RESPITE

Home at last! Made it yesterday afternoon complete with enormous green sack full of medicines. Too many pills to pop. A selection of antibiotics to protect my lungs, kidneys and stomach from a variety of infections. Hard work just swallowing them all - most of them enormous great buggers! Warm bath this morning. Heaven. Food still very problematic and not really wanting to eat anything, but having to try little and often. Hope appetite comes back once my bloods counts go up. Lost 9 lbs- (hurrah, hit my tone zone in double quick time!) and a lot of hair...

Luigi and I curled up on sofa this afternoon watching Casablanca. Lilly joins us, boney curled up ginger ball. Purring madly but clearly confused at my almost bald head! She looks at me quizzically. I stare out of the window at my square slice of garden - a bit dusty and overgrown wild edges. A dark blue hibiscus, lavender bending with bees, an elegant red fuscia bush that has spread through clematis and roses and now stands over 7 foot tall (Luigi and I bought it from Sissinghurst Castle seven years ago - a thin spindly twiglet in a plastic pot). A fluorescent yellow potentilla, hot pepper geranium and a mass of passion fruit crawling over the fence and stretching its way up to the top of the house. Just as two years ago, my garden gives me great pleasure. In a few days time I want to be out there pottering and drinking a cup of tea in the sun. Solid grey today though. This is the August we know.

Off now to do one turn round the Grassmount roundabout, my exercise for the day. Tomorrow will be in Day Unit for a platelet transfusion and blood tests. Dull blog. Bit like the weather! But so good to be home. Catch up soon TCH