Right this is going to be a jumble of consciousness. Hopefully it’ll translate to the written page well.
So how did my week last week go? Ummmm, it was a mixed bag to say the least.
Ben (number 2 son, chronologically rather than preference) had arranged a fantastic day of family fun for the Saturday. He booked tickets for Chris and I, Sam, Milly and Zak, and himself and Kaitlyn to The Natural History Museum in London, followed by a meal at a restaurant after.
It was such a wonderfully thoughtful thing to do. What was it in aid of? His own birthday! That’s what he wanted to do. He wanted a fabulous family day out.
I thought it was so pure and generous. It warmed my heart.
Unfortunately, life got in the way. You know that saying “we make plans - and God laughs”
Well, that, exactly that.
Sam has been having health issues for about 6-8 months. Just one thing after the other. Bless him, such rotten luck.
He very unfortunately was struck down by septic bursitis in his elbow. Which was bad enough but the treatment for it, the very high strength antibiotics and anti inflammatory drugs knocked him off his feet. And sadly wasn’t up to the planned day out.
Sam felt dreadful letting Ben down, but couldn’t be helped. Ben felt sad his fun day had to be called off.
It was just most unfortunate.
So that’s how the week started, it got worse, believe me.
Anyway, Chris and I did our thing. Just carrying on as normal. The situation couldn’t be helped.
So Thursday morning I did my volunteer shift at the vaccine centre.
Dress from Oliver Bonas, Shoes from Hermes.
Thursday’s shift came with some challenges but it was so good. I went out to explain to the waiting queue of people that they needed to fill in the online questionnaire that was either sent to them already, or to follow the link on the QR code I had on a printed sheet.
This was fine till I spoke to a lovely young lady who explained she didn’t speak English and didn’t know what I was saying. She then rang her friend for me to speak to, but me explaining about using the QR code to get to the link was a bit above his level of English too.
This posed a problem until I remembered the gift that is Google Translate.
Believe me, as a Brit, it’s got me out of all sorts of language barrier predicaments (we’re mostly a nation of single language troglodytes, myself included).
So I used it to communicate with her. Which was so nice to be able to reassure and comfort her. I used it to help her download the questionnaire and wish her a lovely day. She went off jabbed and happy. A great day all round really. :)
I taught about 20 people how to use QR codes. Which funnily enough was me learning on the job too, as I’d never used one before myself, but I have seen Chris use them. So winged it and gave it go.
Quite a few had never heard of them, as I said to them “every day’s a school day!” We never stop learning even if it isn’t in a formal setting.
It was a busy shift. We’re now doing 16 years old and over. And it’s lovely to see so many willing to have the jab. One girl explained she was doing it for her gran. Which just made my heart so happy. Thinking of others is such a great character strength.
Anyway, once my shift was over I dashed home, as Chris and I were off to a hotel near Henley, for the Regatta the following day (it’s a posh rowing competition event, full of posh fancy people…and luckily enough, they let the hoi polloi in too! :) )
Sam was so low, he was just so miserable that he was unwell again, that we popped in on him on the way to the hotel to check on him and cheer him up and take him some cheer up gifts.
By this time on Thursday evening he was waiting for a call from his GP to see if the blood test results showed if he needed to go into hospital for IV antibiotics for the septic elbow joint.
It was so lovely to see him. When your child lives a long way away it’s tricky to judge if they need you or not.
Plus we got to have squeezes with Zak too. so that’s always going to be a great day. He was so excited to see us. He stood at the window shouting “Nana! Nana, nana!”
My heart could burst! :) Week day visits are a rare treat.
Reassured that Sam was ok, and squeezes done, we headed for the hotel. It was only about an hour on from their house, and kind of on route.
The hotel we stay at for Henley is lovely. We’ve stayed a few years running now and it’s always been good.
We walked into our room and I was immediately struck by the shockingly small window. I’m obsessed with views. I don’t get any at home because of the layout of our home it means we can’t see in our main garden. It’s very strange and as much as I love my house it is a bone of contention for me. So when I go somewhere I really love views.
I was a bit startled by this peculiar window effort, but as this was a business trip I didn’t feel I could say anything or move rooms. If I was paying, I’d definitely asked to be moved.
One of Chris’s colleagues wives, who we were attending Henley with, asked about the hotel, as she was booked in for the night of Henley Regatta itself. I explained that the hotel is fabulous, just the window in my room was a bit of a surprise. Which was a cause great hilarity when everyone (all our clients stayed the night at the hotel too) checked into their rooms only to find out that they all, not only had great windows, some of them had multiple great windows and delighted in showing photos of them to me! Hahahahaha
I’ve never had such window envy ever!! Hahahahaha I didn’t even know there was such a thing. ;)
We had a great night at the hotel, despite feeling like we were in a ship’s cabin.
Up bright and early for a day by a river bank.
Dress from Nobody’s Child, Shoes from Fendi, Bag from Chloe
What is Henley Regatta? Well it’s a series of rowing races, between well to do rowing clubs and universities. But for the layman in corporate hospitality, it’s getting pissed by a river bank, watching the world go by.
I don’t drink anymore but it’s still a very pleasant way to spend a day.
We take clients. This happened to be our first client entertaining in over 18 months. It felt good to be back in the game!
We’ve always taken a nice group. Actually, in all the years we’ve been taking customers out for days, I’ve never met a rotten one. It’s so nice to get out, meet new faces and familiar faces too.
Do I struggle with confidence on these occasions? Hell yeah!! So much could go wrong. My bag could leak, my stoma could make noises at inopportune moments. it’s a tad nerve racking to be honest. Does that stop me going? Nope!
Life is what it is. I could stay home and hide away. But I refuse to live half a life because I happen to have got a bit unlucky with cancer and ended up with a colostomy.
It’s unthinkable, even if it’s easier than risking embarrassment.
Anyway we had a fabulous day. The weather was kind enough. Not too hot, not too cold. We’ve attended in all weathers. We’ve been going about 8 years now. We’ve had heatwaves (not ideal), we’ve had torrential rain (also not ideal).
My stoma behaved beautifully on this occasion, for which I’m very grateful.
After the day finished we headed back to the hotel, with our clients, for an evening meal and to stay.
At which point Chris took a phone call from Sam.
Who, unbeknownst to us, because he didn’t want to ruin our day, had been taken to hospital by ambulance.
….for the septic elbow joint?? Nooooo!! For the appendicitis he was now struck down with!!
WTF!?! Apparently he had been home all by himself, and felt an excruciating pain in his abdomen. Frightened and alone he tried to manage. But at a point he felt he was going to pass out he called for an ambulance.
The paramedics arrived, and although he was clearly in great pain and distress at this point, one of them actually said to him “well, I suppose we could take you in”
I’m still livid about this!! What sort of moron says something like that to someone in distress. Sam was already worried he was wasting their time. He felt even worse after that.
Anyway, they did take him in. Turns out he had a partially ruptured appendix. So yes, he did need taking to a hospital, that being a paramedic’s job of course.
He didn’t like to disturb us on our day out. Love his heart.
With covid rules in place no one could visit him that night anyway. Not even his fiancé.
We weren’t able to go to the hospital at all. Milly was allowed in for 1 hour on the Saturday late afternoon.
We carried on with our evening, if somewhat subdued by this point.
Knowing we couldn’t visit Sam in hospital, we carried on with the updated plan of action for Saturday. So when Sam couldn’t come to a family day of fun in London because of his elbow, we changed it to meeting our group of dear friends we call “curry club”.
Long story short. Many years ago a friend was going through a tough time and I invited them round for a curry. It became a weekly thing and then more and more people joined.
Anyway, we said on the group chat that we’d be getting a picnic from Fortnums and heading to our usual spot in St James’s Park, all welcome to join.
Chris and I got to London early, from Henley, which was a bit of luck as I’d only packed enough undies for the two nights we expected to be away. But we decided to book into a hotel near Sam and Milly’s house so we could be near by if needed, plus quicker to get to Sam for visiting, should he get out of hospital.
Thankfully I am an over packer when it comes to colostomy supplies. Which is vital. You can’t make spontaneous plans if you haven’t taken enough colostomy bags with you. I have secret stashes of everything I need for a bag change everywhere, in every car. I’ve been caught out too many times not to.
Dress from Amazon! Yes Amazon, you heard that right. I heard about it on Elle magazine’s Twitter and ordered one straight away. It’s not bad at all really. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s ok. :)
We bought underwear. I bought myself a pair of men’s pants (we call underwear pants - not trousers, like in the States).
Under trousers, I wear thong underwear. But under dresses I love a massive pair of man pants!
These are my biggest pair yet. No wonder they say it’s a mans world, their undies are so cosy. Hahahahaha
A warm bum and thigh chaffing prevention…Err, yes please!
I like the big shorts pants; 1, if the wind blows my skirt up no one can see my stoma bag, and 2, I don’t fancy wearing a thong in gusty windy weather either.
I’m sure the people near me at the time will appreciate this also. :)
New undies bought we headed to Fortnums to meet the others to buy picnic food.
Kim wasn’t intending on joining us, but as her hubs was other wise engaged, she rang her mum to see if she fancied having the girls for the day, then got on a train and came up to meet us. I think she’s super bold.
I never did that when I had little children. I’d have stayed home bored, and definitely missed out.
What a fantastically perfect day…apart from the fact that Number 1 son was in hospital having had his appendix removed and the pus washed out from his innards.
*Can you believe his luck!?
He’s had a bloody nightmare of a time.
He had severe labrynthitis a couple of months ago. the debilitating vertigo lasted weeks and weeks.
7 weeks ago, he needed treatment for severe fat burns up his entire hand and arm from making a katsu curry. The wounds then infected.
5 weeks ago he was in hospital with very low blood pressure and a temperature of someone with hypothermia due to blood loss from severe nose bleeds. He was having hour long, gushing nose bleeds for months, years even.
4 weeks ago he was in hospital having that sorted out. The nose bleeds were caused by damage from radiotherapy.
All Last week he was suffering from severe septic bursitis. And was awaiting blood test results to see if he needed IV antibiotics…when his appendix decided to erupt.
He needed surgery obviously but due to his history of cancer treatment he needed a specialist team. His throat has damage from, yes, you guessed it, radiotherapy. His op had 4 specialist anaesthetists to look after him through it.
So, yes, our picnic was great fun, but my heart was aching for Sam.
Chris went off to move our car at one point, he then sends the group chat through of a group of protesting environmentalists…naked, environmentalists on bikes!! Hahahahaha.
Well, we all cracked up, but were definitely disappointed to miss out on all the fun. hahahahaha.
Anyway, he came back to the group, we were all chatting when we heard a commotion just behind the park on The Mall, leading to Buckingham Palace.
It was the Naked Bike riding environmentalist!!!
You have never seen a group of women move so fast!! We were up out of our seats and heading towards the nudes at high speeds! Hahahahaha.
A fifty something, a forty something, a thirty something and a twenty something running at Olympic speeds across a park!
It was hilarious. Naked bike riders are incredibly welcoming. It was all about stopping the damage to the planet apparently. Though I think the message might have been lost with all the hysterics about lots of naked people riding bikes through London.
It isn’t illegal apparently (who knew? Well them obviously) to be naked in public, as long as you’re not doing anything that causes deliberate offence.
I was especially amused as a few chaps coyly faced away from the crowds…to get dressed! Hahahahaha. Having just ridden stark naked through London, they felt vulnerable putting their tighty whities on?
Apparently I can run, though I tell myself I can’t. I just need motivation, like I’m a greyhound chasing a rabbit. Hahahahaha
Back to the picnic, and group of bewildered partners, who were pondering whether we would have been as accepting of them - had they done exactly what we had? Obviously not! Perhaps it’s not a mans world after all. ;)
Then just as we were settling back down, still laughing hysterically, cackling like witches…Ben said there’s Michelle - my best friend!
I knew her and her hubby were in town for a weekend treat, but I certainly didn’t expect to bump into them. What a wonderful day this was turning out to be.
It was such a shock to see them.What are the chances in such a big city?
This day was definitely a living embodiment of the saying “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.
All my favourites in one place except poor Sam and his crew.
After a chat, they headed off to dinner, and we all packed up our picnic and headed off in different directions.
We headed off to our hotel in Hampshire, near Sam. We booked it on the spur of the moment. Although I didn’t have any clean undies, I had packed enough clothes. Which was handy to say the least.
For a last minute, emergency booking it was a really lovely hotel.
I think we were in a converted stable block, it looked like one anyway. It was so beautiful. Not only did this room have plenty of windows, it also had a big door and a lovely patio area.
Not that we really took full advantage of it. We had a snack in the bar and just laid on the bed, processing a particularly weird week.
The past few days caught up with us. Seeing people again is wonderful but, exhausting. And having a poorly son, that you are legally unable to visit is incredibly stressful. We only had to go through it for a day or so. I can’t imagine what it’s been like with someone with long term health issues.
Dress from Roman Originals, Shoes from Gucci
Slightly overdressed for visiting our poorly boy? Yeah, just a bit but it was my back up dress for Henley Regatta so it’s all I had available.
We had a smashing breakfast at the hotel.
I can’t say my weight loss management counsellor would be particularly overjoyed by my breakfast choices, but my feeling is if anything is that green it has to be healthy!! (It isn’t of course, it might have had spinach in it but it was also jammed packed with sugary fruits! Hahaha. But I won’t tell them if you don’t).
Sam was a bit miffed as he had to leave his lunch on the day of his appendicitis. He was eating a pizza when he was struck down with the pain. He must have mentioned his disappointment to the doctor in A&E. The doctor then asked Sam if by any chance he’d had a Dominoes pizza? Which funnily enough it was.
The Doctor said he’d seen 6 appendicitis’s, where the person had dominoes pizza that day. Not six people that day, but over the last six months. The person had eaten a Domino’s pizza the day they were struck down. Obviously completely coincidental, but weird huh.
And then surgeon that was going to operate on Sam asked him for his medical history, which Sam gave. The surgeon then asked him if he was a smoker before he was diagnosed with cancer.
Sam said “errrr, no I was 13!!”
The doctor said “oh yes you did say, but you never know!!”
Why on earth was a doctor asking that question anyway!? What was the point other than victim shaming and blaming??
Sam is now safely at home recovering. We had a lovely visit with him.
I got Chris to take a photo of me with him to send to family and friends.
I did ask if I could post it on my socials as I looked so nice in it……the answer was a resounding “no you bloody (or words to that effect) can’t!!”
Hahahah hahahahaha hahahahaha hahahahaha hahahahaha
God love him he looked dreadful. I’d say like death warmed up but he didn’t even look slightly that good!
He is doing well now. And we’re hoping that his run of bad health was down to a grumbling appendix. Fingers crossed.