Abby's Christmas Photostory

Abby put this together (with a little help from me) for her VLE school forum as part of her homework. Turns out she's better than me at video editing...!

The big 4-0

It was my birthday last week. I am now officially very old ;-). It's slowly sinking in that to my kids I must seem really old - I can remember my mum and dad's 40th birthdays really clearly; I must have been about 8-9, I can remember at the time getting older seemed an almost infinite way off. It's now here :-/.

The weird thing is in many ways I feel healthier than I did in my twenties - I do more regular exercise, I drink much less and I get more sleep (when the kids allow ;-)) I've not been an inpatient at the CF Ward since I was 26. And for that I've got to thank my brilliant wife for getting me away from drink and excess and into fell walking and fitness when I met her in my twenties. God knows where I'd be if I was single and still trying to follow the Jim Morrison rock star model of excess; I'd probably weight about 8 stone and be falling asleep in my own urine in a pub somewhere. As it is that's at least another year off...;-)

Anyhow, I can't get too complacent because although my CF at the moment seems under control (touch wood about 10 times) I know myotonic (muscular) distrophy may raise it's ugly head at some point. I have two genetic diseases for the price of one ;-) Mytonic Dystrophy is a late onset disease but it varies considerably so there is no way of knowing just when and to what degree it will effect me, so far so good but I've recently noticed my neck seems to be aching a lot when I wear a bicycle helmet on long bike rides - and I'm also struggling to chew roast lamb and roast beef fast unless it's really tender - maybe I'm losing some muscle tone in my head / neck before anything else? Otherwise I seem to be OK (touches wood another 100 times) although I feel I should probably join a gym to maybe build up my muscles a bit more.

Smiabetic not diabetic

So I met up with the Diabetes doctor yesterday and it turns out I'm not diabetic, yet! The 4 day continuous needle in belly test showed that I largely stay within the 4-7.5 range with only the occasional spike up into the 8.5 (usually after dinner/tea in the evening) but crucially, it doesn't stay there very long. She was even suspicious about whether I'd changed my diet for the test, and I definitely hadn't...she thinks my sugars may go out of control when I have an infection, which strikes me as particularly cruel; just when you need more carbs, your body lets you down by using less of them when it goes diabetic and you lose weight, talk about a viscious circle. Anyway, for the present I am just to keep an eye on things and maybe check when I am losing weight or have an infection.

I saw this RTA on the way in to hospital, (see link below, it was just outside the hospital) I think the lorry driver just didn't see him (has since been arrested on suspicion of driving without due care and attention) and he didn't stand a chance, just horrible. Life is so precious, this is such a waste. This is why I hate riding my bike on the roads, it only takes one person in a car/truck to not see you and you could be in serious trouble.

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1465540_video-medical-student-26-died-when-he-was-hit-by-lorry-while-cycling-to-work-at-wythenshawe-hospital

I'm moving offices today; a bunch of railtrack guys are joining us so I have to move my stuff upstair with the commoners ;-) rather than having an office to myself. I don't mind really, since my workmate left it's been a bit lonely in the office by myself. Particularly with the year I've had being in an office by myself has given me a bit too much time to think, especially with losing my dad this time last year.

Another day, another letter from the Queen ;-)

Abby wrote and sent a postcard (of William and Kate, obviously ;-)) to the queen last week and got a reply from her lady in waiting! She's such a royalist ;-)

Her reading and writing is coming on leaps and bounds this year (Year 2 infants) She struggled last year and we were really worried she was falling behind the others in her class but this summer she's really made a breakthrough.

Diabetic Shmiabetic?

Ok, this blog is getting soooo out of date that I really dont know where to start, so I'll update with some med news (from my annual) apparently my long term blood glucose (BG) levels, otherwise known as HbA1c levels, have been rising steadily since 2006; it has gone from 5.5% back then to 6.3% this year and so I was referred to the diabetic nurse for a four day strap on test. This is where you wear a tiny device strapped to your belly (it doesn't hurt but get's in the way a bit. Sometimes ;-) ) which measures your BG levels continuously to see how the BG peaks and troughs are and how high and low your blood sugars go. You also have to do finger prick test four times a day so they can cross reference the belly device results with the finger prick device results.

I hope I'm not diabetic, it would be a real pain in the bum. So far it looks like my blood sugar is relatively normal apart from a slight peak in the evening after dinner; 2 hours after a roast squash risotto tea I peaked at 8.5, otherwise I seemed to be between 4.5 and 6.5, but we'll see when I meet up with the doctors in a few weeks...

Bathroom Blues

We have no bathroom at the moment. We noticed the wall behind the shower was showing signs of letting the damp in. We got the plumber to investigate and it turns out it was worse than it seemed. The water had seeped behind the tiles and eroded the brickwork. Because of the state of the bath as well we've decided to get the whole bathroom replaced and retiled, including more loose brickwork. I hate old houses...anyway, I suppose it'll be worth it when it's all done, just missing my early morning shower at the moment. I need it to wake up / do physio!

Anway, we're taking the kids down to London Village for a couple of days tomorrow so it'll be nice not to stress about the house for a bit. Abby and Rachel are going to see Wicked! I am a tiny bit jealous, even if it is a girls musical ;-) Otherwise we'll do all the touristy things like the London Bus Ride, Tower Bridge, etc. Should be good fun!

Wales Bike Ride in Pictures

This was a very hard ride, despite the gorgeous day. I was nearly in tears with back / neck / leg pain at the end of the ride. More later.

Dear Darkness...;-)

...Please could you see to it that I not catch this cold that the rest of my family have? After two weeks away, Oscar has caught another barking cough cold after only four days back at nursery. The last cold I caught gave me a rubbish night cough that is only just going after a full month including two weeks of mind numbing IVs and another two weeks of male PMT inducing orals (Cipro) to make sure it's fully gone. I'm just starting to get clear. Please.

Yours sincerely
-Mr Rubbish lung man

In other news, I went to see PJ Harvey (you have to see her live, she's brilliant!) last week and met up with my sis and a couple of my old band mates Matt and Pat before the gig. Was good to see them after so long and see they've not changed - even after a year or so we just picked up where we had left off. Good times, shame the gig was on a Thursday, but at least I didn't have a hangover the next day.

We're off to Newcastle this weekend for Rachel's Half Marathon (she's doing the great North Run) she's been doing great with the training, although the running has taken it's tole on her feet (her nails are falling off and there's been loads of blisters). Anyway should be interesting looking after two hyperactive kids in the Toon while she runs. The kids are going through an "arguing" phase at the moment so it may get a little fraught ;-) Hope the weather's good for Rachel's run.