Thanks for the nudge Paul.

Glad to report all is nice and boring here so after the turmoil of the last 6 months I can confirm boring is excellent!

In myself I feel well, pretty fit and strong once again. This is such a relief going from the extremities endured during the first part of the year. I would say I am roughly back at 90% ability of where I was pre lymphoma so making good headway and full expect to regain the last 10% before Christmas.

My stomach is definitely more sensitive than it used to be so this will take getting used to. After chatting with my consultant this is no doubt due to the scarring due to the chemo but things ought to settle down in time. The best way I can explain it is after hurting yourself or breaking a limb you become ‘aware’ you broke that leg or whatever so it’s the same for me with my stomach.

Anyway, Kirstin and I got married almost 3 weeks ago which was a fabulous day. All our family and close friends made the celebration and even the Aberdeen weather played ball. It was a relaxed and friendly affair and everyone seemed to have fun. With the kind donations from family and friends and my employer fund matching I’m hoping to have raised around 10k for the friends of anchor charity which is great.

We had our brief honeymoon camping on Anglesey for a few days which was fun. The weather held mostly ok even long enough for me to get sunburnt (chemo plays havoc with your skin) but that’s a lesson learnt. After spending a week back in Wales we traveled back up to Aberdeen for Cerys to start school. She’s been there on half days for 2 weeks now so I’m enjoying being able to walk her there in the mornings and collect her at lunchtime. Kirstin has also returned to work so she is slowly settling back to normality. I too return to work next Monday so am looking forward and dreading that in equal measures. I’m thankful however that my employer has left me be and will offer whatever support I require on my return.

I/we did have a minor wobble last week where I thought my stomach had began to grow again (atypical for Burkitt’s) so I contacted the haematology department in ARI and had blood tests and a consultation that day and followed with a CAT scan the following day. Everything appears to be ok so this will be the new ‘normal’ for a while I guess. I first became paranoid because I noticed Kirstin looking at my stomach which then in turn made me paranoid which affected my eating etc.. in actual fact I think the main reason was now we are married I don’t bother holding it in so much!

It all still feels a little weird and since my hair has all returned the only external marks are from the PICC lines. The neuropathy in my feet has improved greatly and only the tips of my toes feel fuzzy. All in all its like it happened to someone else or was a TV program I watched rather than something far more serious that we’ve come through which is a huge relief.

This whole saga has definitely changed my perspective on life and work life balance but it scarily easy to fall back into bad habits which I’m trying to avoid.

Anyway, that’s it from me and hope you are all well.

Cheers.

John

It’s only just dawned on me that you are not the French bloke from Southampton, who of course was simply juan, without a menage-a-un reference. But nonetheless, I am as happy for you as I was for him when the last few updates were posted. Bonne chance!

Glad to hear that you are doing well and that the wedding was awesome.

Thumbs up! Nice one…

So much good stuff in the OP’s most recent post. I approach the cancer threads with some trepidation these days, only really diving in when i feel up to it but I’m so glad I caught up with this one again. Really happy for you and you’re right about not needing to hold your stomach in anymore, she’s stuck with you now, let it all hang out fella.

8) Nice to hear some good news.

Back in the office and its like I’ve never been away! Almost makes me appreciate the upcoming ‘discussion’ with IT on passwords, updates etc

Very happy for you. I’ll pray that you get back up to your full strength pal. Happy to hear the wedding any honeymoon went well, hope Cerys settles into school and that your return to work goes as smoothly as can be expected. You seem to have a very supportive network all round which is a great blessing. God bless you and yours.

I keep missing these posts somehow.

Good news all round then. Well, apart from the discussion on IT passwords. 8)

Terrific stuff!

Glad to see you made it into the cancer survivors club. Nice thing about it is it’s seems to get bigger all the time.

The worry every time something feels different it could be something way more serious that it is, stays for a long time.

Even though for me it’s been over 20 years clear, I’d say that knowledge somewhere in the very back of your mind that your whole world can go to shit in an instant is with me every day. But I have always felt that that is the posative of the whole thing, I’ve always felt I really do appreciate everything more than those around me.

When I hear friends complaining about taking their kids to this club and that every night or having to do some meaning less task with “their other half”, I just don’t get it, I seem to have been left with the ability to appreciate nearly every minute of every day.

Although…. I have been told I some times lack a bit of empathy at times…

This is great news. So happy for you

Ace.

When I hear friends complaining about taking their kids to this club and that every night or having to do some meaning less task with “their other half”, I just don’t get it, I seem to have been left with the ability to appreciate nearly every minute of every day.

The human condition seems to be predilected to not knowing what we have till it’s too late, or we’re ‘lucky’ enough to only get a fleeting glance on that world and gain the insight in time to use it.

But I’d agree you do lack a bit of empathy. 8)

Brilliant stuf!

Awesome news! 😀