Up The Farway Tree

Trains and Fireworks

I had another post transplant first this week....I got on the train myself and went Christmas shopping in the city centre! It's been a long long time since I went on a train anywhere myself, and I'm not sure when I last went into town for Christmas shopping. The last few years most of it has been done on the internet, and last year mum wheeled me around the shops for some last minute pieces. What a completely different story this year! I wasn't even planning to go but my car was in the garage (again!) this week so I was sitting at home feeling a bit bored...then I suddenly thought, '0h, I can actually walk to the station and get on a train somewhere!' I was so excited I felt like telling the train conducter that I had a transplant this year and did he know how cool that was?! Only downside is that I spent more money (especially since I was on my own with no one to keep an eye), however I did get quite a few presents and I walked around for hours (carrying all the bags) and then had to walk back from the train station.....and I was still able to take Seb out!

This was especially impressive since on Monday I had been rather silly. I went out to put some bin bags out and saw the state of the patio...all covered in leaves. So I decided to sweep it all up and tidy in general, which involved a lot of moving around of garden furniture. I then progressed to raking the leaves on the lawn (the lawn is about 90ft long!) and after about 2 hrs I was near to collapsing and sadly it didn't look like I had done much! I had however filled the entire garden waste wheely bin - which I insisted Andrew look at when he got home to prove how much I had done! It was good exercise though and although I felt completely exhausted that evening, by the next day I was fully recovered. Amazing!

On a similar note, I was sitting here thinking about where I was this time last year, and I must say that last October was one of my worst months ever. I had a couple of admissions and one of them was the worst I have ever felt. I remember mum wheeling me into the hospital, me crawling into the bed and then refusing to get back out for the next 2 weeks. For anyone who visits me in hospital they will know that I usually get up and dressed no matter how bad I feel, but this time I just didn't move. I could hardly get to the bathroom with the breathlesness and mum had to wash me as I couldn't go in the shower or even stand at the sink. Half way through my IV's the infection markers started to climb again and I can remember how scared I felt, wondering if this was going to turn around. Obviously it did, and I am still here and still standing...but have come so far. It's weird to think that I have not had a chest infection since April now - longer than ever in my entire life!! It's a nice thought for such a dreary day :-)

Seb had quite a stressful week with the fireworks. He was ok last year, but this year he was out in the garden when one went off, and he got a huge fright and came diving back into the house. He then hid behind the curtain, in a corner, behind the sofa before finally curling up beside Andrew (even though he is not allowed on the sofa, and technically he was mostly on the sofa!) I did ignore all his antics, as apparently by reassuring the dog you are making them think there is something to be worried about. However I was quite bad and let him sit up beside Andrew, simply because he looked so sweet (Seb, not Andrew) and I felt really sorry for him.



Things are progressing well with Team Jac and I have a feeling numbers will be closer to 100! I will need to get these finalised fairly soon so I can work out places on the bus, which is taking us to the starting point. I do have the bus organised though (free of charge!) I am currently trying to sort out the toilet situation, as public ones half way through the walk are closed due to vandalism. Great. However, I am looking into this so hopefully we can find a solution. I also wrote to all the local businesses looking for sponsorship but sadly have had no response, which is disappointing. The only person to help was the lovely lady who runs a local beauty and health shop and she is giving me a gift voucher. I think I will have a wee competition locally with this as the prize (it will only benefit those who live nearby). I had no idea there would be quite so much organisation required, but it is all good fun and keeping me busy.

I will leave you with some pics of Seb wearing my hat...just because it is cute :-)