A little scare & an update

For a few weeks, Steve has been struggling to catch his breath. He's always had asthma and has been hospitalised with it before, so we put it down to the recent weather changes and crossed our fingers that it would improve.

Despite his use of inhalers, his breathing didn't seem to get any better.

Last night, he told me he'd called the hospital during the day and asked to be checked over because he was really struggling at work.

He went into hospital this morning on his way to work and was put on a nebuliser for 30 minutes. He was told that if he felt better after 30 minutes, he was free to leave. If not, they would send him for scans and Xrays because that would indicate that the cancer in his lungs was growing and spreading further,

Obviously, we both had an unsettled night due to worrying. Anybody who has been through, or knows somebody who has been through a cancer diagnosis will be aware of the "scanxiety" you feel when waiting for results. The thought that our world may be turned on its head yet again gave me that awful, familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach along with the hot, clammy feeling and heart-beating-out-of-my-chest sensation. Steve wasn't as worried as I was because he felt that

After 30 minutes on the nebuliser, Steve was calling me on his way to work from the hospital telling me he'd instantly felt better and therefore he, and the oncologist, were both confident that the weather was the cause for the troubles with his breathing and no further investigation was necessary.

We are so incredibly relieved.

I'm going to make sure he takes his preventative inhaler as well as the blue one he takes during an attack, as he tends to forget about that one. Hopefully that will help and we won't have another scare like that!

With regards to my mum, she has been released from the hospital and is now home after a very long 11 weeks. She's been quite emotional and although she's over the moon to be home, she's found it quire difficult to adjust and it's been overwhelming for her. Having suffered with mental illness for a very long time, she's found the diagnosis and the following weeks particularly hard to take.

She tells me she spends a lot of time sleeping and doesn't have much of an appetite most of the time. She was in tremendous pain but thankfully her doctors have finally managed to get that under control so she's feeling slightly better.

My brother, sister-in-law and nephew are now over from New Zealand and have been spending time with her, which I know has been lovely for them all (and I've loved having lots of cuddles with my little Kiwi!).

I'll update again soon :)

Thanks for reading.

Xx

Other News

Hello :)

Steve had Cycle #13 of the trial treatment today. All went well, aside from the fact we've both been poorly so the day was even more exhausting than the average hospital day.

Esmée came along too - the staff love her and she always gets lots of attention. The receptionist told us once that some of the older patients had commented on how nice it was to have her there.

I wanted to write a post about some slightly off-topic things that are going on with me at the moment.

In December, I got a call from my mum telling me that she'd been having lots of problems with her breathing along with chest pains, and that her GP had referred her for tests and told her to prepare for bad news. This may seem dramatic, but my mum has had breast cancer twice in the past and her GP wasn't willing to take any chances or give her false hope. He appeared to be quite concerned that her cancer was back.

Tests were carried out but lots kept coming back inconclusive. It was eventually decided that it was cancer, but they didn't know whether it was lung cancer or breast cancer.

Lots more tests have been carried out, and we now know that there is cancer in her lungs, breasts and adrenal gland. They believe it started as breast cancer.

They started Mum on a chemotherapy called Capecitabine (this is the tablet chemo Steve was first given in 2012 alongside the infusion of Oxaliplatin), but her breathing worsened within three weeks of taking the pills and she was hospitalised and the treatment stopped.

She is not currently having treatment for the cancer as she is being treated for some other issues, including several blood clots on her lungs.

I don't remember if I've mentioned my brother before. Whilst working on cruise ships about 4 years ago, he met an amazing girl from New Zealand. He moved out there to be with her and they have a son.

My mum was due to go and visit them all in January, but due to her ill health she was unable to go. Instead, they are going to come home and stay for a while so they can see my mum and spend some time with us all. They are due back in the next few weeks. It's an awful situation but we're pleased he's able to come home and see us all, especially our mum.

As I have done for the last three years, I am remaining as positive as I can. My mum doesn't live locally to me so although I have visited her a few times, I haven't been attending any hospital appointments. Steve has, of course, been as supportive as ever and has made sure I'm well looked after. He's my best friend and we are very good at taking care of each other and knowing what the other needs. Our little angel keeps me busy and keeps my mind from wondering most of the time.

I have decided to take part in the Race For Life this June with Esmée. A few friends and their babies will also be doing the race and my brother's girlfriend is also going to take part as they'll still be in the UK at the time. We're all really looking foward to it, although I'm quite nervous about the emotions. It's more than just a race (not that I'll be running with my baby, more like skipping and dancing!). I'm sure the atmosphere is going to be incredible but I worry that three years of emotions will come pouring out at the finish line when I see my hubby waiting for us!

Wish us luck, and if you wish to donate please go to www.justgiving.co.uk/ginashergold :) Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated, we are so grateful.

That's my update for today, I apologise for the rambling (not much planning went into this post!).

I will update again soon :)

Lots of love Xx