Damn Swollen Arm!

While the surgery to pin the fractured bone from March seems to have healed brilliantly the lesion in the bone seems to be causing problems on and off. Basically if the arm isn't kept active, and it doesn't stay in a slightly elevated position especially when I sleep the arm, and especially the hand around the knuckles becomes very swollen and uncomfortable.

It's difficult to be pro-active about this because while you're asleep there is not a lot of control regards the position of the arm relative to the body; even if you start off in the right place it's all too easy for the arm to move while asleep. However it's something that I will just need to persevere with.

Allied to that the radiotherapy affected my hand in that the palm and tips of the fingers became sore to the touch rather like a burn (which I guess that's what it was).

We were prescribed a course of pyridoxine which I am still taking and that seems to help but again, as with a lot of these things its a slow process. What I have also been doing is treating the hand with aqueous cream that certainly moisturises the skin rapidly, and promotes an easing of the tightness and soreness of the skin, and cools the hand too. Aqueous cream is a simple thing but often these are effective, and it certainly seems to help.

Read about pyridoxine here

With reference to the weight loss that has been ongoing for some time i am now down to about 18 stones which means I have lost about 60 pounds. While I can afford to lose it I don't need it to continue and it does seem to be settling out now. What it has meant is that all my clothes like trousers, and shirts don't fit! A couple of months ago I bought a pair of trousers with a 50inch waist that fitted me at the time. We were going out the other day and when I went to put them on they were way to big in the waist again. I have just ordered a pair of 46inch trousers!

A Shoulder is Good!

I haven't written much lately: the radiotherapy which lasted 2 weeks was a boring traipse of 10 days every day to Canterbury for a 10 minute treatment that held no surprises.

Since then I have to admit I have had more than a couple of bad days, more emotional than physical, although I am feeling better today. Jen is a rock and maintains an attitude that rubs off on me for which I am both thankful and grateful for. When you're feeling crap it's amazing what a good attitude next to you does!

Yesterday was a good example: all I seemed to want to do was sleep, and that has to be hugely frustrating for her but I am thankful that her calm demeanour meant I came through that sleepy time and we ended up awake together, watching TV through the evening.

It's difficult sometimes when you become emotional about nothing in particular, and you can't seem to control that, or understand why you feel that way: for me I just want to cry without quite understanding what causes it, or starts it off. It's important to have a shoulder to lean on when that happens and I know Jen gets frustrated too but at the same time she is not afraid to put her arms round me and offer the comfort I need when I feel like that. Thank you darling, it's much appreciated even though it doesn't always seem like it at the time!

We have a wait now for the next appointment with the consultant in a few weeks time and we see where treatment goes from there.