Liz here. Just a quick update to say that after an anxious nailbiting day have had the most welcome telephone call from Marian to say that having come through the operation Alison is awake and smiling from ear to ear in her bed-she reckons it must be the drugs. I'm sure once she's well enough we will all be entertained with stories of pink elephants and purple dolphins not to mention kamakazee pigeons and delirious dentists! No other news on the op as yet but hey if Alison is smiling then the whole world smiles with her.x

tues eve

no time to write blog as on the loo!!! handing over to possible PA's Julian and Liz who will update the blog when they can- wish me luck! xxxx

sat 13th

fun packed day on friday when one visitor turned into four with a last minute but important dental appointment in the middle which meant i had to leave them all at home entertaining each other and making their own coffee. The dentist, who i recently scowled at after he quoted me some £6000 to fix my teeth was a real sweetie today- the C word does it again i suppose. He gave me a huge inspirational talk about being strong and positive to aid my recovery, telling me all about his success after major stomach operations and that he was back to work after three weeks, making sure he didn't bend over (he's a dentist!!?) He sent me on my way with beautifully cleaned teeth at no charge too which is definitely a first.

Today I find myself strangely at home alone with a very cute dog who has settled down in my space on the sofa- like someone has sent me an excitable and adoring teddy bear who stares at me and wants to be hugged, maybe it was a plan set up by nephew and girlfriend pretending to need a dog sitter for the day. They brought a home made card from roma and limerick from brother in law;

'my sister in law is a mate
who found she was putting on weight
after a spell in the theatre
she felt a lot neater
and came out feeling sexy and great'- well heres hoping dave!

As i sit reading the guardian magazine i'm reminded by Ju that out lives are constantly reflected in this magazine (which clearly feeds into his middle class guardian reader status that he likes to bestow upon us). Today the first article is about Antony Hegarty (an idol of mine from Antony and the Johnsons), the second is about a guy who nearly died eating wild mushrooms (we recently went on a wild mushroom forage in the woods)and the third large article is about a woman who went in for stomach surgery which went wrong and spent the whole time hallucinating on morphine in a pretty bad way. (is there cctv in our house that we don't know about?) As i'm writing this I have a call from my sister who last year had surgery and so i rather jokingly enquire about the effects of morphine, expecting her to tell me of a slightly woozy feeling and she tells me in her matter of fact way, that there was an elephant in the next ward (actually turned out to be a squeeky door) and dolphins swimming about on the hospital floor- oh jesus!

five days to go

operation is getting closer now- in my mind i've included tuesday as i will be out of action, sitting on the loo all day with the medicine i have to take. I have moments of panic because the wait is too long and it gives me time to think about all the horrible possibilities of surgery. Such as pancreas panic- the consultants mentioned it in the meeting and if they have to remove it i will be type one diabetic and the outcome is not good- but i'm reminded by Ju that they promised not to take the whole thing so i guess it will be my second question (after- did you get it all?) when i wake up. Ju is worried that i wont be able to make the stairs when i come out and is probably designing a temporary shower cubicle made from mdf as we speak- he is also wondering when i will be able to ride a bike again?! I suppose he was only responding to my concerns that although I am getting rapidly thinner- it appears that the muscles in my legs are decreasing, leaving me with weird cellulite- must knock the current hot chocolate on the head and continue with green tea that sara gave me three weeks ago!

monday-

busy weekend- made it to the annual Jan and Tony fireworks party and was hugged and kissed to death, so to speak, so lovely to be part of such a strong community- had to leave after an hour as my body doesn't like standing upright or sitting in a chair for too long. Tig stayed for the whole party though and had a great time- apparently only one child melted their coat. Spent sunday in Dulwich village with the family trying to find a table big enough to feed us all (Robert my brother in law is refurbishing the french restaurant next to the greyhound and wanted to tell us all about the guy who is making the oven and who has to be slotted into it like a pizza so he can finish the brickwork).

Ju says he will have to make a rota for all my visitors as they will be queueing down the Fulham Rd- if my stomach doesn't burst my ego might! Kate asked me how long I will be staying at the 'hotel'(quite like this idea) and i think it will be about ten days. Was explaining this to marian and how they wont let me go until the blood bag stops filing up- reminds me of a story of our mother she said; do you remember when she had breast cancer and was in St Georges- well she took the bag with her and went shopping in Tooting market!- probably told the nurses she was going for a little walk; just one of the many stories that kept us laughing over the years.

Had some delusions myself when i was in Kings- getting miffed because there were no chairs for my 'guests'. On hearing this Liz said she would buy me a visitors book so that all my 'guests' could sign in. Misha said this was a good idea eg; came to see you but you were unconcious....came to see you but you were asleep....came to see you and you were still asleep but boy can you fart! I can well imagine some of the other comments- Gemma; came to see you but you were asleep so ive gone shopping down the Kings Rd, Liz; came to see you but you were asleep, even the scent of a peeled orange didn't rouse you- but hey had a great chat with the woman in the bobble hat in the next bed who turned out to be from County Claire!

letters

these days we are copied into the letters that get passed around the hospitals and GPs about us- which is a good thing- given some of the correspondence i've had recently. The best one had to be from Kings which stated; you did not attend your antenatal checkup- it is advisable to have regular check ups to ensure the health of you and your baby- Edgar would be very disappointed in his host mother! Today i had a letter stating a bed has been booked for the 16th and that i can eat lots of lovely things up to six hours before when in fact its for the 17th and i must starve apart from clear fluids (although not gin i'm told) for 18 hours before i arrive.

The second letter from kings states i had a large intra abdominal mass thought to be a kidney??!!-that i smoke 20 fags a day and over the recommended alcohol limit- think i was just trying to be compliant when i answered their questions that day. It also states the two lumps which are actually one big lump in fact measure 24cm x 21cm- explains why two mushrooms (supposed to be anti cancer) battered in beer (not so good) today made me feel like i was going to keel over there and then. A really good walk over miles of hillside in Surrey made me feel wonderful and normal for a while today and i am blessed with good friends who aren't going to let me wallow for a second ( unless i really need to of course) I look forward to your visit Therese all the way from Galway- I don't think its the a*****le of nowhere at all!

update

operation now rescheduled for wednesday 17th November- a day later. had vaccinations today for flu and pneumonia in preparation for not having a spleen and am told i may have to take antibiotics for the rest of my life (that or become the girl who lives in a bubble i suppose?)