Week 96 (18 - 24 May 2008)

A fairly quiet week apart from many, many, many phone calls to various hospitals, secretaries and answer phones. Andrea did get an appointment at the day surgery (in Queens Hospital, Romford) for Fri 23rd in preparation for a laparoscopy test on Sat 31st May. The appointment for the consultant urologist has been brought forward to 10th June also (from 8th July). Still some time to wait, but at least there’s some progress.

I spent 13 hours over 4 days doing examination invigilation at Coopers’ School, Romford. But it took 14 hours to complete the paper work – or so it seems. In the afternoons I went out to watch the trees growing for some excitement. The paint has already dried. Still, it has got me out and doing something useful. And I can’t complain about it being too noisy either! But it’s flexible and so can easily be arranged around hospital appointments. I will do more after the half-term week.

Andrea went back to the knitting group at church – but I’m not convinced they do much knitting. Pattern swapping and discussions about wool seem to be the norm. Makes exam invigilating seem thrilling! Although I remember the invigilators knitting when I was doing my exams several hundred years ago, so may be there is a link after all.

Week 95 (11 - 17 May 2008)

Our weekend at sunny Ashburnham Place ended all too soon. The conversations prompted by the talks are were enjoyable and challenging. As part of the morning session those present joined the church leadership in praying specifically for Andrea. For part of the afternoon we sat outside in the sun (or shade) again. We miss the sun and opportunities to spend more time outside! But the temperatures were more comfortable.

On Tuesday evening we visited Mr Bolton, a consultant who treated Andrea 15 years ago. The MRI scan report was not as clear as we had hoped and we have asked for a review. He couldn’t find anything obvious causing the pains but found that Andrea is very tender. He will arrange for a wider range of blood tests and a laparoscopy as soon as possible. We still hadn’t heard anything more by the end of the week – but did eventually get another appointment with the urologist – 8th July! We just need to check the year though.

Andrea’s brother, Ian, visited on Wednesday and we had a walk in one of the local parks, ending with an ice-cream. It’s the little things that keep us going. Just as well we went out as on Thursday the weather turned wet and colder again.

We supported the Christian Aid coffee morning on Saturday and took Andreas knitting efforts to sell along with one of the books we finished reading. We came back with five others though! Not ones we’ve read. Obviously. At least I don’t think we’ve read them but you know how the memory plays up sometimes.

Week 94 (4 - 10 May 2008)

On Sunday we all drove to Selsdon in Laura’s new car. I’ve never had a new car. Hm. It even has SatNav. Although on the way there I took its place. Not on the dashboard though. The minister of the church, Mike, used to be our minister in Brentwood and we have known their family for about 22 years. He took the very courageous decision to invite Laura to preach at their Christian Aid service. A member of the congregation who works for TEAR Fund (another relief agency) had heard several professional presentations during the previous week but said that he thought Laura’s was much better! We agreed! Not just because we’re her parents, but because she was clear, informative, passionate and challenging. Not bad for someone who missed most of her secondary education due to illness.

We had a great time with the Elcomes over lunch (and a great lunch too!). And were able to spend a little time with their married eldest daughter, Beccy, and speak to Hannah on the phone as she prepares for her degree finals in Manchester. Abi entertained us with her individual take on life!

Richard returned to Manchester on Sunday afternoon and Laura left us on Monday after lunch. That’s the worst bit about seeing them, they go away again!

The weather has become considerably hotter and sunny so we’re having to find our lighter clothes again so that we don’t overheat as we sit in the garden. We had another visit to Broomfield Hospital on Thursday – not to see the original consultant but another in the same department, or so we thought. We saw an assistant instead and although he didn’t seem to realise that the problem is more than urological he did refer to his senior. Not altogether satisfactory. All this has made us feel a lot older. Birthdays also have that effect. We didn’t feel like celebrating much but in the evening we had a meal with Gill & Steve and played their new Wii fitness ‘game’.

On Friday (the actual birthday) morning we saw our GP again and asked for a private referral to a gynaecologist. This is now planned for next Tuesday evening but we still need to see the original urologist again. In the afternoon we went to Ashburnham Place in East Sussex – 200 acres of farmland and wooded areas. This was for the church weekend away so we were joined by over 60 others! We were very grateful to have this opportunity to join in at short notice and even had a ground floor room near the meeting and dining rooms. It was warm enough to sit out by the lakeside on Saturday afternoon and very therapeutic. Meeting new people, and developing longer friendships, is always a bonus in these events. I wonder if that is the real purpose in having them. The gatherings are (only?) a focus and stimulation for thought and conversations. Conversations we could manage, thinking was a struggle.

Week 93 (27 Apr – 3 May 2008)

This was a fairly quiet week apart from an afternoon coffee with Steve, the church Youth Worker who came to Uganda with us in 2004. He has lent us a book about changes in the ways people are looking at churches – emerging churches.

On Tuesday we drove to north London and actually had the scans – a mere six weeks after seeing the consultant who regarded them as “urgent”! We anxiously waited for the results for the rest of the week. Our contact at InterHealth phoned on Friday to say that the scans were “inconclusive” but did show up some other possibilities for further investigation with gynaecology or back consultants. I drove back to Finchley to get a copy of the report and scan discs only to find that it would not be possible to see the urology consultant until Tues 13th at the earliest. And of course, next Monday is a Bank Holiday so we can’t follow up other avenues either. More than a bit frustrating.

Richard and Laura arrived on Friday evening and we spent Saturday catching up, stopping them “fighting” going to the park and investigating laptops for Laura. It is always great to see them, however briefly. They are both getting on well though Richard’s job is not the most interesting! Laura has received a grant for an Open University (OU) degree in International Studies and has just received the first pack of materials. She also has a bursary for a new laptop and printer. In addition to her work laptop.