Monday 21 December 2015

It's about time ...

... I showed the blog I've not forgotten it - oops!  November 2014, the last post.  That's over a year ago.  The longest I've ever gone without posting.  It's been a bit of an eventful time, starting not long after my last post.  It went from bad, to worse to even worser (???) and has ended up pretty good .... following what was, some would say, a miracle.

OH's health took a major turn for the worse before Christmas last year with fluid retention, requiring hospitalisation over the Christmas period.  Unfortunately it didn't resolve anything and his health just got worse.  He was on the fast train outta here!   In April a District Nurse called who finally listened to us, our concerns and what we thought the problem was.  Within a week, after she'd listened, OH was taken into the local hospice where he stayed for 3 months.  In all honesty, there was nobody who thought he'd be coming out alive when he went in.  He was that ill.  Over time he ballooned, literally, and put on 5 stone in weight. It was all fluid.  It affected his whole body - arms, face, legs, stomach.  Nowhere was immune from it.  The medics at the Hospice were like dogs with bones.  They weren't letting him out of there without getting to the bottom of the problem, one way or another.  Eventually one doctor asked more in depth questions of the results from tests done over the Christmas period and discovered what the problem was.  Targetted treatment started and results were soon obvious.  In July OH came home.  His weight was dropping rapidly as the fluid disappeared and he's now 2 stone lighter than he was before the fluid came in ... and gradually losing more ... so his 'fat' weight is going now.  The fluid has all gone :)  Since June, when he was at his heaviest, he's lost 7 stone in weight - fluid and fat.

If that's not enough 'pretty good' .... rewind to July, when OH came out of the hospice.  He found it difficult to settle at night.   Third night home and he spent it in the living room.  In the morning he said he had something to show me and wiggled his toes.  For around 25 years OH has had no voluntary movement in his legs.  He's had muscle spasms but he's had no movement he's been able to control. He'd had a massive pain overnight that he thinks 'knocked him out'. When he came to he had some sensation in his legs and he could wiggle his toes.  By the end of the week he could do leg raises and this .......


He still can't walk unaided, and is never likely to.  He still relies on his wheelchair except for the very shortest of distances, but even this small improvement is massive.  On top of all this the oncologist is satisfied that his cancer is controlled and no longer needs to see him unless OH wants to.  He's had a cataract op within the last 2 weeks so is in the process of getting his sight back clear enough to drive again (he stopped driving sometime last year) and we can finally see him getting his life back come the spring of 2016.  It's been a long time coming.  

As I said at the start of this post ...an eventful year, from bad to worse and a rapid improvement - and the improvement is not just OH's domain *grin*


Thanks for dropping by .....






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1 comment:

Clair Matthews said...

So good to see you blogging again Pam! Pauls recovery certainly is a miracle..here's to a happier & healthier 2016!!! xxx