God Bless America!…. The final countdown . Day 91

Sunday 23rd June….
I’ve awoken this morning at 5:30 after my usual erratic night sleeping schedule ! Only this morning I needed to drink about fifty gallons of water instead of forcing myself to drink fifty gallons of water… The reason for that is that we tried a new Chinese take away last night ( ordinarily not very much a part of the Pugh family diet) and even though I thought it was more delicious than the usual Chinese shop we use, I really felt like I had withered away during the night! If I had died during the night I would have been preserved for about 400 years…….!
Last week felt like it was a step in the right direction. Physically and psychologically I felt as if the burden of it all was slightly lighter. Maybe it’s because I have been a little bit busier than previous weeks? I’m not quite sure myself! Maybe it’s because I have a little more energy or maybe it’s because of this “Win at any cost” mentality and ethos that I have never been able to shake off? Anyway what ever it is it all bodes well. Also for anyone that is curious, Robbie Williams was surprisingly good! Yes…., albeit made so much better with the company we had. Not the usual rock concerts I’ve been used to for thirty odd years but hey, all experiences aren’t so bad!
Well, off we toddled to Christies on Friday morning to see the devil himself Jim Cavet ( think of that as humour as I dont really mean it). We arrived really early, got my bloods done and then toddled off for a bit of brekky into Didsbury. In the back of my mind I was expecting a bit of a Grim Reaping, I don’t know why, it just seems that I’ve been walking into bad news for the last couple of years. At the very best I was expecting my levels to be the same, wishful thinking would have been a further improvement……. When we got to see Jimbo he was quite chirpy in his disposition but anyone who knows cancer specialists this bodes for nothing, but I know him quite well and i know I make him nervous. He started firstly by saying “We’ll, I think I can say its safe that you can travel overseas now”! Diiiiing Dong and a Ding a ling! I knew from that moment it couldn’t get any worse. I wasn’t at day 100 yet so I didn’t expect to hear this . He told us that all my levels were sustaining ( without the aid of medication) and that my paraprotein was about the same as our previous visit. Christine was over the moon. Jim had a very content look on his face, I knew it couldn’t be better than that at this stage. He smiled at us and said ” Go on, enjoy yourself. I,ll see you in a months time”. This is going to be the longest break I’ve had away from hospital in fourteen months of chemotherapy and am I looking forward to not going! Don’t get me wrong, I can’t fault all the staff and the brilliance of the consultants and their research but I do hate the place. It’s already been dismissed from my mind until the next appointment at the end of July…..
Anyway as I approach the final week of my countdown I have taken up an invite of hospitality at The Lopez household in Florida for a cheeky week. It really is one of my favourite boltholes and what a great way to finish my respite. Thank you Audrey and Manny for the invite. I’m looking forward to going on Tuesday. I hope we can get out at a later date aswell with the kids…….
I’ve also got to thank everyone from work that has contacted me over this last week. It’s great to see everyone again and I can’t wait to get back to some sort of normality again. I’ve got some brilliant ideas for the wigs of North Manchester and my enthusiasm has only waned temporarily. Once these feet are a bit better it will be impossible to keep me away…… Onwards and upwards. Chris. X

P.S. There is still time to sponsor Webby on his quest to Paris…. So those of you who have said to me “I,ll buy you a pint when you get better”, go on! Give it to something worthwhile. It would mean so much more to me if you did…… Press the “Sponsor Me” link on the right hand side of the page but you have to be viewing the full site. Thank You.