62. Not running London

You may have noticed that the biggest marathon in the country, the London Marathon, took place on Sunday. It is a long time since I last took part in that one – not since last century! – but I couldn’t help watching it on TV. I’m not sure the coverage really puts across the fact that the elite runners are running twice as fast as I could ever manage on a short sprint, for mile after mile, and making it look effortless (up to a point). Watching the other runners cross the line is mesmerising, as I look out for the light and dark blue quarters of the Burgess Hill Runners vests to come into view. I hope that next year I will be able to go and volunteer or at least spectate.

I went to London on Monday to see the dentist in preparation for my implants and some other crowns (if you have been following this for a long time, you might remember the loose screw under one of them).

I took both crutches with me for the trip and found people on the crowded tube offering me their seats and asking if they could help. I might keep hold of them for future trips. I suppose I should have used the lifts at the underground stations but it seemed more convenient to use the escalator, even though it required a leap of faith to step on when going down. However, I will be putting the crutches away now that I can walk longer distances with just a bit of a limp.

Later in the day I called in on the Photographers’ Gallery near Oxford Street: the Bert Hardy pictures of 1930s onwards were the most accessible, while some of the images on the top two floors were a little more challenging and I doubt they would have scored well with our camera club judges.

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Most of the week was spoiled by another cold, leading to another chest infection and more antibiotics. Talking to my GP, he asked if I commonly suffered from respiratory problems. I explained that before my Stem Cell Transplant I would annoy Sue no end by catching and recovering from the worst flu bug within two days at most, but this year I have already had to resort to antibiotics twice. He asked about my maintenance treatment and reminded me that Lenalidomide is an immuno-suppressant, so perhaps I am going to have to watch out for these things more often in future.

Otherwise, there is not much to report on the Myeloma treatment. I take Lenalidomide for three weeks then enjoy a week off, which was this week. I didn’t really notice any difference in terms of side effects, the cold and cough overshadowing everything else.

It’s hospital week next week and I’m feeling confident about the visit: I don’t expect the blood tests to reveal anything nasty regarding paraproteins this early in my remission. I’ll be interested to see how my haemoglobin is recovering because I still feel tired, as if it is still low. I hope I don’t have to go back on iron tablets as my digestive system has only just recovered from the last packet.

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Later in the week I was able to attend my first digital volunteer session at the library, helping someone to upload pictures for a Visa application. At last, I am returning to a new normal. I also went for a mid-week curry with old work colleagues which gave me enough leftovers for a doggy bag, sorting me out for the following day’s lunch.

However, I missed the Portrait Group session with the camera club due to the chest infection. My breathing made me sound like a cat purring loudly. Hopefully I’ll attend the next one.

Thankfully I made it to my sister Liz’s 70^th birthday celebration, with a family get together. Congratulations, Liz, and enjoy your holiday away. I found and printed lots of old pictures of her, including the obligatory baby in the bath one, but here we are together in the days before colour.

And to prove that we never throw anything away, in case it might come in useful…

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The camera club finished the season with its AGM, free teas and coffees, and prizegiving. Despite missing so many sessions while without my immune system and then lazing about with a broken leg, I came away with two magnificent cups: the Martlets cup for the Preliminary Group’s digital images and the 75 year old Baxter Cup for the Monochrome Print Picture of the Year.

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I think it will be time to bring these weekly updates to an end soon, as it’s less of a Myeloma Diary and more just a Diary now. But I’ll let you know next week how Wednesday’s hospital visit goes, before I reduce the frequency down to “occasional”.

Thanks for reading and take care.