Have you seen the news?

Did you see the BBC news yesterday?

For me and my sister this is life changing.

I am SO excited.

 

Coincidently, Mark went on a pension planning course last Thursday and we were just starting to consider how we would deal with the 50/50 chance of me having HD that starts to show at 60.  Mark is only three months older than me so we would both take a large hit if we pulled pensions down early.  However, if we can make it to 67, we'll be masses better off than we are now.  Crazy.  However, seven years of HD does a lot of damage, so Mark would have wanted to take the hit and spend the time doing nice stuff with me.

 

Now we the prospect of choices.  Treatment's not the nicest of procedures but it keeps a lot of much more horrible stuff at bay.  I can see a future where I can manage my HD (if it develops) and we can still do the walking breaks and motor sport stuff that we love.  I hope that I'll be able to continue playing and teaching for as long as people enjoy learning from me.

 

This is an immense moment.........

Jx

You are what you eat..

..and in my father-in-laws case the all the tests show that he has Vitamin B12 deficiency.

All G.'s symptoms - extreme fatigue, irritability, depression, character changes and loss of memory and understanding - have come from his very poor diet.  He's fallen into a cycle of being quite aggressive about avoiding food too.

 

Fortunately, we understand that this can be treated with injections and supplements.

We hope that the injections may trigger his appetite again and there won't be too much long term damage.  (G. ate an entire Weatherspoon's big breakfast AND apple crumble while he was on holiday with us in November, so there's hope!)

 

Mark and P. are also talking regularly, which is keeping the 'bigger picture' of family relationships calmer too.  As a result, I feel a lot less anxious and stressed about this area of our life!

 

It's been a bit of a crazy week though...

- My beloved Series 2 Discovery is ill again.  (Solution - borrow Dad's sporty old Nissan 200SX and enjoy the twin turbos... Woop, woop!)

- I spent four hours at Accident and Emergency yesterday afternoon with a friend who had major heart surgery 18 months ago.  (Outcome - the pain wasn't his heart, just the muscles/bones in the chest cavity... what a relief!)

- Dad's asthma is really bad again and he's spending a lot of time at the doctors. (Positive - he's finally working with a doctor at the surgery who seems prepared to put a more systematic review and long-term action plan in place.  Now I've just got to encourage Dad to be honest about the challenges of being Mum's carer and the correlation between her 'bad days' and his own health)

- We're having the conservatory replaced next week.  I really need to start clearing it...

 

In the meanwhile...

- I want to send niece L. back to uni with some 'pocket warmers'.   I haven't started them yet and I'm having a coffee with her late tomorrow morning.  She goes back on Saturday.  Eeek!

- I'm somewhere over halfway through the lacy knitted scarf that I'm making for my friends birthday... next Tuesday.  Eeek, eek!!!

- I've also been enjoying loads of lovely social chats.  I'm off again in half and hour to pick up the Nissan and drive to Redditch for a gossip with an ex-colleague.

 

How did I find time to work???!

Jx 

 

 

Back to Normal..

Now you see it...

(sorry about the blurry photo)

 

..now you don't!

I love decorating the house for Christmas,

but there's something rather satisfying about the TIDINESS

of the lounge without the Christmas tree.

 

But what's this large box doing in the hall...?

I'm not in the mood for anymore clutter....

 

 

Mark's bought an exercise bike.  It's gone into the little bedroom above the front door - which we jokingly call "the boys' room".  It's where Mark has his Playstation, car books and DVDs.  It's also where Thomas the cat quite like to sleep - if he can't get into his favourite spot by my pillow!

 

We decided to buy the bike because Mark's job has become increasingly 'desk-bound' and he's struggling to schedule regular activity into his days.  The idea is that he can go for a gentle 'ride' while I'm doing my early evening teaching sessions.  So far he's done about 20 miles of cycling while still playing his favourite PS3 games... sounds like a good multi-task!!

 

I've actually got on it too... when no-one was looking.  I found the 'going downhill with the wind behind you' setting, which completely suits my level of cycling skills at the moment.  3km on the bike, followed by a little Tai Chi seems like a nice way to start the day in these dark winter mornings.

 

Starting Small..!

Jx