The Final Stretch

I passed the half-way mark on Monday – finally, I feel as though I’m on the home stretch. Only 24 more weeks of tx to go! I have just returned from a week in Madeira and I feel so much better for the short break. During the holiday I somehow managed to push myself through that fatigue barrier and walked 4 miles nearly every day. I have returned with a ‘new’ spirit and went to play bridge yesterday for the first time in 3 months. My partner was a sympathetic one and forgave me my errors.

Prior to going away, I had been experiencing some strong aches in my left rib area. They were bad enough to cause me some concern. Anyway, my GP and the Professor had me whipped off to hospital for ECG and chest Xrays and a whole slew of blood tests – results all came back ok so still don’t know what they are all about. I had them again on holiday and even had to leave a couple of restaurants after eating. The pain/ache seems to appear after I’ve eaten or if I’ve left it a while without eating. My digestive system seems to be struggling to cope – perhaps my liking of spicy foods has finally caught up with me! I am seeing the Professor next Monday so hopefully he will get to the bottom of it. It might just be another side effect of the tx that I hadn’t experienced before. All my blood tests are showing normal.

It’s coming up to Hep C Awareness week and our support group is manning a table at the hospital – handing out leaflets etc. I have written another article for a local magazine and I’m taking part in a live chat show on local radio. Our new support group, Manx Liverty, will even get a mention in an ongoing radio commercial.

All in all, I feel for the first time, that I’m on the road back to being ‘me’ again. It has seemed very odd being in this other person’s body for so long……