We did it!

Well, we did it! We had a successful, fun and enjoyable 9th birthday party for my eldest daughter. I am so pleased that we managed it and it hasn't knocked me out too much. Her friends are so lovely, they were no trouble at all and played nicely together and the bouncy castle was, once again, a huge success. The weather was glorious, at least 28 degrees and sunny, despite all the forecasts telling us it was 22 degrees and raining - most odd. And of course, the help from friends and family was invaluable and much appreciated.

The key was and is balance. I know I keep going on about it, but it's been a really hard but interesting lesson. I'm not as fit as I was, my immune system is busted, I tire quickly, my legs don't work much and I need to accept this means I can't do everything I want.  Unfortunately, I didn't make it to Sports Day and so missed everyone and my youngest's races, but I got some recordings of her taking part meaning I didn't feel completely left out. And we spent a couple of days preparing for the party in short bursts of teamwork. And I spent days slaving over the cake... can you tell?!

So, all in all, a great weekend so far! And it looks like someone is about to get another early birthday present (her actual birthday is in the week), lucky thing...!

Improvements!

Yay, I'm getting there, back to some sort of normal just in time for a heatwave and/or treacherous thunderstorms. Sleep has been the most useful; this week has been the start of my 'lying in' till 9 am two days a week and that has helped massively in both getting enough rest and getting that natural wake-up. So I am moving now to focus on positives once again and get better!

There's definitely a theme developing here...

It's my youngest's Sports Day tomorrow - fingers crossed I can go (and that it isn't cancelled due to heat) but my main goal is my eldest daughter's birthday party on Saturday - with extra fingers and toes crossed we aren't struck down by lightning. However, back up plans to the outdoor party idea have been set in motion....

Both girls are doing fantastically at school, home and play, despite everything, so I am super-proud. And my husband has been and is amazing. And friends and family are wonderful too. ©

And another positive is that I've made another donation to the hospice (via JustGiving) thanks to everyone's generosity as well as get a few things that have really, really helped with my recuperation. ©

What a Fabulous Weekend!

Well, I've gone from needing to sleep, to a good rest and sleep to a fantastic weekend of fun! All in moderation, all balanced, all good.

My mum had friends over from the States so she had a little bash for them on Saturday, inviting a few close friends and it was lovely to see everyone. It was completely coincidental that it was near to 4th July, but a happy one for a double celebration. I got wheeled over to her house and back which was interesting, keeping out of the way of nettles and twigs on the footpaths, but we did it and we'll do it again.

This was followed on Sunday by another lie-in and then my youngest's birthday party. Her actual birthday isn't until August but over the years we have found that people often don't turn up to parties in the summer holidays.  So now we do them for her before the summer term ends, and this was literally the only available date! Again, everything in moderation - we prepped as much as possible the days before, ensured the girls helped out with some of the more fun stuff like the party bags and then 'all' we had to do on the Sunday was finish off things like the catering, decoration and the highly successful bouncy castle! And the cake - all done by my own two hands, oh and Mr Sainsbury's. This is one of the things that I would have done from scratch in the past but the compromise is necessary. And no complaints of course - she wanted Monster High and she got it!

The party was amazing, the children were delightful, my friends and family were perfect. I couldn't have asked for it to go any better so thanks to you all who were there! Having this support, I feel, is another key element and I am very lucky.

I had a fairly decent night's sleep and nap this morning so I'm okay-ish. The antihistamines have arrived so I'll give them a go tonight and fingers crossed they will help. Got another couple of busy weekends on the horizon so I need to recharge as much as I can plus of course there's everyday, normal life stuff too, to be getting on with. It's amusing me that I'm thinking the summer holidays are going to be quiet and give us a chance to keep recovering - surely it should be the other way round?

A Happy Easter Post

The last couple of posts have been a little doom and gloom so I thought I would post about the brilliant Easter weekend we had!

Good Friday was fab in that we were able to go to a good friend's house for a meal and catch-up over a few drinks.  It's still slightly nerve-wracking to go somewhere 'new', as we never know how easy it will be to get into somewhere - whether the wheelchair will fit, if there are unexpected steps or if they're too high for me to step over, if there is suitable parking etc etc. But we measured everything and it seemed fine until we discovered I measured the wheelchair wrong!  Luckily we figured it all out so I could use the walker to access her house and actually, this was a brilliant lesson in that, even if it goes a little wrong, we can still manage to resolve it with a little thought and teamwork! A great time was had by all.

The next day we had our first barbecue of the year at home, which is always a favourite of mine, especially when it's combined with several of my oldest and dearest friends and family! This was the first time since I have been back that I have sat in our garden and it was easy to get there and wonderful to be there.  The weather was okay; I'd say typical British BBQ weather (I won't mention getting out the blankets and cardigans...). It was such a treat to be outside with everyone, enjoying gorgeous food, drink and company.

Easter Day was brilliant too.  Loads of chocolate and my mum and sister came over for a meal cooked by my mum.  The weather was appalling so we did an Easter egg hunt in the house, which worked quite well.  So well that we keep finding them now!

Yum!

And finally, Easter Monday we chilled and got everything ready for back to school for the girls, and back to work for my husband. I've been signed off work for a month to recuperate, so I didn't have anything to get ready.

So despite the setbacks and busy, annoying week early last week, it was redeemed by a fantastic weekend, thanks to my friends and family.

Moving On!

Yes, I am moving on, literally!

It's getting easier to stand up, virtually unaided by another person - although I do still need to be raised a little  before doing so and to use my zimmer frame or walking trolley for balance. I'm walking with the trolley, which is much easier and more 'natural' feeling than the zimmer frame - plus I feel slighty less old-lady-ish with it. I really need to get on with pimping it somehow...

But the real treat is that we are getting more and more used to going out in the car; we seem to have got the knack of this really well. We've been out for a few more meals and we had a lovely time at Harbour Park yesterday. It's amazing to be able to do these things as a family again - I missed it so much.

Next steps this week are to check out my infection - or lack of - with the maxilliofacial people at the hospital (tomorrow) and to start to think about chemo with the oncologist (Wednesday). What fun!