Poorly Richard

The weather is changing, and winter is most defiantly on its way. All the illness are popping out and naughty Richard sat in bed watching tv with his brother. Alan had a sore throat and wasn't very well- Richard caught it and now I've got it. Of course im okay with it but with Richard he can't risk catching so now he's been told to go to hospital today. Means I can't go see him till I am better :( this is rubbish- naughty boy should have told me he had the sniffles then I wouldn't have caught it and I wouldn't have to stay away from him :(!
Hope he feels better soon.

Hickman line // cancer

The Hickman line has been removed. What should have been a simple removal ended up taking a very long time. It tutned out that the surgeon who put the line in had put it in quite deep, and because the skin heals around the tube, they have to cut the skin to take it out. Normally and most people only need one stitch, but unlucky for richard he ended up with 3, and has been in a fair bit of pain for the past few days.

On a positive note, it's great to have it out, no more things poking me or getting in the way. Here are a few fun photos i thought id share.

         

Lymphoma // Andi Bull

It's been the most random day today. I have a friend called Chris  from the Northampton chicken forum lend me a mink trap last night, he popped round the farm today to have a look at the mysterious holes and poo's. Lets hope i've caught something in the morning, just hope i'm prepared in-case it is a horrible looking mink.

I mentioned my Boyfriend couldn't help me because he's got cancer and that he's not allowed out door, straight away he came out with 'stem cell transplant' for the first time, i felt like i wasn't on another planet and someone new what i was saying and i didn't need to say anymore. Some one knew just what i was on about it was great. Didn't think any more of it, then sent me a link to look at....


http://www.andibull.org.uk/

His Brother lost his battle to Hodgkin s Lymphoma on 20th November 2010. He fought long and hard for the four years after being diagnosed in Septemeber 2006. I can't say how sad i am, i don't even know the chap and my eyes have been set in to tears. It's so sad to hear that he didn't make it. I know just what his family have been though, i feel the pain, the anger, the hope, the wish for him to get the better. No one will ever understand unless they have been through it. They say it's supposed to be the most easiest Cancer to cure, and in some case, some people who Richard has met, have been lucky. They have had one set of treatment and it all went, unfortunately for other people they go though it all and don't even get better. Life is so cruel.

Results // Transplant

Today went really well and I am pleased to announce that Richard has had some brilliant news. The results from his recent PET scan show that everything has improved. His lungs and all lumps. It's not quiet 100% gone but it's all going in the right direction. I think I must of known it was all good because not once did I feel like this was bad news. Normally I get a gut feeling and know. Even Richard said on his way to the hospital that he felt like he was okay, normally when he goes in he feels pain here or there and knows something isn't right. For the first time he said he felt normal, and he was right its okay. :)
I'm so excited for him. He's still on all of his tablets and still on his steroid and on some cream to help this rashes. No mixing with people yet, as it is a little bit to early still. He can't risk catching anything as it could send it all back the wrong way, and that is the last thing that we want to happen. Means we can think about the engagement, saying that he still hasn't officially proposed yet - maybe that will be a Christmas thing, in the snow? well you never know hey. WE all have our little dreams and wedding fairy tales. Can't wait until we go on holiday again, it could actually happen again. Excitement is an understatement right now.

Another 3 moths and he could be in remission :) and it could be one hell of a party - as Richard says.


kick cancer !!!!

Results day tomorrow // Richard

It's Richards Results tomorrow and i should be spending the night with him, instead im stuck at home miserable as anything trying to come to terms with yesterdays, as i would call it a horror movie scene.

As always i popped down the farm to feed the animals, it was only about 9am if not a bit later than that, that i discovered poor rupert dead, i opened the pen to go in and look at him. My first intention was, that she had died in her sleep or vice versa and the rats//crows had started to eat at her... realizing how quiet it was and then realized i couldn't see any ducks in sight. normally my 3 months old camp-bells would have come over quacking away, very talkative, no where to be see. Find another dead duck at the far end pretty much eaten, i look to the right and see poor freddie stuck in between the chicken wire fencing with no head, walking around i then found the two campbell drakes behind the hutch. I was deverated, it was like i was in horrow movie. I bursted in to tears dropped the freshly cooked vegetable (as the ducks love them) and food and ran out. I phoned my dad in tears, Im still so upset about it tonight. Its so heart breaking because, what ever it was wiped all 7 ducks, freddie and the other one were old, but were okay and poor rupert loved to sit in the washing up bowl instead of the big bowl? They were my world, What took me by shock was that the two chickens were fine, not a stratch on them, event he teo geese were okay. One looked like she had put up a fight as she has a limp and funny eye but other than that i couldn't believe it.

the only thing we can conclude was that it could of been a mink- which is really scary. 

It's a sad and lonely world // MY LIFE

Up until now my grandparents have all been doing really well- unlike most of my friends I am extremely lucky to still have both of my grandparents at the age of 27.

My gran and grandad have always been the actives ones in there later days, always off traveling in there caravan and playing golf. Unfortunately this dream was shattered after grandad had a severe car crash, killing an old lady and her mother, leaving grandad with a broken back, broken ribs, punctured lungs and a broke wrist. They didn't think he'd make it, after spending 8 weeks in intensive care he made a full recovery within 3 months of his accident and was back home. He couldn't play golf any more and it was a very frustrating time for him do my gran and grandad decided on a new hobby -art was what they went for, they both loved it but grandad still missed his golf. Since then he's been up and down but was doing okay until recently he broke his neck, he can't turn his head due to a metal rod which makes life hard for him. He's had a tough time in addenbrookes, back am forth, halo put on but luckily after all that his neck finally started to heal.

Grandma and grandpa are the farmers, they spent several years in Kenya before returning to england to take over the family farm, which has been int he family for 5 generations- I am the firth family. I love it, it's becoming my life. Up until about a year ago now, grandma and grandpa were still feeding the animals and going down the farm. Dad was helping out here an there and then mum and dad went on holiday for a week- that was were it all begun. I learnt how to be a farmer for the week, clean and feed the animals. Once that week was over I'd only go down here and there, I'd meet grandpa and grandma just do they felt happy knowin I knew what I was doing and so on, what I didn't realise was, was this was going to pretty much change my up coming future. Since then I have pretty much taken up the farm- its still belongs to grandma an grandpa but I now go down twice a day, I now have my own chickens, ducks and have taken on looking after ruby. She is a gorgeous big and Very old. She's a beautiful long horn highland, with huge horns, she's ever so friendly and need s a lot of looking after and I love otX I've most certainly built a bond with her.
Life is just so hard, grandma and grandpa have been so active and now it seems as though grandpa is giving up. He was so up for going to the farm when he wanted too, was up to growing vegetables, off to the bank, and many more, now he can't even do any of that. Grandma has alizmera, she's eating worse by the day. Grandpa can't cope and grandma won't have any strangers in the house to help them.

Day 100 // transplant