Category Archives: Health

An Inspirational Journey

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I’ve been quiet on here. I’ve been busy. We’re currenly in the process of selling our house and that’s a whole different level of stress… I don’t tend to deal too well with matters out of my control. Most of the factors there including Estate Agents, Solicitors, and other 3rd parties are out of our control.

I came across a recent video posted by Moog from Mighty Car Mods on their second YouTube channel covering his journey to compete in a CrossFit competition, having never done any serious exercise for decades (he’s now in his mid 40s). It’s a great documentary film, and should inspire many to get up and experience the outdoors.

I’ve exercised on/off for many years as it’s a good way to destress, and the exercise I do at home (5BX variation) is something that can be done anywhere, at no cost, without a massive amount of time required on a daily basis.

Following my cancer diagnosis and treatment 3 yrs ago, I needed to learn to walk again, but it was the determination (and requirement) to exercise and get strong again kept me going and focused.  I still needed to seek therapy following that exerience, but the exercise and determination to get back doing the hobbies I enjoyed previously kept me on the straight and narrow.

I should add that it was MCM that led me down the slippery slope to turbocharge my MX5, before it was really popular here in the UK. I’ve still got that car, and following 8 months of chemo, all I wanted to do was to get that completed and running properly, which I now have. It kept me driven.

Enjoy the film, and thanks Moog.

New Beginnings

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Last week I finished working at the job I’ve been working at for 5 years. That’s a long time and a lot has happened in that time.

The postives: got another cat, got some new cars, made progress on my Mazda, visited some new places (Amsterdam, Paris, Hamburg, various places in Wales, Cornwall), got married!

Negatives: Got Cancer (and covid); spent the last year working through a company that had gone through multiple acquisitions culminating in me going off on stress leave for around a month.

Enough is enough!

I’ve been engrossed in watching or learning about Cerro Gordo Ghost Town (see Ghost Town Living) and it’s been a really interesting experience watching someone who had no real life experience of living alone in the middle of nowhere. Needless to say he had the quick realisation that he was the only person who could determine anything that happened there, and he’s got some great philiosophical insights. One thing I’ve really taken away from that all is what he said and that is that if you don’t like something, do something about that. And that’s what I did!

Work got too much and after the big C, I have a different outlook on life. Making the most of every day and life in general is important, and I’m not going to spend it being unhappy, so I spent the time I had taken during the absence of leave finding a new job. Big priorities were ensuring it was another remote working role – I’ve been working remotely since around the beginning of the pandemic and I’ve enjoyed it. You do get lonely at times, but at the same time the pros outweigh the cons. Not having to get stressed in rush hour traffic and shout at other drivers is a bonus. That is one good thing that has come out of the pandemic really, and something that I could have done for a long time (working in IT) but it took that to wake a lot of people up.

Cancer, Chemo and Corona

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It’s a weird world we find ourselves in right now. Even more so and scary when having to undergo a pretty involved operation and now continuing with chemotherapy. So just to bring people up to speed with that — the operation I had earlier in the year was to remove the primary tumour. Further scans are good. Chest CT came back with no change prior to the op. The downside is that there are no base line scans to go on, so the only scans are since Sept ’19, up until last month. The scans get repeated, and the next will be due in around 6 months.

I’ve now started chemo treatment and already had one lot at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, and where I’ll be back at the beginning of May. They’ve been great so far and Ward 41 rocks.

With Covid-19 going round, undertaking chemo isn’t necessarily ideal, as it tears down your immune system. I’m pumping myself with vitamins and drinking plenty of fluid as that’s recommended to keep everything going. They’ve told me to carry on eating as much as I can and I can even have the odd beer.

In other news, physio is actually continuing on my knee and leg where I had the op earlier, so this is a two pronged approach. I’m currently mobilising with crutches fine and have 20 degrees of movement in my knee joint with a new swanky leg brace. I’m doing 4-5 sets of physio exercises a day to build up muscle and tendon strength in my leg.

Honestly, the start of this year wasn’t great, but when Corona came along as selfish as it sounds, I’m in the same boat with everyone else now. I’ve not really gone out away from home apart from hospital since the beginning of the year. I’m beyond the crazy stage, and have come to adapt. With me being able to mobilise better I am now able to at least get into the garden a bit. Getting transported to the hospital is the most outdoor action I’ve got in recent weeks and you soon get over how much you take for granted just being able to go outside. It’s been a challenge but hopefully by the time lockdown gets lifted, my physio will be coming on and I’ll at least be able to sit in a car. 6 cycles of chemo in theory takes me to around November 2020, if they decide to go that far. They may stop at 4 depending on how well I handle it.

One thing I have taken out of this whole journey is how damn lucky I am compared to some people, and that there is and will always be someone worse off. I’ll probably try and keep some of these posts shorter but wanted to clear things up. Cancer is a funny topic, with many people not wanting to openly speak about it or experiences but I think it’s worth bring people up to date.

One thing I would say is in any circumstances such as this, is that please do go and see your GP as soon as something doesn’t look or feel right. Don’t take painkillers for prolonged periods of time to supress pain as the pain shouldn’t be there to begin with. I went after a month of persistent pain in my leg, and I’m so glad I did. I’d urge you to do the same!