Alastair, Cook us some supper.....

We're getting into some sort of a routine I think....mornings, not so great...afternoons, passable...evenings, good. Tom, Jack and I all agreed yesterday that Jill had been on good form while we were with her last night....and all of us were all in good spirits when we boys finally left. Today, however, Jill tells me she spent the morning being very tired, and when I spoke to her at lunchtime she was barely audible. She was, to quote her own words, "pants until 2". That was a little worrying, but I knew she had a visitor with her...and I stayed in touch with them via texts.

This morning, before I left for the metropolis, I emailed a few States Members to tell them where we are with Jill and cancer. I have great support from my friends in the "big house'....and some of them have been on this journey with us since D Day (or should that be (the big) C day?) back in 2011/12. I've had lots of very understanding chats over the course of the day...although it's fair to say (as with everyone) that some are better than others at dealing with this type of thing. I had a big cup of coffee with The Dean half way through the morning.....he's a great guy, and just the sort of person you need when you get down into the detail of the personal stuff. Anyway, the States finished just before 6 this evening, so I came straight up to Hospice. 

Jill was still pretty sleepy when I arrived. Apparently she had lots of medical visitors....and her morphine dose had been changed. Instead of paracetamol they decided that extra morphine was the answer. Unfortunately, because of that extra morphine she was pretty spaced out...and trying to get her to tell me if they had doubled the dose (or quadrupled it as she was trying to assure me) was tricky. However, within an hour of me arriving she's back on form....as we keep saying....never turn down free drugs!

This evening Bex has arrived with supplies....chicken stir fry....some bits and pieces from home...and two dogs (yes, they're allowed in here). As I type we are watching Saving Lives at Sea....our weekly dose of RNLI lifeboat exploits from the UK. It all gets a little intense at times...with me, Dan and Jack all lifeboatmen (okay, so I'm way too old now...but I did my bit back in the day) we seem to always find something to argue about. Did they perform the rescue as we would have done? was the boat going fast enough? Was the water deep enough? How big was that wave? Was that the right First Aid? With Jack also being a Fire and Rescue personage there's lots of "banter"....but it's good to see where all the donations go, how other stations operate, and how normal people just like us (okay, so we're not so normal) give freely of their time to perform these great rescues. 

The hour between 7 and 8 had been spent watching the "Cricket on 5". For years we went as a family to The Oval for the final Test Match of the summer. It's nice to see things you recognise..."we sat there"..."and there"...that's where we saw Warne, or Lillee, or Botham, or Atherton....indeed, we have seen the very top cricketers from all around the globe over the years. Today (and yesterday) was Alastair Cook's day....how we wished we'd jumped on a plane yesterday and flown to Gatwick, train to Clapham Junction and then Vauxhall, and a walk up the Melling Road.  We all sat this evening there watching and wishing. With Jimmy Anderson breaking the world record for the most test wickets taken by a swing bowler, England have really had a real Test Match to remember.

Jill's, sorry that should be Sue's, fund raising efforts go from strength to strength. They are now over £7500 (our reader will notice that I've found the £ sign on this laptop by the way)....that's some going over only 10 days or so. Tomorrow we are expecting photos in the JEP...so go out and buy a copy! Jill and I have also agreed to do a longer interview with "The Post" so we look forward to being able to promote cancer awareness by doing that. The more people we can get to talk about cancer the better.....and generally it's us boys who are less inclined to seek help. we have had the most fantastic treatment over the year, but these wonderful people can only do their best if their patients come forward for early examination. 

Finally, and before I hand over to she who must be obeyed (provided we agree of course!), I have to relate the story of Jill's faux pas yesterday(strangely enough she didn't tell me about this until this evening). Our reader will remember the special chair that can push you up by pushing a button. Well, yesterday Jill found herself in it. Unfortunately, when she came to want to get out, she found that the control didn't work as the chair was not switched on. Something she couldn't reach was the call button.....not good. So, what to do? The only thing she could reach was her mobile. So....she fired it up....and called the Hospice Reception. "Hello, yes, it's Mrs. Luce here. I'm in room number 3...and I could do with a hand!" No doubt they'll be talking about that for weeks to come. More tomorrow reader....

Jill is just too tired to add anything now. It's 10:40 and we've just got out of the bathroom. I've added two photos, so I'll finish with a promise that I'll get her to write something tomorrow. Night all.