Choices

As well as dog training, Sheena is going to
have to go back to her nursing days!

My chemo was due to start on 11 Jan, but with the new very contagious version of Covid, and the prevalence of it at our hospital, I asked if we could delay. It wasn't an easy choice, and I couldn't speak to my colorectal nurse as she was off, but in the end we decided on a delay.

Since then the chemo day unit has moved out of the hospital into the local Nuffield, as they did during the first lockdown. This keeps the chemo patients as far away from any risk of infection as possible - and the cancer ward has been given over to Covid patients. They are now postponing cancer surgery, I've heard, so I have been very lucky with my treatment so far.

My chemo schedule is now planned and I will be going to the Nuffield. I will have my PICC line inserted on 29th January, and my first chemotherapy treatment on 8th Feb. There will be line care, blood tests and all sorts in the meantime, with chemo infusions roughly every two weeks, via a pump that is removed two days later. Sheena is going to learn how to use the PICC line to take blood for me and to do the maintenance - lucky Sheena!

There are a shed load of side effects possible, but the most common are neuropathy (pain/tingling in extremities, something Sheena still suffers from more than a year on from her last treatment) and extreme sensitivity to cold, especially in the air. Those will be copeable with. I have to take a warm scarf and lunch to my first chemo session as it will be around 3 1/2 hours.

There is the possibility that I will get a Covid Vaccine as I will fall into the clinically vulnerable cohort - Sheena has already had hers as her immune system (even now) will still put her in this category. But for now it's keep calm and carry on. I will update after my first treatment. I may even post pictures of my PICC line.

Useful links:

• Signs and symptoms of cancer
• Ipswich Hospital Wellbeing Appeal

Less serious posts:

• I'm not a burglar
• City of Cats

There's no such thing as an original story

Chizel. Why not!

A good few years ago I started writing a novel about a 20^th century woman who ‘time slipped’ into Medieval times. It fell under ‘Hero’s Journey’ in story theme terms, but the fun of the story was how a  modern woman faced and overcame challenges in a bygone age. I struggled with the language differences, I struggled with some links in the story, but I liked the main character. I wrote about a third of the story, with the plot fully outlined, and then I read ‘Outlander’ by Diana Gabaldon.  Basically, exactly the same premise as my story, but written sh*t loads better and with a much more interesting scenario (15^th Century Scottish Highlands).  

For reasons other than the fact that the concept had been done 100 times better by someone else, I abandoned my poor lady in Medieval times (I wonder how she’s getting on?) and haven’t tried to write a novel since. I have written plenty of short stories (a few can be found on here), but the idea of writing a novel still taunts my creative muse.

A friend suggested I could write further on the infamous Matthew Hopkins (I’d already written a song about him), and I briefly flirted with the idea of time travelling the Witchfinder General to today – but he’d be right at home during a pandemic!

I’m therefore going to start thinking about what I want to write – it doesn’t matter if it’s been done before, or whether it is publishable or not, I just want to revisit the pleasure of writing. I won’t say ‘watch this space’ because if the last novel attempt is anything to go by, you’ll get very tired waiting.

Useful links

• The seven basic plots
• Stop procrastinating, start writing

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The curious tiger

Thesia

Health and safety gone mad

Pic from Smallbusiness.co.uk

It is often said that the rules and regulations around health and safety are ‘gone mad’ and that we are a nanny state. I disagree – although sometimes things may seem a bit ridiculous, have you stopped to look at the bigger picture? I did a bit of research:

The Health and Safety at Work Act came into force in 1974 (when I was too young to work more than a paper round). This was the result of the Robens Report, which was very concerned with the state of workers’ safety, particularly in the coal industry. Quite a bit has changed since the legislation has come into force, especially with regards to deaths and injuries:

                             Deaths               Reported injuries

1974                    650                      330,000
2019                    111                      75,000

These figures to me speak not just of the decline in coal mining (and related deaths and diseases), but that health and safety procedures have had a real impact. In other words, this legislation, along with an increased sense of responsibility by individuals, has saved lives.

So though some of the rules and regulations may be annoying, and filling out the accident book may be an inconvenience, overall we should not think it’s health and safety gone mad, but be thankful for the protection that is extended to us via this old, but wonderful, piece of legislation (who’d have thought I’d ever have something to thank Barbara Castle for!).

More info:

• Health and Safety Executive Timeline
• Health and Safety at Work Act (explained)
• Small businesses not taking Health and Safety Seriously

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