The 3rd & 4th; A reality check.

The 3rd of May. I have been putting this off because writing it down makes it real.

It's been a pretty quiet, mildly shitty day. I still have this stupid dry cough which wakes me up throughout the night, although my throat is less scratchy now, which I suppose is a plus.

We went into Birmingham this morning so I could pick up my copy of the new Jeffery Deaver novel, The Burial Hour. I also needed to get a thank you card to give James tomorrow when we have our last ever appointment, and Mommy wanted a blank card to put a cross-stitch in but couldn't find one.

This afternoon, I phoned Andrew's secretary, Emelda, again, but he hadn't got back to her and there were no spaces in his clinics until the beginning or end of June. At this point I got upset and I tried to explain about the wedding. I didn't do it on purpose, but she then said she'd keep trying for me and I'd hear back as soon as she spoke to him.

Mommy then went to Grandma's, and I watched the new Pretty Little Liars and started the book. Mid-programme, Emelda called me back, and I've got an appointment for 25th May, so I will "go to the ball", as she put it. I didn't tell her that really I need to see him much sooner because she's obviously pulled strings to get me in there, but I'm going to have to attend the wedding in my wheelchair, on oxygen and with a giant, swollen arm. I am so tired of this. My hateful body.

The 4th of May.

Nothing like bad news from a friend to prompt a reality check. Dean had his operation on Wednesday to remove the tumour on his rib. That part went as predicted, but what the had not expected was to find new tumours elsewhere that weren't visible on his scan four weeks ago. Obviously this has been a shock to everyone, so they don't know what the plan will be. I am just devastated for him, for Adam, and his family. I know how it feels to relapse but he hasn't even been in remission yet. He knows I am here, for whatever he needs, This is the worst of days.

Up until hearing this news, I was having a pretty good day. I don't think I have coughed so much today, but I won't get my hopes up about improvement just yet. I had an appointment at Black Sheep to see James to re-tone my hair, my last session with him! I gave him his crocheted monkey and a card with a rainbow sheep on - I thought it was the most appropriate. I was not there for so long today, he was just going over the colour again, so now I'm a bit more vibrant. It has been our best work.

Home briefly, then back out, to the QE for my physio assessment. They were very on time, so I had barely started reading my book before I was called through. I filled in a questionnaire about my pain, then a chap came to see me. We talked a little bit about medical stuff and my current limitations re: oxygen, then he wanted to see what I could do. He had me stand up and bend forwards and backwards, then sit on the bed and twist left and right. Apparently I am quite stiff when going backwards and left. I then had to lie back and do some stuff with my pelvis and legs. Basically, he can give me some exercises/stretches to try out for a few weeks, then I'll go back and we'll see what progress has been made. He was very impressed with my enthusiasm and determination, which made me laugh because I used to be so terrible with physios, always pretending to be asleep when they came. I learned the hard way that that is not helpful.