Brailsford family updates

I can't remember if I'd said before end I'm too lazy to go and check but we're home again. Yes the bathroom is done. Thank you so much to everyone who has donatedd, prayed, encouraged or sorted in any other way as we got this done. It has made a huge difference to my independence and therefore quality of life. Came back last Sunday night. There are still one or two snags to sort in the bathroom, things like the lights on the mirror don't wok so they need to replace it and sort the electrics. Nothing we can't live with. But everything essential functions, including the shower. I'm the only one to have managed to flood that bathroom so far, whoops. Zeb is much better at using it than me! We have just about got our things settled back in at home. We didn't realise how much we'd taken over to dad and Gillian's. I think coz we took an initial load and then gradually brought more stuff as time went on. So the house almost looks put back together again....

We are now down to single figures of radiotherapy treatment. I don't have it over the weekend, so in two weeks time my daily hospital trips for zapping should be over. I think I have a few more days with chromotherapy tablets than radio, but they are every day, weekends included. I don't have to go anywhere for them, just take them at home, but we'll be glad when the course is over as it dominates half our night and morning. I have to take my anti-sickness tablets half an hour before the chemo tablets and then can't eat for two hours after. This means we find ourselves keeping taking up in the night clock watching to make sure we get the first ones in at the right time,  then a half hour settle before the next ones. The chemo tablets have all kinds of rules about taking them, like you can't touch them. So Mark had to get up cut the packets with the tablets in open and tip them in a cup. He then brings them to me with lots of water to wash them down. I then have an h...

 At the weekend Mark and I did things that made us feel like we were real humans again and not on this ill/treatment continuous path. I even wore real clothes! No that I normally wear fake clothes but I've got into the habit of wearing joggers and a a sweatshirt because it is comfy for the hospital, but they are not clothes I would often wear normally. So at the weekend i wore dresses and leggings and cardigans! The reason for this change of clothing, it was our wedding anniversary. twelve years of married goodness. Well twelve years of up and down togetherness. The first few were marked by me having M.E., then we had Zeb and we both would admit that we found the early days a struggle. And now we are walking this path. And yet through all of that God has been gracious to us and helped us grow in love for him and love for each other, guiding and comforting us through illness and child raising. We wouldn't be without our saving, grace giving God. We are not always very good at ce...

This week saw an appointment with our consultant. Our specialist nurse couldn't make it again this time. He seemed happy with how things were. He made a few adjustments to some of my medications. He doubled the steroids, which are to help with the swelling round the tumors. The anti-sickness tablets have been increased as I've been struggling a lot with nausea. And having taken out oral morphine, as I react to it a bit, the pain levels were getting out of hand. So as he said you need to decide between pain and the side effects, so we decided to add the morphine back in and deal with it. So if you see me and I seem a bit spaced out or have no clue what day or time it is. Be patient with me and guide me back in the right direction please. Moving back home should happen this weekend, the bathroom is nearly there. The shower is not quite useable but what they need to sort that will be a quick job on Monday. We have exciting plans for this weekend, will update you on them when they...

 At Ipswich hospital they have a great place called the John Le Vey centre. This centre is in the Woolverstone ward where Ruth is having her treatment. They put us in touch with a charity called "Something to look forward to". They offer gifts to people who are having treatment/recovering from cancer. These gifts are donated by individuals or companies as a way to give families going through this things for them to look forward to. It is all about making memories.  Ruth had an email from them with an offer for Saturday just gone to attend a Cambridge City football match as VIPs for the game. Ruth Applied and we were gifted this experience. It was for 4 people, so we went as a family and as it was a game being played in Histon where Ruth's brother and family live, We asked Zeb's cousin to join us.  We arrived at the ground at 2pm where we were met by a guy called Wayne who is the director of the company sponsoring the game that day. From the arrival at the carpark we w...

Just over a week ago I had the opportunity to attend one of Ruth's appointments with her as she was seeing her consultant after the radiotherapy session. Ruth asked the radiographers if I could have a look in the room to see how she gets the specially formed mask on. They said yes, I went into the room where I am met by a small table in the room with this huge machine at one side. The put a mat on the table and Ruth got on to lie down. They had a knee support to keep her knees bent and then got this funny looking mask out of the cupboard which fits snuggly over her head. It is made from plastic with holes all over so she can breathe, but does look very tight and trapping. I could see why she is not keen being secured to the bed by it. They have lines marked on each side to make a cross and there green lasers on both sides of the room. They have to line both crosses either side with the green lasers to ensure the bed/table is in the correct position and that Ruth's head is in th...

 When I was thinking about what I've written below (remember I tend to write these several times in my head - often in the middle of the night - before pen hits paper, or fingers hit keys), It got me thinking about a story in the bible about Moses, the leader of the Israelites, God's people. He was leading them away from a life of slavery under Pharaoh to what they believed to be the promised land, that would be flowing with milk and honey. But their journey was far from smooth. At one point they were battling with another tribe, the Amalekites. Mosses positioned himself on top of a hill with two of his other leaders. He held his hands up to God, and with his hands raised to God the Israelites would be winning. When his hands got tired and lowered they would start losing. So Moses sat on a rock and his two other leaders would hold his hands up for him, until the Amalekite army was defeated. And that made me think of you all. Holding me up in prayer, with encouraging messages, l...

 We have now moved out and have been at dad (Roger/grandad) and Gillian's (dad's wife/Nanny) for three days. I think all is going well. We know it is a big sacrifice and change to their life style to have us here. We really appreciate it. Especially the amount of listening about Pokémon that they do as that means its a bit less we need to do! The bathroom is well underway, it currently is bear with no ceiling. We can't wait to be able to use the new one.  Everything medical wise iis going well. I had another tight mask day earlier this week. I normally have at least one of the same radiographers each time so that they know my set up.  But for some reason it was a different set of radiographers. I told them my normal set up but we still ended up with it a bit tight. Never mind it was better the day after. I am now four days into my radiotherapy and seven days into the chemo. I  am getting very tired and nauseous, despite taking meds to try and stop this. I see my cons...