Play day!!

What a lovely day back home!  I spent the the morning playing Humpty Dumpty's wall game (not necessarily by the rules!), mended a bean bag juggling frog,  although didn't get around to finding / clearing up the escaped beans 樂,  and generally enjoyed cuddles with Billy.  Well cuddles and the odd clonk from his plaster arm!

Then,  after a trip to get his hair cut (he now looks older but just as cheeky!), we cuddled up on the sofa with lunch and watched Wall-E.  I love that film!

Faye came home quite excited about it being the last day at school, slightly less excited about her Valentine gift from someone she hadn't got anything for and isn't intending on getting anything for,  and very excited about her Pamper Evening at Guides (mainly because it meant she was allowed to wear makeup!).

Billy then also wanted to wear makeup so he was jumping around,  wearing an old leotard lion dancing costume of Faye's,  pretending to be a monkey,  telling us not to spoil his lip gloss!!   

Seeing as I'd had a lazy day,  I took Faye to Guides and then went to Asda to get the shopping,  a much more attractive prospect than going tomorrow!  I was done and back home by 8.30,  feeling really smug and pleased with myself!

The evening got a bit busier after that, hence why I'm still up now Blogging,  even though I have nothing interesting to blog about!  Suffice to say, life is never dull around here!!!! 

Home sweet home 🏠

It's good to be home!

After a nice relaxing afternoon playing chess and cards etc.  I got a visit from my Consultant and team to let me know the surgeon has decided I am "an attractive candidate"  (very flattering, thank you very much! 😂) "for surgery" (oh,  not that kind of attractive then!  Never mind 🙁) . Letter will be in the post,  we'll still monitor you in the meantime, thank you very much and bye bye 😀

So that's it.  There is a cunning plan!

Downloaded the leaflet about the op,  read it 😱, deleted it 😆

Dressings were whipped off,  cannula taken out,  bags packed and we were out of there! 

It was so nice to get my little uns back (big thanks to Mum and Dad for all their help) and get back to my own home and bed.  The house was tidy and there was a welcome home 'banner' on the stairs as I came through the front door ❤️

I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful family who are always there for me.

I love you all so much! 😘

Anyway,  back to reality,  although unusually the kids haven't started arguing again yet,  admittedly they are asleep! 😂

No more of the alien reject look for me!!

Well day 3 is making a good start!!  I had a lie-in,  still woke early but stayed in bed dozing until about 7am. Then I was brought an early breakfast so thought I should drag myself out of bed and get ready for my MRI.

The porter arrived with a wheelchair (!) to take me (Err.... No thanks,  I'll walk) - as it's in another building you have to go by ambulance!  🚑 It was freezing outside, shame they didn't have a blanket in the wheelchair!  Following the ambulance ride,  I realised the early breakfast was nothing to do with the time of the scan,  it was to give it time to go down before the ambulance journey to prevent it making a reappearance en-route!! 🤢

Once in the MRI suite I had something laid over my chest and was told it might get quite warm during the scan (as if they thought that might be a problem!) so to buzz if I wanted the fan turning up.  That wasn't going to happen,  I was really looking forward to the warming up part!!

Now I know a lot of people don't like the MRI scanner because it's quite a tight fit and noisy but, in between all the commands to not breathe, I actually found it quite relaxing and almost nodded off a few times!

1st test of the day over and back to the ward to psych myself up for my second exercise test - cycling endurance!  😱

This test was explained to me on Tuesday.  You get all wired up etc. again,  the same as for the first test I did (lovely,  REALLY looking forward to that bit 🤣).  Freewheel for a couple of minutes,  then they whack it up to,  I think,  60% of your full capacity and see how long you can keep going for.  At least it won't be a long test........... 😂

I tried hiding in the loo but they found me and dragged me kicking and a screaming to the waiting area.  Then returned 5 mins later to say it was lucky day as due to my angiogram results yesterday I don't need to do this test anymore!!  Woohoo!!! 😂 😂 😂

Cure definitely wins this round!!  In ya face Kill!

I now have the day to relax and chill until the MDT meeting finishes at 5/6pm,  find out what their plans for me are and go home!

And to top it all off,  it's lovely and quiet on the ward today.  Yaaaaaayyyy!!

😊😊😊😊😊

Headphones required 🎧

OK,  so I survived Day 1,  just!

Day 2 started bright and early,  well,  early anyway,  not so sure about the 'bright'  bit,  it wasn't a particularly peaceful night ! I thought I'd better beat the crowds to the shower in case the hot water ran out. It was more drizzle shower than a power shower (my hair REALLY needs a power shower!) but it was nice enough and hot.  I think everyone else had worn themselves out during the night so I was out of the shower,  dressed and watching telly before any of them even woke up.  Breakfast arrived,  as did the Dr who was going to do my right heart catheter,  who promptly told me I shouldn't eat my breakfast until after the procedure 😭

She got me to sign the consent form (I mean,  what's the worst that can happen [read form] oh!  All of that!!  😕), and handed me a lovely gown to wear for the special occasion!  I have a sneaky suspicion day is going to end Kill -  2, Cure -  0!!

As it was, it wasn't too bad,  slightly uncomfortable and apparently they only made a 2mm hole in my neck and jugular vein and it was a 'clean puncture'  so Woohoo!  Bring it on!!

It turns out that I do have pulmonary hypertension anyway so there was no need to do the cycling test with the catheter shoved through my neck into my heart / lungs....  Every cloud!...... I never thought that sounded like a good idea anyway!

I finally got my breakfast and was on bed rest for 2 hours with a lovely pressure dressing on my neck. Slightly uncomfortable and restricting but hey ho....

We did some more puzzles and crosswords and admired how well I'd done not to smother anyone. Yet (there's still time.........) . In order to prevent such a terrible thing from happening,  it was strongly advised that I wore headphones for the rest of the day!

I did.

And so far it's worked!!

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

Papworth 'Spa' Hospital

Well,  the staff are lovely,  the food isn't too bad but it's a shared bedroom/shower/toilet 😂

There isn't a pool and the gym isn't what you'd usually find.  Instead of being made to feel better about yourself,  it appears they do everything in their power to make you feel as ridiculous as possible!  I kid you not!!

Today was the first of my tests - cardiopulmonary exercise test 1 (incremental).  Sounds sort of impressive. 

First bit was just a few breathing tests.  No problem at all,  felt more relaxed thinking 'this is going to be a breeze!'.  Next,  blood tests from the wrist,  I was warned this might be more uncomfortable than usual blood tests but,  again,  this was fine.  Yaaaay getting into this now!

Then the fun began.  So it started with wiring me up to the ECG.  OK,  no biggy.  Hop onto the exercise bike and a blood pressure cuff was put on.  Fine.  But then some monitor thing was strapped to my forehead with a lovely head harness 😕.  It has to be said,  I've looked better!  But nooooooo,  they've not finished yet!!!  Just to complete the look,  let's just add a bright blue face mask with attached pipe to breathe through!  Now they're just taking the mic!! The final touch was to ask how I was feeling........ Seriously???!  You REALLY want to know?!!!

Finally the test began,  looking like some sort of alien reject 👽 I then have to start pedalling,  easy enough for a while but then it got harder and harder until I began to think they really were trying to kill me..... 😱. Seriously though they were very encouraging and apparently I did really well.  Couldn't breathe,  talk or stand up but, apart from that, great!! I asked for a sticker but apparently the budget doesn't stretch that far 😭

At least that was it for the day and back to my bed to relax, have a game of chess, do some puzzles, and listen to all the other patients...... Now that DID make me feel very healthy and well!!

I've been thinking I should have brought a Facepack with me to wander around through the night to see how many people I could scare 😂😈

Unfortunately I didn't think about that when I was packing so I'll just have to think of something else to do to pass the time......

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!! 😁

Time for a break!

It's been a busy old time since Christmas with birthday parties and leaving parties,  well one leaving party anyway (honestly,  some people are so selfish,  swanning off down under to a gorgeous Australian summer and leaving us behind....... ). Still it was a great party and I'm only joking.  I'm not good with crocodiles and spiders 🐊🕷️😱

Work has been manic but trying to keep on top of things due to my impending spa break at Papworth Hospital this week 😂 Bag sort of ready for packing,  although I've still not found my kindle.  The kids had it last....... Hmmmmm🤔

So it was planned to have a relatively relaxing family weekend.

Of course, this is my life, so things can't possibly go that smoothly!

All was going well, even the kids were getting along OK and even asked if they could sleep together and have a dvd seeing as it was a Saturday.  After the 10 minutes of messing about,  laughing and screaming doing their teeth they finally settled in bed. On checking a while later they were both cuddled up in bed watching a film.  They looked quite sweet! Not long after there was crying and footsteps on the stairs.  Faye was being very reassuring to Billy but there was a note of panic in her voice that had me off the sofa and out of the door quicker than I thought was  humanly  possible.  Billy had apparently been jumping on the bed and fallen,  his arm was bending the wrong way from the middle of his forearm and he was begging us not to take him to the Dr. So the Calpol came out it was off to A&E.  Poor Faye was sobbing the whole way,  Billy was alternating between crying and almost nodding off. 

By the time we got there his arm looked straight again but it was still hurting him.  After getting him booked in he sat quietly and we read books.  The nurse saw him and checked his arm,  he said it hurt when she touched his wrist but nowhere else and,  although when she was pressing along his forearm he was fine,  I jumped a mile and flinched for him when she got to the part that had been bent!   I didn't know a 4 year old could give such a scathing 'what are you doing Mum!'  look - I'd assumed that was reserved for teenagers! Although on thinking about it,  it could have just been shock at not only having his arm prodded but then,  for no apparent reason, being practically launched into the air by his own mum! 😲

Soon after, the Calpol kicked in and he was off.  Whizzing around from table to table, colouring,  playing with the toys,  cooking on the kitchen,  chatting away the whole time and amazingly adapted to using one hand for everything brilliantly!  He told me his arm felt better so he didn't need to see the Dr now so could we just go home,  please? Just then the Dr arrived.

The Dr was really good with him and he again said nothing hurt apart from his wrist.  The Dr felt he was OK but sent him for xrays anyway. We had to follow the trail of skeletons hanging from the ceiling around the corridors to X-ray,  which he thought was funny.  He was fine until we got into the xray room, then got really upset for the first time.  He wasn't going to have photos,  wouldn't sit on the chair,  wouldn't sit on my knee.  The poor little thing was terrified and refused to move.  We eventually convinced him and when he realised the machine wasn't going to touch his arm he was fine and we were laughing and saying 'cheeeeeese'  when it took the xrays.

Walking back he was swinging his arm as we walked and went back to play,  although still didn't use it much.  He tried a couple of times but stopped because it hurt,  but never made a fuss.  The Dr came to find us and said he was really shocked because the xrays had come back and showed a fractured ulna.  He showed us the images and it looked quite nasty.  Billy sat on the bed and had his hands on the bed,  the Dr was laughing and shaking his head coz he was leaning on his arm and showed no signs of being bothered!   Billy got plastered (I was tempted myself!)  and resprayed, then we could finally go home.

Our neighbours had very kindly taken Faye in for a sleepover so we could just get back and crash, but no, our brave little boy was still chatting away ten to the dozen and wanted Paw Patrol on!  We let him seeing as he'd been so good and,  after another dose of Calpol he snuggled up and was fast asleep in about 5 mins!

When he started to wake up this morning ,  he was wriggling about and muttered 'mum let go,  get off me!'  I laughed and waved my hands at him 🤗 He looked really confused and looked down at his arm,  which he'd obviously forgotten had a cast on it!

He said his arm hurt a bit and was heavy when he first got up, but once he had his sling on he was off as normal!  Faye eventually decided to come back home and they played with the neighbours' girls for a while until we got a phone call asking us to take Billy back to fracture clinic for a new cast and xray.  I tried to convince Faye to stay with her dad but she was having none of it!  Far too nosey!  So another 3 hours were spent between fracture clinic and xray!  Happily though,  the bone has realigned really well and you can't even see where the fracture is 😀

I feel so bad I'm not going to be around this week for mummy cuddles but will give him plenty tomorrow and Friday when I'm back 😢

For now though it's bedtime and I think we're all going to sleep well tonight!!

Night night...... 😴😴😴😴😴😴

Santa's on his way!!! 🎅

To be precise, according to Santa Tracker, he's currently in Venice and will be here in about 3 hours!!  Woohoo!!!

For the first time I can remember,  everything is done!  Baking was done last night,  we iced and decorated the Christmas cake today and I'm now watching TV and painting my nails waiting for the kids to be fast off before Santa can make his delivery 😁

To make it even more exciting,  Faye's expecting a double visit tonight,  Santa and the tooth fairy!! Faye's worried the tooth fairy might crash worth Santa,  I'm more concerned she'll forget in the excitement of Christmas!! 😕

All that's left to do is to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas 🎄🎁🎅🎄🎁🎅and very best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!🍾🎉🍾🎉

It's Christmas!! 🎅🎄🎅🎄

That's it,  my brain has officially declared Christmas! 😀

I am more organised this year than I have ever remember being before, although no doubt I will still be rushing round doing last minute things on Christmas Eve that I've forgotten about!

It's our work Christmas do tonight,  which I think we all need this year,  it's definitely time we had a party!! So I've had the day off relaxing at the hairdressers thus morning and now sat in the church waiting for the school end of term service -  I've even managed to get here early instead of trying to sneak in through the big,  heavy,  clunky,  noisy door......  What is going on??!

We had the elf party at my sister and brother-in-law's last week which was fab,  as always, with lots of elfing going on!  Santa 🎅 is doing well with getting all the presents wrapped and ready for the Big Night,  only a few more to go then it'll just be the baking left to do!  Get me!

I will apologise to work now,  as I can already tell I'm going to be next to useless next week,  but full of festive spirit!! (not the alcoholic kind,  well not at work at least!)

Who knows,  I might even find time to blog again before Santa arrives!

Ending the week with a BANG!

 And when I say Bang,  I mean more of a mini explosion!!!

But before that.........

Work wasn't too bad, Wasp lady was slightly annoying but nothing too bad.  Work had taken £456 off me for my car parking space instead of £38, which they did reassure me they would 'try' to get authorised to pay...... how nice of them..... (they didn't!)

Friday night we went out for Amy's birthday which was really good 😀  We went to Kayal to eat, a South Indian restaurant but none of the usual curries here!  In all honesty we had no idea what any of the food was or what we were ordering but it was lovely!  My 'paper dosa' was HUGE, so big in fact it barely fit on the table!  I would highly recommend it http://www.kayalrestaurant.com/

After we couldn't eat anymore, we went to the Slug and Lettuce for "a few" cocktails, shots and bombs (nope, this isn't the exploding bit!).  We also met someone in there we knew who, it was fair to say, was more that slightly disturbed by the fact we were they and they had had a few drinks!  We quickly put them at their ease, hopefully, and all had a good laugh!  We then moved on to Fat Cats which started off ok, until I twigged that the 1 (not even that nice) bloke was 'selling' the 7 or 8 women of different nationalities that he was 'with'.  I could be wrong, but I don't think so!  Unfortunately it was time to leave before I had chance to test out any of the novel new uses I'd just thought of for my stilettos!  Oh the fun I could have had! 👿

Saturday was spent recovering and doing the usual weekend chores before going over to Mum and Dad's for tea on Sunday for Dad's birthday.  Big Sis had made a fab cake, a campervan (only slightly jealous!) and a lovely time was had by all!  On the way home, however, I had the misfortune to meet a boy/girl racer who took a sharp bend wide with their lights on full beam, causing me to try and avoid them, which thankfully I did.  Unfortunately the back wheel caught the gravel/soft verge and I lost it, the back end went and hit a post on the side of the verge!  There was a horrible scraping sound as I slowly drove off and Billy (who was now surprisingly awake!) asked what the noise was.  Not wanting them to be worried or scared I cheerfully replied "Oh, it's just a bit of the car dragging on the floor, nothing to worry about!!".  As soon as it was safe to stop I pulled over to check there wasn't any serious damage and, thankfully, it did appear to be just the sill scraping on the floor.  So it was driveable, we got home ok, and the main thing was that no-one got hurt.  It still didn't make me feel any better when Billy innocently asked "Is it going to be a bumpy ride again today Mummy?" when we got in the car the next morning!  Bless! 😕

After that the week was fairly uneventful.  I went to lunch with a friend and we were joined by someone who I thought was using Bluetooth, then realised they weren't.........Hmmmmm........ my friends seem to have knack for attracting odd people..........

So it all comes down to The Bang!

Well, Friday started off quite normally.  Getting ready for work, getting the kids ready for school etc. etc. and it had all gone relatively smoothly.  So there I was, sitting at my desk typing away, when I started to feel a bit peckish and though about having something to eat.  That's when it suddenly hit me.  The thought that sent panic running through my veins. EGGS!!!!   I'd left my eggs boiling on the hob.  Two hours ago!!!  How much damage can over-boiled eggs really do? Burn the pan? Burn the kitchen?  Would we even have a house left?! 😱  Luckily Dad was due to drop something in to the house for me so I made a quick call to ask, if the house was still there, would he mind going in and turning the hob off for me!

It was an anxious wait.

But then the call came and.......good news!  I hadn't destroyed the house! Or even the kitchen!  Even the pan was in one piece!

Unfortunately, the eggs hadn't been so lucky.  My poor eggs had exploded and were now decorating the hob.  Well the bits that weren't black and welded to the bottom of the pan were anyway!!!  Time to get the scourer out!

On a positive - I now have a new saucepan!!

So all's well that ends well and the week did go out with a BANG!!!

I'm back!!!

Seeeeeeee I told you I'd be back! That didn't take long did it!  I must have tempted fate..... Great!

What a day!  After the headache of work and wasp lady (long story) and a real headache, I was glad to leave the office!  I fetched Faye, made dinner, and took Faye to gym......

....and then it all went downhill!

I decided to work in the car whilst Faye was in gym so I got all set up, then realised I'd left the car wifi at home.. grrrrrr......so off I tootle back home again to get the wifi.  Which is where I should have stayed and just worked from home but no, I decide to go back so I'm already there and can work until Faye finished.

Good plan.

But as the saying goes, the best laid plans etc. etc. etc.

I started work and was happily getting on with stuff when there's a tap at my window.  Bearing in mind the car park is pitch black it was slightly startling!

Anyway, there was a lady who's car wouldn't start and asked if I would help jump start her car - of course I would, who wouldn't!  All's fine as I drive over, get the leads attached and start the engine running.  The lady immediately starts trying to turn her car over, surprisingly without much luck!  I get out and suggest she leaves it for a bit to give it a chance to get some juice in it and before she floods her engine.... about 2 minutes later she tried it again 😕.  Out I get again and patiently suggest she leaves it a bit longer.  That worked for about 3 minutes.  I gave up.  Next thing her car does turn over but doesn't start.  However, when it does turn over all the lights came on, external and internal so out I get again and suggest she turns all her lights off so they don't drain the battery and try again.  No luck so I turn off as it's time to get Faye and said I'd try again when I came back.  Took the leads off, realised I'd left the window open so put the keys back in to close the window and lock the car.

Nothing.

Zilch.

Zero.

Not even a flicker of life!

Aaaaarrrggghhhhhh!

Broken-down-car-lady agreed to keep an eye on my car whilst I went to get Faye (afterall it wasn't as if she was going anywhere either!) and I silently screamed!  Jay was in a meeting and uncontactable until he finished, when we were supposed to be picking him up.  Hmmmmm.  I didn't have any breakdown details on me as they were in my bag. At home.  I resorted to asking a couple of parents I vaguely know if they could help but on going back out we realised we couldn't get their cars close enough to attach the leads because of the way our cars were parked. However, whilst we were working this out, broken-down-car-lady has spotted a man with a big van (careful!).  Yaaaaay!!!  Not only does he have a big van, he also has a set of long jump leads!!  Then the fun really starts!
Broken-down-car-lady's husband arrives and an argument starts, at which point I suggest the nice van man tries to get her car going first but, as he's sorting out his leads, hubby gets in the car and starts it up!  Change of plan, get MY car going first!!  So we get all wired up. Still zilch. Nada. Silence.  The other car has now been moved but still not going and the son has arrived too now.  Van man was very lovely and offered to wait with us until we could get help but I did manage to convince him we would be fine so off he went.

Faye's now crying because it's dark and she doesn't like it.  I'm quietly panicking but laughing and telling her not to worry, we'll be home soon (well sometime within the next 24 hours at least!). I send a text to Jay and about 10 minutes later he emails to say he's finished.  Quick telephone call to get the breakdown details and he's going to finish up then get a cab over to us. Faye cheers up a bit.  Whilst I'm on the phone the son comes over to see if we're getting sorted etc. and apologising for us ending up in this mess.  Then as an after thought goes back to his car to get the superduper automatic car charger they used on his mum's car on the off chance it will start mine (oh, I wonder!).  The leads are attached, I get back in and turn the key and VROOM!!!!  We're back in business!  I was so relieved it started I didn't immediately feel cheesed off that they'd been there for half an hour before even offering to try it!!!

Anyway, all's well that ends well! BUT I am NEVER, EVER, EVER, going to help anyone EVER, EVER again!!! (well, until the next time someone needs help obviously..........!)

Now we just have to hope it starts again in the morning..............

My Non-Blog

It has been mentioned several times, by different people, over the last couple of weeks that there has been a distinct lack of blogging on my part.

Partly, this is due to being back at work full-time and being too tired / having no time or energy to blog!

It's also partly due to having a complete lack of inspiration - I still don't have any (refer to point above)!

End of blog!

(but I will return soon...........)

Christening!

After much cleaning, tidying, patio making, it was finally all worth it to have everywhere looking nice for Billy's Christening!  The sun came out and it was a nice day so people could go outside and sit on our new patio area - to be honest, even if it had been chucking it down, I would have been pushing people outside just to make sure it got used!!  There was a gazebo so, hey, they wouldn't have gotten too wet!!

Billy looked gorgeous in his little Christening suit and Faye looked very pretty too.  We were very proud of them both!

Billy was so good through the service, he smiled at everyone and let Father Clive pick him up and tip water on his head without complaining once!  After all my fears, there were no tears or anything!  He was, however, clinging on to Father Clive's robe for dear life as he was tipped over the font - although Father Clive also had a good grip on the back of his waistcoat to make sure he didn't slip! The service was really lovely and Father Clive was great and humorous.

The after party went well (I think!).  It was lovely to catch up with friends and family and everyone seemed to have a good time.

All in all it was a very special day for a very special son and I feel very blessed and lucky!

All Wrapped Up!!

Well hello! It's been a while!

After a lovely holiday in beautiful Devon, life is beginning to return to normal! The kids are back at school and I have started a phased return at work. I'm only working mornings but by the time I've picked the kids up from school and got home to sort dinner I'm cream crackered!!  I am, however, enjoying bring back as I missed the people and the banter!

The only downer was getting a letter on Friday telling me I have got to have an angiogram - boooooo!   Stupidly I Googled it, why, I don't know. I always advise against Googling anything medical/health related but there I was, tapping away, to find out the horror awaiting me!! After scaring myself silly I had a very reassuring chat with a neighbour and felt much better!!

After a weekend of trying to tidy the house (although the kids were making more mess quicker than I sad tidying anything! 😡 bless them. .......) and gardening, I decided to try out my clay detox body wrap. For those who don't know, thus entails applying clay to the body, wrapping a bandage over the clay and/or wrapping clingfilm over that! Hmmmmm. ........ what could go wrong???

With a bit of help I got clayed, bandaged and clingfilmed. I looked like something out of a weird alien or horror movie! All I can say is thank god the kids didn't wake up,  they'd have been traumatised for life!!! I could barely move and decided the hour I had to be mummified for would be a good time to iron,  preferably without melting myself!! After the ironing I decided to go upstairs. Easier said than done. The stairs were a challenge and I rustled every time I moved. I thought I could watch a bit of tv until it was time to 'unwrap'. I couldn't get on the bed either! I just had to back up to the bed and fall backwards! Finally it was unwrap and shower time! Ordeal over with no harm done......or so I thought!  Unfortunately, on getting out of the shower, I slipped, falling backwards and smacking my elbow and side of the ribs on the windowsill on my way down and also sending most of the contents on the windowsill clattering into the bath. 'That must have startled everyone out of their sleep!' I hear you say, but no. Nothing. Zilch. No one heard a thing (or so they say!).  Needless to say, I may be detoxed, but I've just replaced any toxins with nice purple bruises!!!

What shall I try next. ...............?? 😂😂😂