Up The Farway Tree

Random update

I am continuing to get stronger by the day and slowly but surely am starting to get some fitness back. Don't get me wrong, my legs still ache even when walking on the flat, but it is gradually getting easier. I am taking Seb out twice a day for 20-25 minutes, which I think is quite good even by a 'normal' persons standards! At the weekend we went for a long walk at the country park and poor Seb nearly keeled over at the end - he kept just lying down if we paused for a moment and once we got home he was unconscious for the rest of the day. With those tiny legs he isn't really built for distance walking. The good news is that my foot has been fine since I got my new trainers, although the last two days I have had sore knees!! I'm not sure if its CF related joint pain which I suffer from occasionally, or if its just the extra strain I am putting them under. I suspect the latter, which should improve as my leg muscles get stronger and can support my knees better. I will probably be complaining about my hips by the next blog.

I went home on Sunday for Fathers Day, which was really nice as that's the first time I have been home since my transplant and for the first time in ages we could park at the front of the house and I could walk up the steps (Andrew used to drop me round the back as I couldn't manage the stairs). We had a nice dinner and I managed to catch up with my aunt and uncle, two of my cousins and my next door neighbour (as well as my dad obviously!) It was great seeing everyone and I'm sure they would have been pleasantly surprised by how well I look :-)

The slate for our rockery didn't arrive last week so Andrew was spared the task of moving it over the weekend. He did continue with the garden bench repair though, so I did manage to keep him busy. We need a bit of metal to support the middle of the bench, as the original piece is broken. My dad however is currently fashioning a replacement piece for us using some piece of metal he had in his 'stores' - anyone who knows my dad will understand that he ALWAYS has 'something that will do the job' hidden away in his garage, workshop, hut, basement....he has many hiding places ;-)

Worryingly I seem to be turning into an amalgamation of my mum and dad. Like my dad I have been getting up at the crack of dawn (7am most mornings) and like my mum I have continued to with the baking and cooking. It's quite scary really. I did have a baking disaster at the weekend when I forgot to put sugar in the fruit loaves but the birds have been enjoying it since. I have also been trying out various recipes that use the herbs we have bought (I think we have every herb that the garden centre sold!). The mint plant was taking over so yesterday I made pea and mint soup. It sounds a bit funny but it was actually really nice and I would make it again. I have also discovered that I shouldn't be allowed to use sharp instruments as so far, this week, I have cut myself three times - with a knife, my razor and the hand blender. I have been going through plasters at some rate. Just as well I'm not a chef.

Seb is still enjoying the new me, and I have become his new favourite person - I'm sure the novelty will soon wear off. We decided to give him a bath last night (not sure when he last had one as I was to breathless to help and it's a two man operation). He was very good and just stood there looking a bit pathetic. I decided as a treat for behaving he could have a tripe stick afterwards. Well that was the worst idea I've had in a while - he took the tripe stick and proceeded to roll about on top of it until he was sure that he smelt like tripe all over! I couldn't believe it - all that effort giving him a bath and now he smells like tripe. You live and learn.

Healthwise, everything seems to be on track. The blood sugars are improving with bigger doses of insulin, my weight is slowly creeping up and my chest feels great. I have been getting problems with my sinuses again, which is really disappointing but I am trying to do nasal washes everyday to help this. I used to have a wee machine for this but I am paranoid it has bugs growing in it, so instead have bought something called a 'neti pot' or 'rhino horn', which is basically like a wee plastic teapot that you fill with warm salty water and pour into your nostril. If you tip your head correctly the water flows in one side and out the other (it doesn't go down your throat) and it's supposed to be really good for keeping sinuses clear. My ENT recommended a similar thing years ago, so its not as daft as it sounds and I am hoping it will keep the sinus pain at a manageable level. The only other health thing that is bothering me is the side effects of the steroids, as my face is starting to get the puffy hamster cheeks! I was complaining about this at the weekend when mum helpful said 'well it doesn't look too bad when your hair is over your face'. I'm sure that's not exactly how she meant it to come out! I'm hoping when my steroid dose is lower this will get better, although I suspect I'm stuck with it for a while. I suppose there is a price to pay and I would rather have a fat face and lungs that work so I have to keep things in perspective. I don't have to like it though!

Some random squirrels ....