George's Funeral

Thank you to everyone who has sent cards, emails and comments. It is lovely to know how much you all cared for George.

George's funeral will be on Monday 14th December at 2pm in Dalwood Church. He is being cremated, but he wanted the whole service to be completed at Dalwood, including the committal - he didn't want anyone to go to the crematorium. His ashes will be buried in the churchyard later, privately.

No flowers please, but if you would like to make a donation in George's memory please do so to either the Cancer Research UK project on malignant melanoma:

http://myprojects.cancerresearchuk.org/projects/skin-cancer 

or to Hospiscare, who looked after George with such care, in both the in-patient unit and at home:

http://www.hospiscare.co.uk/Support_us/single_donation_form.htm 

(There will also be an opportunity to donate to Hospiscare at the Church).

I'm so very sorry to be posting this. George died yesterday, very peacefully, in the Hospice in Exeter. We went in there in the morning after his condition deteriorated, and I was with him.

Alex and Theo (and Jo) had visited the day before, and Anne also came round for a private communion.

I will post again in a few days.

Christine

I'm afraid I'm still not feeling very well, and I missed another day yesterday. However, I'm a bit brighter today, which was good because the Hospiscare nurse and the District Nurse came round this afternoon and talked about whether we need extra help. Someone is going to come round in the mornings, which is good, and I'm getting more toys including a rope ladder to fit to the bed (me Tarzan)!

I've also been given some food supplement things which are horribly sweet, but said to be ok mixed with yogurt. Many thanks to Ray B for fetching the yogurt at a moments notice.

Once again Christine is typing this for me.

Wednesday 25th:a belated update

I am sorry not to have blogged for a while, but I haven't been too well for a few days. On Monday we had a pretty full day at the hospital, where I met my new consultant. We had a very full discussion about chemo, a lot of which I didn't follow! Basically there is an option which sometimes knocks the tumours back a bit, but it has very serious potential side effects for people with brain mets. It is also heavy duty chemo rather than the pills the previous Doctor talked about (which are not likely to be effective either). So I need to think about this chemo option, but it is difficult to focus on at the moment because I am feeling ill and the pain in my leg is bad again. It might be because we had a full day on Monday, but I actually missed yesterday, beyond having a vague idea that the Hospiscare nurse visited and said that I should just be allowed to sleep, and would feel better tomorrow (ie today)!

I do feel better today, and Alex visited which was nice, but I still feel pretty lousy and the involuntary jerks are annoying. They are trying an anti-convulsent for this, so fingers crossed.

That's about it. I'll keep you posted.

Thursday evening: an update

Evening all; for those that have been wondering what I have been up to after my recent new treatment, the answer is sleeping practically all the time. They did say I might suffer from flu-like symptoms but made no mention of sleepiness. I'm also finding it difficult to concentrate, so Christine is typing this for me. And there was something else, but I forget what it is - oh yes, forgetfulness!

Yesterday we went to Otter Nurseries, as Hilary mentioned on Sunday that they had a lot of helpful disability aids. New toys include a clever stick to pick things up, a fluffy neck pillow, a magnifying glass and a special LED reading light. Should keep me happy.

The wheelchair technician came yesterday to fit the new leg rest, and says that the lightweight wheelchair should be here soon. A man from Social Services came to measure for a bigger shower step this morning, and the District Nurse popped in to change the dressing on my leg. We are truly grateful to have these wonderful organisations - it all works so well.

Theo is visiting today and tomorrow, and has moved heroic piles of logs into the house for us.

Sunday, and then a day at the hospice

Yesterday we went to the service in St Peter's, at which Morris from the Tuckers Arms was christened in front of his proud parents and family. He played his part perfectly until right near the end, when he made it clear that getting wet was not his favourite past-time.

We spent a day at the hospice today, mainly for an infusion of a drug called Zometa. This replaces the previous drug called Pamidronate, and is far more effective in causing bones to absorb calcium more effectively, and hence may be better at helping to control pain in my leg.

We also talked to the consultant about how to recognise the progress of the disease, and she said that the most likely scenario would be increased tiredness, and more prolonged periods of sleep. She felt that it would be possible to manage pain levels so that they did not become a problem.

Thursday - Alex's birthday

Yesterday was very special, in that some friends in the village had organised an informal prayer meeting which took place in the morning in the village church. Anne Mills led about twenty-five of us for about an hour, and both Christine and I felt really uplifted. Thank you to all who could attend, and to those who were unable to be there but support us from a distance

Today is Alex's birthday (our eldest son) and he popped down for lunch in River Coffee Canteen, which was lovely.

There is no news on the medical front, but a lightweight wheelchair is on order.