The Transit of Venus - viewed!

So thrilled - I didn't think I was going to manage it (with work, hospital, doctor's appointment etc) but I did! I actually found myself looking through a workmate's telescope and watching the transit of Venus across the sun for 15-20 minutes! (off and on!)

I'd been at hospital all morning having the final Mabthera treatment. And then I was supposed to see the doctor but wires had got crossed and he'd gone off to do something elsewhere. I had the option of waiting for at least an hour, or else coming back in around 3 hours. So glad I decided to leave and come back. When I got to work someone told me that one of my colleagues (in IT) had brought in a telescope. He has a PhD in astronomy and I knew that over the past few days he'd been helping set up telescopes for people to see the Transit of Venus at the University where we both work. Not to mention various esoteric computer-related links!

So I went straight upstairs to his office, and the next thing I knew a small procession of us were following him out to an outside walkway where he set the telescope up and we could all peer through and see it - such a thrilling sight ... I think he'd been doing this all day! It was near the end - Venus was getting close to the edge of the sun, and was going to be over clear sky again around 3.30pm. So if I'd waited to see the doctor I would definitely have missed it ...

Sometimes timing just works!

At the hospital again

Although I've been feeling so much better since I got of hospital last week, my doctor wasn't happy enough with my blood test results yesterday, and decided he wanted me to have mabthera (aka rituxin) infusions once a week for 4 weeks. So today I went to work for the morning and then came to the hospital for the afternoon! (Where I am now.)

All that aside - as I said, I've been feeling great since I got out of hospital last week. Went back to work on Monday and things have been going swimmingly. Well, my health-wise, and from my perspective anyway! So many other work/family issues are swirling around it's quite unbelievable - you wouldn't credit it! Too complicated to go into here, and probably not that interesting to others anyway, but ... !#?%!##!

I didn't make it to my normal Saturday yoga class. On Friday evening my fridge decided it had given enough and gave up the ghost! So I had to spend Saturday racing round buying a new fridge and getting it delivered. The amount of furniture moving involved to get the new fridge in, not to mention all the cleaning under where the old one had been, under the dishwasher that had to be moved, etc etc. I was completely exhausted by the end of all that and decided to be sensible and stay home!

Did go to see 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' on Sunday ... Such a wonderful film, I really loved it and highly recommend it! I think I'm going to buy the DVD. Hilarious ... :)




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Yoga in ugg boots!

Oh I am so pissed off! How can the content of two posts have disappeared -except for the title and tags!! Going between BlogPress and editing in Safari ... Sigh!! I am going to try and construct/update them now ... And will not make that mistake again!

OK so ... Yesterday afternoon I managed to do a modified practice wearing ugg boots for the standing poses! What can you do?! Faced with no yoga mat and trying to keep my feet from slipping out from under me on the hospital linoleum floor, it was a great idea! Still only did a modified practice but I was so pleased I was able to do it. I remember when I was here in 2007 having chemo I brought my mat in but it was just too much even to attempt it! This time, no yoga mat but it was possible. :)

So what I've got, why I'm here in hospital is something called "autoimmune haemolysis'. What that means is my immune system had decided that my red blood cells were the enemy and was killing them off!! Which could not be allowed to continue for obvious reasons ... :) For a while the treatment was only partially working - blood test results showed some 'markers' were going in the right direction, but not my haemoglobin. However at last today that is on the upward path too, but not quickly enough for me to get out/home today, sadly. But I and the doctor are hopeful it'll be OK tomorrow.

Unexpected!

OK, this is the reconstruction (attempted reconstruction!) of the second post that's disappeared because I was creating in BlogPress and then editing via Safari ... I hadn't worked out how to add tags in BlogPress - forgotten probably, and so tha's what I was doing via Safari. Great idea! Got the tags in but the actual blog post disappeared!! Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted! The last place I was expecting to find myself spending the long weekend was hospital! But Wednesday was my three-monthly visit with my specialist and I always have blood tests before that. And there was apparently something funny happening with my red blood cells - they were vanishing and my bone marrow wasn't able to keep up with the demand! Looked like my immune system was having some sort of spas attack and going after them. I also had to have the normal 4-weekly IV-IG infusion so more blood tests were ordered. Doctor wanted me to stay in over night as results hadn't come back but I had the pussycat to look after (and really didn't want to!) so I went home to await a phonecall the next day. And the next day I was told I'd have to come into hospital until Monday at least for some treatment to stop my sily immune system! Sigh ... ! Took young Sansa off for heer first visit to the pet motel (not happy!), went to the library on the way and then armed with books, DVDs, iPad etc. here I am! I did try doing some sun salutes but as I hadn't brought my yoga mat (only had my big one at home and too much to carry!) it was by hard! Veery skippy underfoot, didn't feel safe. But seated might be easier tomorrow? will see.