One Day at a Time: Lazy Sunday Afternoons....

Weren't the Small Faces a fantastic group...some real classics among their repertoire..."Tin Soldier" maybe has the best ever intro that you'll hear to a rock song....Ronnie Lane was a master, Steve Mariott a genius. Kenny Jones is one only a couple of top drummers who have stood the test of time....who else has a drumming CV that lists The Small Faces, The Faces and The Who making others? Enough rock school lessons....but it did give the hook for today's title.

Jill's drug intake is slowly reducing (on average), but some days are better than others. Less Paracetamol and Oramorph, and the oral antibiotics have now finished. However, we have had our first experience of the "panic button" pill (well, that's what we call it). A couple of nights ago Jill woke up from a deep sleep at about 04:00 and immediately knew she was probably "in bother" and going to struggle to cough and breath at the same time. She decided that it was time to reach for the "panic button", or in pharmaceutical talk, Lorazepam. We only use half a tablet at a time, and these pills are small enough already. You place the pill under your tongue and it dissolves. To cut a long story short, it did trick....the only down side being that Jill could well have slept for the rest of the night and all morning as well. It was a real struggle to "get going", but hey....at least she was here to get going!

Yesterday we had already decided that we would make a big effort to go to Gorey to see the start of Stephe's rowing race to Carteret. We had our first experience of the wheel chair that's been ticking over in my office for the last fortnight...but it has to be said that it all went very well. We parked near Sumas restaurant, so fairly close, and got organised. Oxygen working, check. Wheelchair unfolded, check. Hat and sun cream, check. Finally, and most important, parking disc displayed, double check! We proceeded at some speed past the Moorings and Feast...and on down the pier. It's amazing how quick you can go if you try....and certainly much faster than we've been used to recently.

We arrive just in time for the start.....weather warm, sea glistening, sun high, breeze cooling....it was all good. Things got even better as we started bumping into friends.....two of which we had arranged to meet. Once the racers had all set off for La Bel France we rectified to the Thai restaurant for coffee and shade...both were very much welcomed.

The conversation on the way home centred on what a really good time we had had. This no doubt helped by the fact the wheelchair has just freed up some options that, until recently, we hadn't considered. The fact that Jilly can't really walk far without multiple stops, and then only at a greatly reduced speed, has "forced" us to use the wheelchair.....now we've started we're all wondering why we didn't use it before. The answer is that, as Jill will tell you, using a wheelchair is just another small step down the road of not being able to do things "normally"....and, as we all know, for Jill that's a toughie. As I told her, at least we got there...and we had a really good time...how we did it is immaterial.

So, following the guard boat duty for Stephe, the new boat has just spent its first night in France.....although I haven't yet heard from Jack today so I can't be 100% sure that it hasn't been impounded for some paperwork irregularity. The hope is that they will be back soon after lunch, and the plan is then to hopefully get Jilly and Aunty Angela out for a spin. Let's wait and see what materialises.

So...here we are...just back from our boat trip. What a great day, especially in the lee tucked in under the east coast. We did a couple of runs around the bay and then picked up a visitor's mooring at Gorey. Tea and biscuits in the sun...watching the (boating) world go by.....lovely. Met some friends at sea....and more back dry land....and when we got back the fantastic AH was delivering our supper. I'm just back now from walking the dogs...and the vegetables are now on...so food in 15! Jilly has coped well again today and I think has had a good time at sea. She says she will post some photos from her laptop.

Another week starts tomorrow...who know what it will bring. Chemo is due again on Tuesday, but is it working? We haven't had a CA125 result lately...so we don't know what the cancer markers are doing. Only a CT scan would really tell us....but that means lying flat (something that we don't do any more, lung issues that provoke coughing fits). I suspect we will also need some more advice on "fluid" issues. There's definitely no less than there was....and we know that draining more fluid out only reduces the Albumin levels further...which then releases more fluid into the body. A no win situation unfortunately.....but no doubt there may be something we can do....lets hope so.

Tonight we will be glued to TVs....I'll be watching the golf highlights and Jill the next Poldark episode. There's never a dull moment in the Luce household....don't say we don't know how to enjoy ourselves!

Rowing race/coffee with friends ....