken to another room where a specialist nurse came in to discuss what they had found during the procedure.

As a result of taking the medication for 18 months, the areas of inflammation have been significantly reduced, now to only one area, with the rest of the bowel looking normal. This is an ongoing, lifetime treatment which does not cure the disease, but treats the symptoms. This is a good result.

However, the main news was not good. They found a patch that they didn’t like the look of at all, which was causing some constriction in the bowel, and a bit further round, a polyp. Normally they remove polyps during the procedure (they can be pre-cancerous) but because of the problem area, they left it alone for now. They want me to go back for a CT scan, and in the meantime they will be sending the biopsies they took to the lab for analysis. Also, I have to see an anaesthetist to assess my fitness for surgery – this is usually done in the form of a cardiac stress test on a treadmill or exercise bike, but in view of my M.E. this is not feasible, but no doubt he will think of some way of testing me!

I asked if it was possible that the tumour was benign, but the nurse would not answer in the affirmative. She would only repeat that they didn’t like the look of it. They have seen many, and know from the initial appearance what they are likely to be, and further tests are performed to confirm this initial suspicion, so I think it is pretty well certain to be malignant. She wouldn’t have said as much as she did had they not been pretty certain, and she said as much as she could under the circumstances, with sensitivity and honesty.

I asked her about my chronic mild anaemia, which I had always put down to bleeding from the bowel as a result of my colitis. She said that anaemia can be a symptom of bowel cancer.

I have certain things in my favour. One is the location of the problem area. The nurse said that this was the best position for it, because the affected section could most likely be removed, and the cut ends sewn together, without the need for a colostomy. Secondly, it may well be possible to remove it with keyhole surgery, which is a lot less traumatic and would involve a much shorter stay in hospital. Early diagnosis is also in my favour, of course, and it is likely that they will be able to remove it and I shall be fine. Only after the results of the forthcoming tests will they be able to decide on what treatment regimen will be necessary, and they will discuss this with us when the time comes.

Knowing all these positive things in my favour is a great help, of course, but this news is nonetheless a great shock. I need time to process it. I don’t know why one tends to think one is immune to such things, thinking it’s something other people get, but not me… we know that cancer is a very common disease and is no respecter of persons, so why should I be especially favoured and not get it? I think of all the people I know who live happy, prosperous and healthy lives and never have anything wrong with them, and here’s me with all these health problems, and putting up with Mum as well and it seems so unfair… But I am NOT going down that road, because everybody knows that at the average Pity Party there is only one guest – yourself!! I do feel very sorry for my poor darling hubby though – he’s had so much on his plate this past year, and this seems to be adding insult to injury, and I am the last person to want to add to his burdens. The poor man has only just retired, and has had hardly any opportunity to enjoy his new status, and now this…

I will keep you up to date with developments.

WOYWW 286

Please click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar to visit our hostess Julia’s blog, where all will be explained how you can join in the fun of the world’s most famous nosey fest.

First of all, I am sorry I haven’t been visiting many desks. I have been working flat out in my ARTHaven, when time and energy permitted, desperately trying to complete the recycled mini-album. My sister has contacted us and said she and her daughter are coming over in December, and it occurred to me that I could give our niece the album then, if I can only complete it in time! I’ve been making good progress.

Here is my desk this week.

You can see the current page I am working on, which is about tigers. Keep an eye on my blog over the next few days and you will see these, and some other pages I’ve completed. Laid on the book are a white pastel pencil (very useful for marking out elements on a black page, and easily rubbed off afterwards) and a pan pastel applicator. The book itself is resting on a new scratch paper I’ve started making, cleaning off my brushes from all the orange painting I’ve been doing over the past day or two! I shall probably turn this scratch paper into a masterboard if it looks useable. Even at this stage, it does show just how much paint can be wasted in the water pot and down the sink.

On the left you can see my entire stock of pan pastels (not many, but I should be able to achieve a good range of colours by mixing). At the back, lots of gel mediums and acrylic paints, my usual trademark dirty water jar (no, it’s not the same water as last week – it’s actually been changed quite a few times this week!), my brushes, distress inks, two bubble wrap printing blocks, the corner of my iMac and my heat gun. Perched on top of the distress inks is a pink circle punch. All the usual stuff on the shelf above.

Despite the pressure to get this project completed, I am really enjoying doing it. I am hoping to have time before it goes to do a video of it and also a blog post of all the completed pages, but we shall see!!

As for the rest of the week, I’ve been reasonably well. Although I was told that my latest blood test was “normal,” I spoke to the surgery subsequently and was told that it was at the bottom end of normal, and my GP wants me to continue with the iron, but reducing the dose from three times to twice a day, which I am happy to do. Over the past couple of days my balance has been a bit more off than usual and I’ve felt more wobbly on my feet but these things come and go with the M.E. and it’s probably because I’ve been pushing myself a bit too much!

Various bits and pieces have been arriving all week from Ebay, for soap making. The teacher supplies everything we need for each class, which is great, but it means we can’t do anything at home. I need to get some soaps made for Christmas presents.

I’ve been working on the final stages of my knitting, which I’d hoped to have completed by this week. The second sleeve is now finished and I’m picking up stitches around the neck, and then I’ve only got to sew up the side seams and it will be completed! I hope to be able to show you next week.

Have a great week, everybody, and happy WOYWW.

WOYWW 285

For details on how to join in the fun of sharing your weekly desk, please click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, which leads to Julia’s blog, where all will be revealed.

Not too much activity on my desk this week. I got some new stash – a gorgeous art stamp from Stampotique called Kitty Squad which is waiting to be unmounted from its wood block and mounted on some EZ-Mount foam. Also some sticky embossing powder. I’ve made a start on the next section in my recycled mini-album. On the right you can see the new iPod case I got from Ebay – I have an identical black one which is pretty well worn out, and managed to find a replacement – it’s fine except it’s pink, which I didn’t want! They are very rare, but my favourite because you can attach a neck strap to the ring.

Oh dear, I’ve just noticed I’ve got another dirty paint jar on my desk… Hopefully this one won’t hang around for as many weeks as the last one!

I’ve also been doing a bit of sewing, altering some more bedding to fit my new bed. Even when cleared, the work surface isn’t very deep for folding and cutting! I think I may need to pull out all the pull-out units to make a cutting surface…

I’ve not been too well this week – one day in particular I had a tummy upset and felt pretty lousy all day but slept a lot which helped. We had a busy day out one day, and we dropped my defunct NAS drive in to my fav computer shop in Plymouth in the hope he can get it up and running again for me, and my hubby encouraged me to do some retail therapy in the market where I bought 3 simply gorgeous gorgeous tops… I love markets and charity shops. You can pick up some real bargains.

Had my first soap making class last Wednesday and I made a couple of really simple melt-and-pour soaps, including one for my hubby which he loves as it doesn’t upset his skin! I have ordered a special teddy mould just for him and am going to make all his soap from now on!! Since the teacher provides all we need for the class, if I’m going to go on with this, which I want to, I need to get a few supplies in, so I’ve been shopping on Ebay and am looking forward to some nice parcels arriving over the next few days. Some of the things will have multiple uses in the studio which is great.

Yesterday I started to strain my lavender oil that has been infusing for a couple of months. Our neighbour gave us a huge quantity of lavender that she’d cut back in her garden, and I filled a jar with it and topped it up with grapeseed oil and left it to infuse in the airing cupboard. It has darkened in colour and smells simply marvellous. I am hoping to be able to add some of this to my soaps.

This week I got some A4 Tyvek envelopes from Ebay. I can get a whole A4 sheet and two smaller pieces from each envelope, and it works out at 17p a sheet, which is considerably cheaper than the price a lot of the art suppliers charge. Wonderful stuff for melting and painting, and it apparently cuts very well indeed on electronic cutting machines, and once I get mine up and running again I am keen to try this – for cutting really detailed pieces which won’t rip when you take them off the carrier mat, and also for cutting stencils.

The result of my latest blood test shows that at last I am no longer anaemic! I shall be carrying on with just one iron tablet a day to keep me topped up, and hopefully I won’t slip back again. I don’t feel any different.

Great news – after hitting another plateau with my weight loss, I can now report that I have lost a total of two stone since mid-June when I started the 5:2 diet. I’ve got a way to go yet, and I am determined to reach a weight suitable for my height. Considering we have hosted 3 cream teas in 10 days, I don’t consider this bad going!!

My hubby took the kitties to the vet the other evening to get their boosters done, and they had their usual annual MOT. Uncle Luke (vet, who has a huge soft spot for Beatrice!) told Beatrice to stop purring because he couldn’t hear her heart! How many kitties in your acquaintance purr at the vet’s?!! Phoebe purred too. Uncle Luke gave them both a cuddle, and gave Beatrice a treat for being a good girl. Phoebe’s a little tub and didn’t get one.

Happy WOYWW everybody!

Kitty Squad, Tyvek, a Page About Cars and a Health Update

Yesterday my long-awaited new stamp arrived – it has been out of stock for weeks and I asked for an email alert when they were back in. It’s one of the wonderful Stampotique Originals art stamps, and it’s called Kitty Squad. I just love those cute kitties. They are cute without being cutesy if you follow me – I am not into cutesy lol!! Like all their stamps, it is wood mounted – I don’t like this, and can’t understand why they don’t do cling mount as an alternative as most people are using these nowadays, but at least I shall get another useable wood block for other purposes once I get round to unmounting it!

I shall cut the stamp to separate the kitties, to make them more versatile.

I also got some sticky embossing powder. I thought this was a brilliant idea. You stamp with Versamark and sprinkle on the powder as usual, but when you heat it, it becomes glue! This means you can add whatever you like to your stamped image – foils, glitter, flock, etc. etc. – making them much more versatile. I am looking forward to trying this.

I love how the stuff was packaged. It was wrapped up in red tissue paper with the lovely rough string tying it up, and attached was the little double-heart charm! All these things will be useful in projects.

Also this week, my Tyvek envelopes arrived from Ebay. I was thinking again about getting stuff much more cheaply from different sources from the usual art/craft suppliers who really bump up the price of things. I know that in the USA a lot of mailings are done using Tyvek envelopes because this stuff is so tough and won’t tear, but it is still light, and superficially looks and feels like paper. I had never seen them used here in the UK but decided to have a look on Ebay, and there were masses of them listed, and they are really cheap. Several years ago I bought a couple of A4 sheets of Tyvek at a craft show and spent quite a bit on them, but I have worked it out that I can get a whole A4 sheet and two smaller pieces from each of the A4 envelopes and it works out at approximately 17p per sheet! Not bad, eh? On the cutting machines forum several people have reported that this stuff cuts fantastically well – a very clean and detailed cut is possible, and being so strong, there’s no danger of it ripping as you take it off the mat. Don’t attempt to cut it with a punch, though – I tried this and it jammed in the punch, and I had to prise it apart with a screwdriver!!

I also have some soap making supplies on order from Ebay. Our teacher supplies all we need at the class but since I want to continue at home, there are various bits and pieces I need.

In my Recycled Mini-Album I have now started the page about cars. My dad was very keen on all the cars he had in his lifetime, and only gave up driving when he was 89! So some pages about his cars will be a real celebration. They meant more to him than just a means of getting from A to B.

I began by selecting some images and typing some text, printing them and then cutting them out.

Some of these will be used for the “professional life” pages, but in the meantime I cut out the “cars” text and stuck it down onto the page with soft matt gel medium.

I then added a rough wash of titanium white acrylic paint mixed with Golden GAC-100 polymer.

There may be further layers added to this page – it is still very much in the embryonic stage and I need to think a bit more about what I am going to do! The photos will be laid down over the text and more paint added, and I may add some further embellishment. And, of course, the borders! Watch this space.

I had the result of my latest blood test a couple of days ago and I am no longer anaemic! I need to check with the doctor, but she said to me last time I saw her that once I am back to normal, I may need to carry on with one iron tablet per day instead of three, in order to keep me topped up. I can’t say I feel any different, but my haemoglobin levels were only slightly below normal.

Yesterday my hubby took me back to the mobility centre because the new and improved seats on the small folding buggies had come in. The new and improved buggies themselves are still on order, but at least I could try the new seat. It was very comfortable, and a huge improvement on the original awful bicycle-saddle-like seat! We have decided to get a small foldable buggy that will go in the back of the car so that I can go further afield on outings than with the wheelchair. The big buggy will only go in the car with a huge amount of effort and is so heavy that my hubby says he can feel it affecting the steering. I shall continue to use it for outings from the house, and for church, as it is nice and comfortable when I have to sit for a long time. They think the new ones will be in after Christmas. Again, watch this space!

WOYWW 283

For details of how to join in the world’s most famous weekly nosey fest, please click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, which will take you to our hostess Julia’s blog, where you can find out what it’s all about.

First of all, I’m sorry to have visited so few of you last week. We’ve had a lot of problems with Mum who has been very difficult this week, and in between I’ve been alternately feeling extremely poorly (probably due to stress) and very busy trying to catch up with everything. My poor hubby has been feeling the strain too, and has been quite wonderful throughout, bless him. Time in my ARTHaven when I’ve managed it, has been amazingly therapeutic and stress-busting – my favourite room in the house is well named because it really is a haven from the stresses of our present life!

Here is my desk today.

On the left you will see the recycled mini-album I’ve been working on. I am desperately trying to get it finished by the end of the year but I think that may be over-optimistic! It is open at the latest page to be completed, relating to family holidays at the seaside in the 1950s and 60s. You can see more here.

Today I started on the next section, which will be about Scotland – Scottish ancestry and holidays north of the border. I have made the second tag for insertion in the album, which you can see under the distress ink pad. I coloured it with distress stains, and made a puller for it at the top with a thistle drawn on either side, and coloured with the distress inks you can see in the picture. I have done some journaling on this with a black archival pen. The tag is similarly coloured on the reverse, where the journaling continues. It will be inserted into the pocket I have created at the centre of the current signature that I am working on.

Earlier in the week I completed the page I showed you last week:

and also finished the next page.

This is the finished page, as on this week’s desk photo above:

introducing a bit more colour into the album. I am still continuing with the black and white borders throughout. I need to cut back on the embellishments from now on as the book is getting alarmingly thick and I’ve only just started the second signature! I thought I’d allowed myself lots of room for added thickness on the pages, but it’s amazing how quickly they bulk up.

This week I also hit a major milestone – I got my new sewing machine going! After I got it in the early summer, I put it on the back burner because there were other things I needed to concentrate on, but this week, I needed to alter a mattress cover to convert it from double to single size, and this was a good project to start with, as it was basically just sewing straight seams.

The machine is MUCH more complicated than my old one! The whole job took simply ages, because I took so long pouring over the book just trying to discover how to thread the thing for starters! It is covered with buttons and lights, and so far I’m only dimly aware of what they all do, but I am quite sure that before long, it will all be second nature to me. At least I’ve discovered I can turn it on, and I can do straight stitching and zig-zag, so that’s a start!!

Beatrice, our older cat, has been put on yet another course of antibiotics, and we are now trying her with a different Hill’s Science Plan diet, this time for bladder health. We’ve got to watch her to make sure she isn’t intolerant to it, because she’s been on the Hill’s gastro-intestinal diet up until now, which she is able to keep down – she has such a delicate little tummy! She seems happy enough and well enough, but we just can’t seem to get on top of the infection. I had a long chat about her with the lovely vet who calls himself “Uncle Luke” and who has a massive soft spot for Beatrice – they all love her down at the surgery because she’s such a character and such a good girl when she’s there! (I hope by calling himself Uncle Luke, he isn’t expecting us to come up with a hamper from Fortnum’s at Christmas, like Mrs. Pumphfrey in “All Creatures Great and Small” who had the overfed Pekinese and called the vet “Uncle Herriot”!!) Beatrice has started growing her winter coat and it’s amazingly soft and fluffy, but she’s way too thin underneath. We are feeding her little and often to try to build her up.

Not sure how much I shall get done in my ARTHaven this week, or how many desks I’ll manage to visit. Friends for tea on Thursday, then doctor’s appointment on Friday (another blood test to see if I’m still anaemic). I’m also in the throes of sorting out all my summer and winter clothes, to make the transition now it’s got so much colder!

Have a great week, everybody, and happy WOYWW!

WOYWW 279

For information as to how to join in our wonderful weekly hop around to see how messy our desks are, click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, which will take you to our hostess Julia’s blog where all will be explained.

I haven’t had much time this week to do anything much creative, because I’ve spent about four days on the recliner resting and feeling exhausted. I think our recent busy-ness has been catching up with me. Also, being the first week of the month, I have been busy doing the accounts, which I have now finished. In addition to this, two or three weeks ago I had to apply for a new blue badge (disabled parking badge) and sent off the application to Devon County Council, only to have it returned and to be informed that I now had to apply to our local town council since we’d moved. The form duly arrived, and of course it was different, and required different documentation, so apart from the (quite embarrassingly awful) photo I had done in a photo booth recently, I’ve had to more or less reapply from scratch. What a pain it all is! It seems these days that you can’t move without having to provide at least 3 documents proving your identity, and I have nothing with a recent photo on it.

Anyway, to my desk. This is what that end of my ARTHaven looks like today:

On the left, on the curve, is my iMac. Balanced on top of my little rack of tapes is the gorgeous pincushion made for me by Lunch Lady Jan a few years ago when we did an ATC swap with WOYWW. My distress inks are all out because I’ve got fed up with them in a box, and have yet to decide how on earth I’m going to store them… On the main desk is my latest masterboard which I completed last night (see previous post). This is what it looks like now.

You can see the brown one I made, on the pulled-out unit to the right of the picture, beside my new envelope punch board.

The other night I spent quite a long time cutting up a new set of alphabet stamps that came with my recent new parcel of stash, and sticking them down onto EZ Mount Foam. Even with my Tim Holtz scissors that have non-stick blades, it was an extremely sticky and unpleasant job! Not my favourite occupation but it had to be done.

I am hoping to have more time and energy for art during the coming week. I have been finding it very frustrating that what small supplies of energy I have, tend to get used up doing things I have to do, and then there’s none left for any fun! I’ve had the result of my blood test and I am still anaemic, so back on the iron again. Shoshi pumping iron lol!

Happy WOYWW, everyone.

WOYWW 278

Well, here we are again, back to another Wednesday where we all share what we’ve got on our desks! To join in the fun, please click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, which will take you to our hostess Julia’s blog, where all will be explained.

A week alternating between being busy and being too tired to do anything but lie on the recliner… Such is life for a foggy-brained M.E.-er.

At least I’ve managed to be a bit productive in a creative sense – I’ve finished my first masterboard. You can see it on top of the pile on my desk.

You can read all about it here (rather a long post, I’m afraid – it was quite a marathon to end up with the effect I wanted).

Underneath the completed masterboard are a couple more that I’m working on. I used the same sized paper to iron off the clear embossing resist, and decided to use these sheets to create further masterboards, one in green and the other in yellow. Underneath those is another sheet that I used to blot off the heat embossing on the green one – this embossing has now been on three pieces of paper! How’s that for recycling?

Last Wednesday evening I went to my first felt class, and the second is tonight. As for the piece I made last week, I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do with it but I will probably add some embroidery and turn it into a little picture of a poppy field.

Meanwhile, it has been sitting on the hall table until my hubby announced that the kitties like lying on it!! I have put it in my ARTHaven out of harm’s way, but it got me thinking that once my felt-making skills are up to it, I must make them each a cat cave.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and most of Sunday after church, were spent crashed out on the recliner feeling total c**p, apart from a brief burst of creativity when I made a house-moving card for my aunt who has just moved into a residential home.

For those who expressed an interest last week, I made a matching envelope for this, using my new WR Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board, and you can read about it here, which is also the blog post about the above card. I was really pleased with how the card turned out, and more than delighted with the envelope board which really does do what it says on the tin – the first envelope board I’ve actually managed to get to grips with!

Yesterday I managed to complete my latest Youtube video, which is about a tiny Zentangle drawing on a teabag stain, made into a thank you card. I always seem to have a backlog of videos because they take such a long time to edit.

Also yesterday, my hubby, Mum and I all went to the doctor’s surgery to have blood tests! Mum’s is her weekly one to get her warfarin dose stabilised, and they also looked at the latest wound on her leg where she bashed it yet again just before she went to my sister’s. It’s not looking too good and they took a swab. My hubby’s was for his sugar levels to see if he’s managing to stave off diabetes, and mine was to check my haemoglobin to see if I need another course of iron. Results should be in by Friday. I’m also hoping they’ll change the Gaviscon I’ve been prescribed because it is so disgusting!!

This coming week, if I get time in between doing the accounts (boring) I hope to make further progress on the two masterboards, and get back to my recycled mini-album which has been neglected of late as my mojo in that department seems to have forsaken me somewhat. I have now set myself a deadline to complete it by Christmas so I’d better get a move on.

Have a great creative week, everyone, and happy WOYWW.

Health Update–September 2014

Following my last health update, I have been taking the Omeprazole for some time now, and it definitely seems to be helping with the reflux, although I am still aware of something at the back of my throat. I am not coughing as much, and haven’t been disturbed at night by acid in my throat, but the GP said I should definitely see the ENT surgeon just to make sure everything was OK.

I had my hospital appointment today, and after a brief consultation he shone a light in my mouth, and palpated my neck. I thought that was going to be it, but no… he then sprayed some local anaesthetic up my nostril and proceeded to poke a light up my nose!! It was very small, on the end of a flexible tube, but despite the local anaesthetic, it felt like a lamp-post! It was pretty unpleasant. My nasal passages are apparently very narrow (which would explain why my nose is so often blocked). He said he needed to examine my vocal cords and the back of my throat in general, and said that there was still evidence of reflux there.

He prescribed Gaviscon Advance for six weeks, and said to continue with the Omeprazole, and then see my GP. The Gaviscon puts a blanket layer over the top of the stomach contents, and along with the acid-reducing Omeprazole, this should sort the problem. He also recommended propping the head of the bed up on bricks to elevate my upper body so my hubby is going to sort that – although what it will look like I don’t know – it’s a four-poster and might look like a ship on the high seas!

I saw the gastroenterologist a few weeks ago about my ulcerative colitis, and he continues to be pleased with my condition, which is responding well to the Pentasa medication. I had thought that my next colonoscopy wouldn’t be until August 2015 (two years after my first one) but he wants me to have it in February, which will be something nice to look forward to after Christmas (not…)!

Following a recent blood test, I have been told I am still mildly anaemic, so continuing with the iron for another few weeks. I am probably bleeding from the bowel although I’m not aware of it, but it could be enough to lower my haemoglobin sufficiently to need medication.

I bought a circulation booster from Ebay and it really helped with the swollen ankles. Now the weather has cooled off, the problem really isn’t so bad, and I have stopped using the machine for now, but it’s there if I need it.

Since my recent heart attack, I haven’t really been feeling myself – not exactly depressed, but feeling under the weather and a bit down, and rather unsettled. This is very unlike me because I’m usually very upbeat and bubbly. My creative mojo seems to have departed a bit recently, too. I had put it down to the constant low-level stress I suffer from with Mum in the house, but the other day I thought to myself that whenever I’ve had a day feeling like this, after a good night’s sleep the feeling generally disappears, but recently this has not happened. I mentioned it to my hubby at this point, and he said he wished I’d said something before, because he knows that it is very common indeed for people to get depression after a heart attack. I had no idea, but since then have spoken to several people who have experienced it. My hubby told me to Google it, and 18,900,000 search results appeared!!! He said, “Well, get reading then…” and I said if I read all that lot I’d be severely depressed by the end, not to mention still being at it well into the New Year!! It made me feel a lot better knowing that this was quite normal, and although I felt very down a couple of days ago, I’m feeling very much better again today.

I think I have to accept that it’s going to take time, and that my whole system suffered more of a shock than I was aware of. The most important thing is not to worry, and to know that it will pass. I don’t feel it’s bad enough to approach the doctor with.

My M.E. is ongoing, of course, and fluctuates from day to day, but there’s nothing new to report there, except to say that the dry mouth problem was probably a recurrence of this very common M.E. symptom, which has now gone into abeyance again. I have been continuing with the Sterimar routine before bed, and making sure my nose is as clear as possible before I go to sleep, and this is helping.

Ending on a cheerful note, I have been doing the 5:2, or “Fast” diet since our return from holiday towards the end of June, and am happy to report that this is the most brilliant diet I’ve ever been on. Because you reduce your calorie intake on only two days a week, and eat normally for the rest of the week, it is sustainable. Having to watch one’s diet every day, and deprive oneself of all the things one enjoys, soon becomes very tedious, and this is why so many people give up, especially when the weight loss tends to plateau, sometimes for several weeks.

I have had a three or four week plateau when I lost no weight, but I’ve stuck with it, and over the past couple of weeks, the weight loss has started again, resulting in a further half-stone coming off! I have now lost a total of 1 1/2 stone since June, and I am highly delighted. It doesn’t seem to be showing much – at least, not where I want it to (my stomach and bum) but one or two people have asked me if I’ve lost weight as it’s showing round my face, apparently!

So, generally speaking, I am pleased with how things are going. I am hoping that will be the last of the hospital visits for the rest of this year, at least for myself!

Mum, on the other hand, seems to be constantly going to the hospital or GP surgery these days. She had a TIA (transient ischaemic attack, or mini-stroke) a little while ago and has been undergoing tests since then, resulting in a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) and she is now on Warfarin, necessitating a weekly blood test until they stabilise the dose. Her blood pressure continues to be very high, and she is therefore at increased risk of another TIA or more serious stroke. She has bashed her leg again… and a few weeks ago, Phoebe, one of our kitties, scratched her arm, both of which needed an A&E visit and dressings which required changing – each time she has such an injury to her paper-thin skin, she digs her heels in and refuses point-blank to go to the hospital and we have to go through the whole process every time, of my hubby getting really stroppy with her and bullying her into submission! She never learns… she has no idea how serious such things can be at her age (93), and how they could easily get infected and lead to ulceration and worse. Oh well, my sister can deal with it for 10 days – we are currently enjoying a lovely break! After everything that’s happened recently, I think we deserve it – my hubby especially, as he is the one who has to drive her, and pick up all the prescriptions, etc.