Visiting Hospital Again!
Hurray!! I thought I've got through the weekend and I feel OK. Then, my left arm swelled up and became painful. As it was all up my arm but no obvious sign of redness I thought I'd just overdone it with the exercises and so discussed it with the lymphoedema nurse and physio who all thought the same. On wednesday, I had to take AJ for his blood test. Poor child he was obviously worried but very good about having the numbing cream on his arms and then covered up with a plaster. The worst bit was when they took the plaster off and it ripped his hair off his arms!! I distracted him for 20 mins while the cream acted to make his skin numb. That was the easy bit - OK I cheated - Burger King distracted him. Then we went back to the Butterfly Room for him to have his blood taken. My arm had become worse and when I looked at it , I noticed I had a red streak up it and the crook of my elbow had all gone reddish and was very swollen. My first thought was 'I don't want to be admitted' and then AJ got called in. Luckily, the nurse decided to take blood out of his right arm so I could hold it still whilst he and the play worker played with Buzz Lightyear. He only said 'ouch' once and was really pleased with the clown plaster and sticker they gave him. We went up to the emergency chemo ward and the nurse found me a bed and AJ sat with me whilst we waited for my notes and the doctor. Again, they took blood from me so AJ hid behind my scarf so couldn't see and eventually the doctor arrived. She couldn't see that my arm was swollen or the red streak but it was very obvious to me. She arranged for me to have a scan to see if I had a blood clot. We went up to the scanning room and was seen immediately!! They could see that my vein was all inflammed. As they put the ultrasound gel on, AJ asked 'what flavour jelly is it??' I couldn't answer that but it cheered me up. We went back to the ward and the doctor told me just to go home and come back if it got worse. so that was another 4 hours spent in hospital!!
Once home, I started to worry so went to see my own doctor the next day who gave me antibiotics and I also went to see the lymphoedema nurse in the afternoon who gave me a bigger compression sleeve. Hopefully, that will sort it out now.
Spoke too soon about Woody being OK. I noticed last night that he has a ganglion in his left wrist. Presumably, from playing with the XBox as i can't think what else he does with his left hand! It doesn't bother him but I know eventually I will take him to the doctor just to make sure that's all it is!!

Our house -
in 1997, we had to move from Kent to Hampshire and houses were selling very quickly. I was pregnant with the twins and living in Kent and hubby was camping out in Hampshire mon -frid and going back to Kent at weekends. House hunting was therefore difficult but also houses were selling as soon as they were on the market. Eventually, we found this house and it seemed great as it was bigger than other houses we'd seen and had a huge garden. We should have suspected something as it had not sold in 8 weeks!! The owner was very proud of his DIY and showed off his cupboards and all the other things he'd done in the house. Not all things were to our liking - he had a habit of putting borders in strange places and a fondness for artex on the walls and an obsession with kitchen worktops and louvre doors!! Especially strange was the varnished cracked toffee stones around the fireplace and breakfast bar/cupboard. I painted a really 'nice' picture haven't i!! However, it all looked cosmetic so we bought the house!!
We moved in when the twins were 10 days old. Actually, hubby moved in then and his mum and youngest sister helped him unpack. I and the twins arrived a week later. It was very strange moving into a house I'd only seen once and in an area I did not know and it was unpacked for me!!
As we got to know the house, we also got to know how many faults there were in the DIY. I'll give you a quick run down!! (Get yourself a coffee first, it's a long list)

The front door with burping door bell - see earlier posting
Hall - very cheap blue patterned carpet and artex on the walls and landing
Kitchen - door doesn't open or shut properly because the quarry tiling is uneven. Brown tiles and cupboards. The extractor over the hob was lethal and ugly. Not only was it copper but the corners were at eyelevel. The sink is in the old part of the kitchen and the oven and fridge in the extension.
Lounge - knocked through lounge diner. Artexing on some walls and blue patterned wallpaper with borders. Yes, borders up and down the doorway, around lightswitches and plugs. The cracked toffee stonework around the gas fire and also on the built in areas around the chimney breasts with kitchen worktops on the top. We couldn't even use these for storage as they'd been stuck down and would have been too heavy to lift anyway! There was a supposedly breakfast bar but this had been made into a cupboard with sliding doors that didn't slide. You gave yourslef a hernia each time you tried to slide them across! It had also been placed halfway across the dining room so that our table was too big to fit in the dining area!!. The fitted cupboard had 1 working drawer and the doors below wouldn't stay shut. The double glazing had failed. Not surprisingly, this was the first room to be gutted so that we could use the space!!
Main bedroom - this had just been decorated 6 months before they sold the house and had been decorated in beige flowery wallpaper with pink flowery borders. Yes, you guessed it - the borders ran up the doorway, around the light switch and plugs and then mysteriously ran out halfway across the bay window. Fitted wardrobes with louvre doors and the clothes rail hang in different directions in each wardrobe. Have you ever tried painting louvre doors!! We've got 15 - arghhhh!!!!!!!!
Second bedroom - very fetching blue stripey wallpaper with borders. No I'm not going to bore you with where they went and really amazing 80s zigzag blue curtains. More louvre cupboard doors and kitchen worktop. One of the cupboards had an old stereo storage unit still on its wheels and bolted in. It only had 3 wheels so no wonder it never seemed that secure.
Little bedroom - I mean little. About 5'10 by 8'. Decorated with brown flowery wallpaper and pink flowery carpet but no borders!!
Bathroom - this must be one of the smallest rooms in history. Also recently redecorated but had 9 different colours of wood in a very tiny space. The toilet seat, bath panelling, skirting board, cupboard, floor and medicine cupboard and door frame and door were all different ranging from light pine on the floor and medicine cupboard to dark brown on the bath panel. As for the bath itself, we kept having problems with it leaking around the seals. Pete one day investigated under the bath and found it wasn't supported properly and that it had been put in in the wrong order. The sink is fitted backwards and doesn't have an overflow as it is unplumbed. The sliding doors don't work on the sink cupboard. As you can see, there are recurring themes here or are they nightmares? One day whilst sitting on the loo, I noticed that not only were the flowery tiles in a pattern with plenty of errors but the flowers grow upside down!!
Garden and patio - strange concrete whcich was so uneven, we could never have a table on the patio. Leylandi trees planted halfway across the grass to 'act as a windbreak and could play badminton over them' The trees were planted the wrong way for the prevailing wind and I lost 8 foot of washing line and who could play badminton over trees 8 foot wide and 20 foot high anyway!! They didn't last long. We had a tree chopping and shed moving party. I don't suppose many people have that sort of party but we were deparate!! The garden path was also uneven and also not always very close to the washing line.
Driveway - uneven concrete and heavy metal gates across the driveway which then made it difficult to get a car in. The back gate was also in a strange place and by us moving back 4 feet,we can now get 2 cars on the driveway.
I'm sure after I've posted this I'll think of even more things to amaze you all. I expect you wonder why we bought this house - I frequently do but at that time this house was much bigger than other houses we'd seen and has definite advantages like a big garden and driveway and we should be able to extend eventually. I suppose it also wasn't predominantly brown.

Hospital again and again - but not me this time!!
Well would you believe it!! A week after I came out poor AJ went in to hospital with his usual problem. We'd taken him to the doctor twice and casualty once where I got short shift from the nurse but the doctor was kind. Eventually, we got an appointment at the emergency paediatric assessment clinic on the wednesday. We were there over lunch time but didn't get offered any food!! At least, AJ had his packed lunch with him and the play therapist made me some toast!!!I was causing the unit problems because they had a lot of children with high temperatures and stomach bugs and I had no immunity so it was urgent we got hubby back to swap places. Eventually, we got it sorted and we swapped places around 4pm.
Unfortunately, I got back too late to take Laura to the doctor about her continuing stomach pain so my mum did that and the doctor actually phoned me at home later to discuss this which was good. The GP diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome which was a bit of a surprise. I'd discussed Laura's pain and loss of colour with the doctor at the assessment unit and she wondered if Laura got abdominal migraine so it did not seem clear cut.
AJ came out of hospital the next day and we settled back into our usual routine. However, Laura's stomach pain, intermittent high temperature and loss of colour continued happening every few days. She had a couple of really good days - including spending about 6 hours on a trampoline outside!!! Then, the following Friday night at 2am, she appeared in our bedroom very distressed, in pain and with a temperature of 38.5 so I called the emergency doctor. He appeared at 4am and he arranged for her to be admitted so poor hubby had to get up and take her in and stay the night. The lack of sleep and stress was obviously getting to him. He phoned me at 7am to say he was going to work and could I be at the hospital at 8am for the doctor's rounds. I was so spaced out and deeply asleep, I just said yes with no intention of getting there for 8 at all!! He then phoned back at 7.15 to say he'd got to work and they'd sent him home again so he was going back to the hospital!! Laura was eventually seen by the doctors who thought maybe it was an abdo migraine but would send a scan appointment and an outpatient appointment. She seemed much better which was good.
So now, not only do I have multiple hospital appointments but AJ had a blood test appointment and an outpatients appointment on a different day and Laura is waiting for a scan and outpatient appointment . I think perhaps we should put a tent up in the grounds of the hospital - it would save the petrol and parking money!!
At least Woody seems OK (touch wood) and Hubby is OKish (touch wood again).

What A Birthday
I'd decided that I'd spread my birthday celebrations out between the friday and the monday (my actual birthday). I'm so glad I did!! On friday I went out for lunch with friends at Chiquitos. I'm glad it was quite dark as my hair had fallen out and I was still struggling to get to grips with headscarves. I haad a good time and as it was Mexican food I could actually taste it as my taste buds were rather inactive!! I had some lovely presents as well so that was an added bonus!! On Saturday, we packed off the children to wonderful friends who looked after them for the weekend and we went off to Dorset for the night. We couldn't find anywhere for lunch and ended up at a garden centre in Cranbourne which was obviously very popular as we got the last table. It was lovely food but I think the toast was the last straw for my mouth which was now becoming sore with mouth ulcers. We got to our B and B in Shaftesbury and then decided to go onto Bath. It was such a cold weekend and we passed snow on the hills and in Shaftesbury itself. The road into Bath had cars parked everywhere so we decided to go to the park and ride. This we eventually found up a hill at the University but was the most appallingly signposted place imaginable. It was not obvious where you could park or where to get the bus. The orange bus drove off as we approached it and then we saw another double decker bus parked in the opposite direction. We headed off for that and yes, you've guessed it that drove off as well. As the sign said every 15 minutes, we sat in the car and waited. Once the next bus arrived it was clear why it was so busy. Bath Rugby Club had played London Wasps and loads of supporters got off the bus. It wasn't clear who had won by the fans though. Eventually we got on the bus and got into Bath where we found a cream tea place and had a lovely cream tea and then a wander around Bath. It was easier to get a bus back to the University and we drove back to Shaftesbury. We thought we would walk into Shaftesbury as the blurb about the B and B said 'a few minutes level walk'. I would dispute the word 'level' and 'few' but never mind. It was a freezing and disappointing walk as we couldn't find anywhere open or looked nice enough to eat so we walked back to the guesthouse. We met the surprised owner who was popping out to the Esso garage for something. He told us about an Italian restaurant there but his directions were lousy. Eventually we found it in a disused Methodist Church. They had one table left!! This table was by the fresh fish counter and Pete who dislikes the thought of eating crustaceans was seated about 3 feet away from a live lobster! This lobster would wriggle about on its metal platter every few minutes until someone decided they would eat it. The food was brilliant even though by this stage I was limited by the mouth ulcers. At least the wine numbed the pain!
We slept well but I was mortified by how much I'd moulted over the pillow during the night so at breakfast I sat with my beret on. We left and drove on to the New Forest where we did a walk on probably the only hill in the New Forest and back home. I was exhausted so had another sleep and then back to our friends for dinner and pick the children up. When we arrived the children totally ignored us - a combination of tiredness from running around in the morning and the Star Wars film!! I struggled through the delicious dinner - yorkshire puddings are not easy to eat with mouth ulcers and even the alcohol didn't numb it this time.
Monday morning and all I could manage was porridge. Today was my birthday and we were supposed to be going to Pizza Hut tonight. I went to work and after about an hour I thought I'd phone the hospital for advice about my mouth. They said I had to go in for a blood test. I got there at 11am and had a blood test after about an hour. I then started to feel quite cold and tired and developed a sore throat and earache. I laid down on the bed for a while. and had a little snooze.Then my temperature went up and the results of my blood test showed I was neutropaenic (no white blood cells). I waited until 5pm to see a doctor who then decided to admit me. What a birthday!! Pete and the children arrived about 5.30pm with my birthday presents and cards. AJ opened my presents and then announced he was hungry so they disappeared off to Burger King in the hospital foyer and I had soup, scrambled egg, jelly and ice cream!!
At 11pm I got some special mouth wash for my ulcers. It was cocaine based and so 2 nurses had to watch me swill it round my mouth and spit it out!! Not exactly what you want but it did numb my mouth.
I had intravenous antibiotics for 16 hours until my vein packed up and then nobody could get another line in so now will have a central line in at some point soon.
I stayed in until wednesday evening and my mouth got back to normal by saturday. The thing is my next taxotere is due this thursday so really have no time to recover fully. I don't think they will give me the full dose this time but hopefully can avoid going weekly. I'm really tired still and although my mouth and ear are better my throat has still got a yellow spot in and is sore. Oh well, will let you know what happens next