Author: David

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Week 4 – Steady Progress

Learning Points …

Another mixed week which on balance can be described as “steady progress”. Two good walks around Roath Park Lake, one that involved hopping on and off buses – all part of a confidence raising process; indeed one of those occasions (Thursday) I was on my own for an hour and a half. Such are the small steps I take to recovery! The weather hasn’t helped much this week, it’s been bleak and cold and I’ve found out that I feel the cold much more than I’ve evr done before. Whether that’s because so much energy is being re-directed towards internal healing, or whether it’s due to my loss of body fat, I don’t know. I suspect the latter as I’m now below 11st (70kg) in weight. Other vital stats show that my BP is consistently c.115:85, pulse rate c.60, which is good. Must try and find out what my cholesterol level is however. I suspect it MUST be much lower because Jenny is watching what we eat so carefully. The result is that I’m loasing weight whilst she isn’t – curious! The night sweats have thankfully largely gone, as has the urticaria – I suspect that this was down to stress rather than red wine as I’ve manged to drink a few glasses this week with no after effects. 🙂

So what have I learnt this week:

  1. Friends are the key to recovery. I had visits from RC (and a walk round the Lake); C&E (before they jetted off to Dominican Republic); @MartynHarrow (who brought some lovely flowers – for Jenny; champagne and burgundy – which went down well with some beautiful trout and summer pudding prepared by Jenny who’s such a good cook); and @joenicholls and @breadedcod (who brought me up to date with Denver, INSRV-life and “everything”). Thanks to you all – you’re all part of my recovery team.
  2. Writing something down is no defense against it happening. I had a couple of massively “feeling sorry for myself” days. I don’t think you can do anything to prevent these if you’ve been active before an operation such as this. Those days are illogical, I know that I should be positive but feelings just flood-in and then it’s difficult to resist the “doom and gloom”.
  3. Getting “something done” is good! This week I managed to get a few things done in respect of the estate I’m administering; I also managed to investigate and arrange the transfer away from BT services to Virginmedia – I hope I don’t regret this at a later date.
  4. Little things can become big barriers to progress! It was only yesterday that we managed to get out and buy some “tights” (actually North Face base-layer leggings) with a French-seam (which mean that there’s nothing to chaff on the scar on my leg). So this barrier to my exercise should be removed. Can seriously recommend purchasing these to anyone else in my situation!

Hopes and fears for Week 5 – I fear the weather will not be a help this coming week. However, I must not use it as an excuse. Would like to walk to the Lake and back without using the bus next week. That would mean that my objective of walking to The Heath for my appointment on December 1st was definitely realisable. So my fears are minor. I know I will have down moments, but now I’ll be ready for them. I’m due to see Dr E in the surgery this week. We’re also planning on going down to see my mum next weekend, so that’s something to look forward to. It’s going to be a good week, and a positive one as well. 🙂

Objectives – again not too many this week. I would like to get some reading done; I want to finish watching Lord of the Rings. It would be good to order our new “workhorse” PC this week (funding permitted). I must do some more regular walking. I would also like to “get into” relaxation – I know it’s something I really MUST do! It’s just so difficult for me to find the time for. 🙂

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All about blood – my blood

One interesting spin-off from my hospitalisation was (as I’ve already reported) that I found out what Blood Group I am. I’m AB- which means that I could only have got this blood group if my mother and father had been A, B, or AB. No O in my immediate family. I could have been an A, or a B, but no I ended up being AB- which accounts for a very small percentage of the world population (1%). It is also one of the newer blood types. There – I knew I was special. 🙂

Of course there’s more to it than that and I found the Wikipedia article on Blood Type fascinating to read. This led me to search out some of the more “fringe” connections to Blood Type, such as what diet I should follow and I read …

“People with this rare blood type should eat a combination of the foods recommended for blood groups A and B. Somewhat confusing when type B allows you to eat most foods, while type A suggests a vegetarian diet! Dr D’Adamo gets around this by suggesting that type ABs follow a veggie diet most of the time with some meat, fish and dairy products occasionally. It’s the same when it comes to exercise too – blood type ABs should combine calming exercises with moderately intense activities.”

… suffice to say the same article states …

“Medical experts universally agree that the theory is nonsense, and say there is absolutely no link between our blood group and the diet we eat. Consequently you won’t find qualified nutritionists or dietitians recommending this diet.”

So nothing to learn from that, although you might be interested in the wikipedia article on the same subject; but what about personality. The Japanese apparently all know their blood type and make a great thing of the link of Blood Group to Personality. What might my blood type reveal about me. [You can click on the graphic below to see a larger image.]

bc_thumb[10]

I’m not going to comment too much – I’ll leave others to comment, but I think I’m reasonably fairly treated by that one! 🙂 But what about this rarity thing – am I THAT special, should I be rushing down to the Blood Transfusion Service and offering to donate my blood (shades of the old Tony Hancock epic). I find out from their website that …

“Blood group AB individuals have both A and B antigens on the surface of their RBCs, and their blood serum does not contain any antibodies against either A or B antigen. Therefore, an individual with type AB blood can receive blood from any group (with AB being preferable), but can donate blood only to another type AB individual.”

So I’m not that much of a resource for donation after all, although they do say …

“AB negative blood

You’re brilliant…we need you to stay that way

Group AB negative blood is needed for the manufacture of plasma – a rich ‘soup’ of essential proteins – plasma is separated from red blood cells and frozen when fresh. Less than 1% of the population possess AB negative blood.”

So, since they have a shortage of AB- blood and there may be occasions where there’s another AB type needing blood – I should make the effort … shouldn’t I?