day 3

Those damned hiccoughs continue. Thanks for the suggestions.

Rang the chemo unit and they said it wasn't usual. They suggested we got some chlorpromazine from the GP. This is a drug which can be taken as and when required up to a maximum of 3 per day. Only problem is that they make you feel dozy(well more so than normal in my case). On no account are they to be taken before driving which may or may not clip my wings with the Radio.

The dietitian rang as well. To be fair to the NHS we have been impressed that when someone says on the Unit they will follow something up they usually do. Anyway the message was clear. At this stage I am not to worry about losing weight. So all the things they tell you to avoid are on the agenda. Fancy me having to eat things like custard and rice pudding for medicinal purposes. I am due to go to the chemo unit tomorrow as a representative of Angel Radio to attend the opening of a new garden. The Dietitian will leave me some stuff to bring home.

So I trundle along to my GP Dr. Hudson who is a very nice man. He is a GP who seems genuinely interested in you the patient. He underlined the points made by the Dietitian. Milk Shakes and full cream milk are also on the recommended list. I was told I would need to keep my strength up for the operation.

Other changes include a warning that the drugs weaken the blood clotting mechanism. Having a heavy beard and a sensitive skin means I do cut myself a lot whilst shaving so we have invested in an electric shaver which will hopefully do the trick.

On a positive note I did my show today which involved me driving for the first time since Monday. My interviewee was a New Zealander called Paul McAthee who runs a tree climbing activity here on the Island. Details can be got by either entering http://www.goodleaf.co.uk/ or put tree climbing in your search engine. Anybody coming to the Island with a family might like to think about this as an activity. Fortunately the dreaded hiccs didn't start until after the interview but I had a dodgy 20 minutes fortunately with plenty of music to play.

Finally for now I must record how wonderful Ev is. She is looking after the shopping, cooking meals making sure I take the right pills at the right time. More than that however she is providing huge emotional support without which I really don't know what I should do.

Onward and upward.