I'm back in the New Year...2016

Hello everyone, wow it feels like a lifetime ago since I last blogged or really did anything of any real merit come to think of it. Whilst 2015 was not exactly the year I had planned I refuse to class it as a total right off. As in life full of ups and downs, new experiences some good some bad, the major factor being I am still here to bore you all to death with my continued adventures.

   

South Moor Park was a bit muddy

 I am not going to bang on about the chemotherapy, but will say it took more out of me towards the end than I was expecting and the last few months have been tough. I don't really like this time of year, not sure if I get that Saddo Affective Disorder...Oh sorry Seasonal Affective Disorder, or if I just always prepare myself to be miserable around this time of year. If I get reincarnated it will probably be as a bear or a hedgehog as they hibernate around this season. Anyhoo I have figured I am not feeling depressed I am just a bit wiped out, which I am told by my Cancer Nurse Specialist is to be expected.

Good to be out

Today was to be my first ride out of the New Year 2016, bloody hell what a simply lovely day to go out for a ride. My mate John had to really work hard to convince me to get my ass out of bed this morning. I went out more for John than anything else, Oh and my boss at work Annie who had also tried motivating me all week saying "dude you need to get back out on the bike". I have been back to work around 3 weeks or so now, on a phased return. It has been tough, however such a relief to just get back in the swing of things. As I rode around today, freezing cold and soaked to the skin I said to John 'You know what sometime we don't realise just how lucky we are'. I then went on to explain that the reason I feel so lucky is in my job I see less fortunate people each day. People who have  undergone such life changing illness and I think to myself 'what would they give to be able to just carry on with life as normal'. 

Simply lovely weather

I remembered to charge my lights

John loves playing in puddles

Heading towards Chapman's Wells

 So although today was wet, cold and very muddy and both John and I were proper out of shape after each having a long lay off the bikes it was a great morning. I actually like being out in the rain. I love the sound of the rain drops as they pitter patter through the trees and create little splashes and circles in the puddles. It was proper foggy today and quite a few of my pictures came out with water splashes on the lens, captured in the images. Still managed to get a few not so bad ones.

Came across this wellie, just in the middle of the trail. I wonder if an amputee had been out for a quick hop and left it behind...

A Random Wellie

I think we did just over 10 miles today and in typical fashion I took John on some of the muddiest trails locally that I could find. We finally arrived back at my house where we both gave our bikes a quick hose down and then John said Bye and he headed up the bank home, whilst I went in and had a lovely hot shower. I then set about looking through my pictures, editing a few and writing my blog.

   

Here's to a Great 2016, already got a few things in the pipeline and it's only January. Must get out on the bike more, get back in the pool and of course get this running blade sorted.

 
Best wishes for a Happy new Year to you all...

Me

Morning walkies, followed by family cooking and baking, with debates and laughter...

I awoke this morning around 9am. I had had a bit of a bad night last night, feeling quite nauseous and with an upset tummy, obviously I put this down to my treatment so got up and took some of my prescribed medication. I then dropped back off but had a fit full night. Anyhoo like I say up at around 9 am I decided to take wor Baxter for a walk. At one time Baxter hated walkies now he relishes the prospect so he was raring to go. Baxter is a right little bugger in that as soon as you pop his leash on he tries to grab it and then runs about tugging and jumping all over the place like a right hooligan. The only way I can get him to stop is by saying 'what's this' and reaching into my pocket for a treat.

Out the front gate and down the path, boy it was a little windy and cold, good job I had put my new North Face beanie on and my woollen gloves. We had just walked a little way down the path when Baxter decided 'oh I need to go for a poo'. I was using his extendible leader and callied to him 'Baxter wait, wait', you see the leader was under his tail. Yeah well I don't have to explain what happened next, but guess I will, dog crap all over the leash....Ewwww. I then had to get the dog bags from my pocket and one task I hate and always struggle with is trying to open the bloody things. Ok poop bag opened. Just then Baxter pulled on his leash and Omg! the dam thing snapped. See that's what happens when you chew on it, bad dog. I was passed myself as we were near the busy main road that runs just outside our front. I kind of panicked and started shouting 'Come here', I then calmed myself and remembered I had trained Baxter from being little to come to 'where's he at'. As soon as I said this in a calm voice and showed him a treat he came to me like a good lad. I got hold of his collar and then had the unenviable task of trying to tie a shit covered leash onto what was left of the other end, again Ewwwww. Good job I wasn't far from home. We went back home where I almost scrubbed the skin off my hands and I had to find another leash.

I then took Baxter out again and we headed over towards the allotments near the Millennium Green. There are some horses in the fields and nearby enclosure and Baxter likes to go and see them. He is one of the most friendly dogs I have ever known, so very gentle and playful.

Saying Hello

Saying Hello

   


         
 














 

The end of something and the start of something new.

Today was a bit of a landmark day as I have completed my 6th and final cycle of chemotherapy. Now I am positive I will go into remission as they call it and stay fit and healthy for sometime without fear of the 'C' word coming back to haunt me for quite sometime. I have to undergo 2 years of antibody treatment, this requires me to go and have a drug named rituxiimab  infused into my body and statistics have shown this drug helps keep the Non Hodgkin's at bay for much longer. You see the malignant cancerous cells have a unique protein surrounding them called CD20. The rituxiimab is designed to hunt down this protein and destroy the cancer cells with out harming good healthy cells. So the drug is a lot gentler than the chemo which just runs rampant and kills everything.

Short term plans are return for blood tests in a months time and then go for a scan to see if I am okay. Treatment wise it has not been as bad as I suspected. I mean sure I have had a few side effects, like feeling nauseas, tired, low blood counts and the latest one developing spots and pimples which are really annoying and quite painful.

I am now looking forward to this being the end of something and the start of something new in many aspects of my life. I have always been driven, maybe not academically, however if I want to achieve something or get something done. If I focus my attention on it I have what is known as a can do attitude and can generally achieve my aims and goals. I have learnt a valuable lesson in some respects as I have gotten older and that not everything has to be perfect or in some cases you can start things yet never have to complete them. This can be for a variety of reasons, things like you are just not really as interested as you thought you were in the given subject. Other people get in the way or lose interest or they have different views, or some other aspect of life comes along and the stuff or thing you were doing just doesn't feel as important. I have come to understand it is better to have a go and fail than just say 'I cannot do that' or not even attempt to try it. Trying is not failure it I simply a way of discovering if you really want to do something, or learning something, then doing it better each time until you are happy with the outcome. I have also discovered I cannot posssibly Fix Everything or everyone no matter how caring or understanding I am. I think one of my biggest problems, again I'm learning is that I see only Black and White, yet other people have a myriad of different shades of Grey and even some other colours coming intro play and well this can just totally confuddle me. How the hell I have got off on this tangent I do not know lol. Top tip, stick to black and white it makes things so much easier lol.

Anyoo the something new bit for me is a reflection of putting all this crap behind me and learning from it and whilst I will be continuing to do a lot of stuff I used to do I will be moving on to new things. Well this is what I envision. Is this not life for all of us any way?

Whilst chatting to a very close friend I asked her a totally random question, saying 'So if you could think of a mythical creature or animal to represent you,  what would it be?'. She had to think a while and in the meantime said, 'Oh I am not sure, what would yours be'. I can of course answer immediately as for me it would have to be a Phoenix. The way I figure, this creature represents me perfectly because it is born, has a period of fun, then the shit hits the fan, it is then born again with a new sense of purpose out of all the ashes and the chaos that caused it's demise. I am in no way complaing so don't think this is a sob story, my life has been full of ups and downs, it has brought me to exactly where I am supposed to be and made me the person I am today. I actually feel rather fortunate in a weird sense.

So on to my recovery. I am going to take the next month or so real easy, see what it brings my way and whilst I am off try and relax and not over think things. I am however going to start thinking of short, medium and longer term goals, as this promotes positive action. I am already looking forward to new sockets, trialling new knees and feet/ ankle combo's. I am looking forward to getting back to learning to run and of course swimming again. I am also very excited about working alongside Graeme Moore, a really good close personal friend of mine. Graeme is a triathlon coach over at Phoenix Triathlon and has very kindly asked me, would I like to help out within the club. I am not sure at the moment of my role, however have helped out on a few sessions with some children from a special needs school. I found this experience extremely rewarding and fun so maybe a volunteer coaching role would suit me down to the ground. I would recommend voluntary work to anyone as it gives you a tremendous feel good factor and also brings communities closer together.

Anyhoo my blogging friends watch this space as I am sure there will be many more adventures in the future and I cannot wait to share them with you.

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads my blogs, this year has been a particularly tough one, not so much the chemo, more so that it has effected what I wanted to do and made me feel lazy and at times depressed. I don't like sugar coating things, so my aim was to be honest with anyone who kept up to date with me and peoples support has been amazing. It has really helped me get through on those crappy days and on the days I have felt good well, it's just great to know I have so many loyal friends.

I notice I don't get as many comments on my blog as I do upon Facebook, so hey leave your comments any time they are a very welcome read.

Take care guys

What to do when you cannot sleep?

Well this sucks, my sleep pattern is all to hell. I'm finding I'm tempted to go out for rides at stupid O'clock just because I am bored out of my tree. Either that or I am on my pc ogling bike porn and speccing up imaginary bikes, Mmmmm what carbon bars to go for and do those colours match. Maybe I could shave a few grams off there and should I go for another Fat Bike, or full sus trail or hard tail. Do I even need another bike, well of course I do you can never have enough bikes lol.

Yep I'm bored with being off work and just feel proper lazy. This whole 'you need to rest and take it easy', well it's just not for me. I need to be out doing stuff, challenging myself or at least being mentally stimulated. The days are becoming a blur and just fading from one day to the next.

On Thursday I see my consultant so I guess i will find out if my neutrophils are low again this month. If they are it means more delays with my treatment. If they are okay, it's whoopee as this will be my final chemo session. Then it's just a case of waiting for a final scan and my bloods to get back in order and I can start thinking of my return to work and gradually get back on track. I need to start doing stuff and just having some much needed fun.

Anyhoo as like I say I have been bored I thought I may as well bore you lot by writing a blog and let you know what I have been doing when I cannot sleep. I have actually been spending quite a bit of time on Spotify searching for potential tunes I can use in any bike video's I do. I love looking for obscure tracks by artists I haven't heard of. I find when doing a bike video one of the hardest bits is not actually editing the footage it's in finding a decent tune to go with the flow of the video. I have a plan for a nice winter video and already have a cracking track chosen, just need some snow lol.

I'm going to change how I do my video's slightly and try and pick a tune, then go somewhere and try and ride to the flow of the music. It just makes it that bit more interesting I guess.

Lately I have discovered a few artists I like. I have popped a few links to Youtube with their albums.

From Indian Lakes






Another group I have discovered and quite like are Dresses. Dresses is a band from Portland, Oregon made up of Timothy Heller and Jared Ryan Maldonado. Their sound can be described as bubbly indie pop, driven by the duo's intertwining vocal melodies and harmonization.





Have fun and get some sleep lol x

When you just don't feel like going out!

The lads had been going back and forth with messages upon Facebook arranging a ride out for Saturday morning. I only sent a few short messages, saying I didn't feel like heading out, but hoped they enjoyed themselves. As the days go by I just feel weaker and weaker and everything feels like a chore.

Well Saturday morning arrived I hadn't set my alarm like I usually would and was awakened by our doorbell ringing. Thoughts ran through my head 'aww just ignore it, who ever it is will go away'. I  then thought I had better go and see who it was. As I hopped down stairs using my elbow crutches as i couldn't be arsed to pop my leg on I saw though our kitchen window that it was my friend John. I went to the back door, opened it and John came in while I made a cup of tea and had some toast. 'You not up for a ride out' John said, to which I  replied 'I'm just not feeling it mate'. Soon after our other friend Lee arrived. When Lee saw I wasn't ready he asked 'You not coming'?, again I just repeated my earlier comment to John, saying I wasn't exactly feeling good. Lee was gutted, well so was John as they love hanging with me and going for a ride. Lee always says 'I always have an adventure or something happens when I am with you'. This is pretty much true, it's very rare we go out and something either funny, interesting or bizarre happens. As I was just finishing up my toast I spotted our other friend Al pull up in his car. At this point I was feeling a bit guilty, here were all the lads and me being a pussy just because I didn't feel too good. Before All got his bike unloaded off his car I hopped upstairs and popped my bikey gear on and got ready to head out with the boys.
              

Up the mucky farmers trail with Teflon Lee

Got to love the mud

Almost a death in the family, well more of a murder really!

Yesterday was a very traumatic day for me. I was up my friends Ade and Amanda's when I received the terrible news via text from my son Kyle that one of my dearest friends, had almost lost his life. This friend has been with me for well over 20 years through thick and thin. He has been there through relationship break ups, seen me through bad times and has always been there to listen. Admittedly he never says anything back in return, but at least I know he's not going to give me shit advice, try and play me or steal any potential girls. He loves me unconditionally and never expects anything in return, well apart from the odd drink now and again.

It wasn't me

Yes I love my Groot. Groot is an umbrella tree I have had him since he was a baby. I can still remember bringing him home, aww bless he was just a wee shoot of a thing. But with love and attention he grew up to be a beautiful, though slightly weird shaped plant. The thing I especially like about Groot is he doesn't conform to other umbrella trees, he has a mind of his own and does his own thing. He sprouts his leaves at weird times and at funny angles.

I can recall when I used to have him in the living room near our sofa, we would watch films together and Groot would tickle my head with his leaves as they bent right over the back of the sofa.  I would often chat to him and tell him 'what a pretty boy, Oh yes you are' and I swear he would rustle his leaves and grow a few millimetres by the next day.

Anyhoo back to this terrible text , it went : Kyle - 'Grandad just told me that Baxter just ate some of Groot'
 
Me - 'Is Groot ok'
 
Kyle - 'He says No, Groot is not ok, he is an amputee like you now, but has lost two limbs instead of one'

Baxter is a bad bad dog

Omg wor Baxter has tried to murder my best friend. I was not a happy bunny. When I got in Groot wasn't in his normal place and I panicked thinking Ern may have buried him or something in the back garden. 'Where's Groot' I shouted up our stairs. 'He is in the sitting room' Ern replied. I opened the door and was devastated to see my usually leafy friend was bare. Two of his wonderful stalks had been eaten and the leaves and branches gone.
 
Baxter came to greet me I gave him a 'You are a bad boy look', to which he returned my look with a 'it wasn't me, honest' expression.


Groot is now down to one stalk I do hope he recovers from this traumatic incident. I will be doing everything I can to nurse him back to full health. Even though the bloke at the job centre asked if my leg was going to grow back and it hasn't so far I have faith that Groots stalks will return.

Ok I have to go it's just all too much...

Sometimes not planning a route, turns out to be the best route.

It's been ages since I last rode with my good mate Lee. What with Lee working shifts and me never knowing where or what I am going to be up to and like everyone stuff just gets in the way from time to time.  Anyhoo Lee had given me a shout on Facebook Sunday night saying 'Hey I'm off tomorrow you up for a ride out?'. 'Sure' I replied as long as it's not an epic as I have been feeling really tired over the last week or so. In fact I hate to admit it but 2 days running I had hardly gotten out of bed. It wasn't the fact I was like sleepy tired, no more of a bone weary tired. After I had rode the 38 miles or so the other week when I went down to Tynemouth and back with my other friend John I just felt absolutely knackered and it must have lingered on. I am pretty stubborn and for me feeling like this is just not on, though I am learning sometimes I do need to give myself a break and rest and take it easy, other wise it takes even longer to get myself put right and this causes me to become even more anxious and frustrated.

Down the leafy trail

Lee

A Tootle from Newcastle to Tynemouth

****Update****

Decided to play around with some of my footage from my outing with John. There was so much stuff that I could probably make 3 or 4 small movies. May do more later but for the time being this crudely put together bit will have to do :)

 

Good news on the old White Blood Count

After having my bloods retaken on Tuesday I was very surprised to discover they had risen from 0.52 all the way up to 3.79. I'm not sure what I have been doing but it must have worked. My friend Ade reckons it was that trip we had to Holy Island lol. I have been trying to exercise (maybe a little too much at times) by getting out on my bikes and I have been eating plenty of mixed fruit and berries and drinking a lot more water.

Yesterday (Thursday) I attended Shotley Bridge chemotherapy day unit for my 5th cycle of treatment. When I was there the haematology nurse came over to have a chat and explained that as my Wbc's were not recovering each time I had treatment they thought it a good idea that this cycle I only have one session of chemo and antibody and this would also be the case for my next cycle. So I have today off from treatment and I have awoken feeling quite good. The side effects to the drugs usually kicks in around 4 days later, however last month I didn't experience hardly any, well apart from the dop in my wbc count.

The hardest part for me is having to try and take things easy and being off work, it gets so boring. I have never been a one for sitting still, yet due to unforeseen circumstances a great deal of my life has forced me to do just this. I think that is why I get so wound up at times now I just want to get on. Never mind just one more session and then normal service shall be resumed and I can ease back into the swing of things.

So much to look forward to and feeling well which will be a huge bonus. I never really seem to have a plan for life I rarely know what I am doing from one week to the next however I do know I want to achieve and accomplish more, doing what well I haven't a clue.

One things for sure my future will never pass me.

Have a great day everyone x