Back and blogging

Happy New Year everyone. Its going to be quite a breathtaking one for me that is for sure. I arrived back in Birmingham to a house full of children on 29th. The journey by car through Germany, France and England was pretty debilitating but not for me, I slept most of the way, poor Sam nursing a terrible cold had to do the lion's share of the driving. We had had a wonderful Christmas in fact, a veritable feast of fois gras and confit de canard, Boxing Day visits to Dresden to eat cake and watch the world go by, traditional bubble and squeak and lots of falling asleep in front of old Woody Allen films. But today we are doing it all again, 17 people coming to have delayed Turkey with a duck and pheasant stuffed up its bum. So I cannot spend much time blogging about lung operations. I will add a detailed report tomorrow when things calm down but leave you with a Limerick we came up with in between Woody Allen films and replete with Sam and Julie's first attempt at Christmas pud:

A krankenhaus quite close to Dresden
Is the one place to get lots of mets done
The staff are all charming
But the price is alarming
So come on lets get it into Royal Marsden

Sorry things can only get better, keep reading

Blobectomy + 6

Well all seems to be going swimmingly , I haver no tubes or lines or drains; almost like a human being again not the Pompidou Centre. Yesterday the doctor with twinkly eyes, told me that the pictures of my chest were very beautiful; perhaps the eyes were not twinkly but a bit out of focus . Anyway tomorrow - have to have another very beautiful picture and it is very important as its the first since the drain was taken out.* You might think that a chest without a drain is intrinsically more beautiful than one with. But apparently not always and one bit of mine might be flat now - know it seems unlikely as my life since about the age of 10 has been one of pneumatic expansion.

For those looking for something a little more technical than my usual meandering. I am writing a report that I will post on the blog once my German visit is over.


Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

* A note from Jess: I am useless at writing these posts mom sends me, so this is a day late and tomorrow she talks about is actually today and she had the test and is completely fine will a fully inflated chest, considering I have inherited my mothers chest its full inflation is no surprise to me.

44 and counting

Hi all. Mom had the operation, Dad tells me she was up and talking and doing really well and was in little pain. Dr Rolle removed 44 blobs from her right lung and I think the operation was a success. I will know more tomorrow and will update then.

Heavy Breathing

Dear all readers, below is the entry mom asked me to write on Friday, sorry for the delay but I have 2 small children, 2 christmas plays to attend 2 costumes to make so I am a bit slow.


I have never been good about taking instructions about breathing. To me it's just what I do. But you know when you are driving and for no reason you suddenly decide to think about which foot goes where and why and you go to pieces. It's the same with breathing for me and so it has been today. If they say breathe out I panic and forget about my nose and splutter everywhere; if its breathe in I gulp like a drowning woman. This is a sad fact as I have spent the whole day learning how to use various contraptions to add oxygen or saline fumes to my spotty lungs. I was a slow learner but for the one where I have to make the smiley face go up and measure my lung capacity I have gone to the top of the class. Fat old ladies class that is


I also went to the gym for the first time ever. We just sat on stools and waived sticks around so it was my type of exercise. One was like rowing and I thought about canoeing down the Dordogne; amazing how often lovely France come to my mind in moments of extremis.

Dr Rolle says definitely for Monday and yes we can go for Gluhwein in Dresden tomorrow. I will miss the spluttering and gym but knickers to it, and if any other heavy breathers want to know I gave them up years ago.


Just an update from me (Jess). Mom and Dad had a lovely day in Dresden, really liked it and ate some lovely food. As I type Mom is in her operation so I am trying to distract myself from worry, but it turns out that watching loose women makes me wish I was under a general anasthetic. Mom not back for Christmas so team Trainor/Phillips are going to Dresden on 22nd -24th to see her and we will be extending chritmas well in to the new year, no problem for atheists like us!

Sausages Sausages

So far the worst is the wurst. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, wurst goulash, wurst soup, wurst sandwiches, There is absolutely no chance of keeping to an anti-oxidant diet not a glass of red wine in sight.

Today they tested my lungs and I don't know yet if I passed. For one test theyfitted contraptions all over me and got me to cycle. I tried to think of my friend Bernice cycling up all our hills in our French village but she speaks German like a native so would have got much better marks than me all round. If I managed a C they will do me on Monday.

Stewart now has a room in the hospital so we can be bored together. He is OK apart from the hard seats and he doesn't complain. After all he says, 40 odd years ago he promised to love honour and obey me for better or wurst!

PRIMA!

HI all , this is Jess writing for mom, just an update not a lierary masterpiece Im afraid! Lovely Dr Rolle has said that he will do the operation although one of the mets is quite large. Because of said fat blob her recovery will most likely take a couple of weeks so if she has the operation as scheduled on Monday next week she will not be back until after Christmas, a source of great disappointment for us all but also of great hope. Would write more but have got to contact my brothers and make arrangements for us to go to Dresden for a few days, if only my mom had been sensible and only had 2 children it would be an easier task, but then again I wouldn't be here so plus and minus! Thanks all so much for your support and cheering on.

wunderbar

So we are here in Dresden or to be more accurate Coswig, a suburb. We are esconced in our room and I have wifi for .50 euros an hour. Wunderbar. The journey was uneventful apart from Stewart upending a glass of orange juice all over his crotch. I am sure it was a ruse to get the stewardess to mop him up. I also made a bit of a fool of myself at Zurich airport bemoaning loudly the cost of a glass of wine and a beer completely forgetting that they still use francs not Euros.

There was not a gnome in sight by the way; they must all be helping Santa out. Tomorrow we will walk to the hospital which is just round the corner and see Dr Rolle; he will scan me and I believe put me on a treadmill to see if I am fit enough for his team. Fat leg might be a disadvantage as might all those dinners I have been eating but I will do my best. I was once the Warwickshire (for American readers county in the middle of England famous for William Shakespeare)sprint champion and had awesome lungs. Trouble was if I ran more than 100 yards I used to throw up, once all over Stewart and that is how he fell in love with me- funny boy. Lets hope I don't repeat the performance tomorrow; I don't think Dr Rolle will be wooed by vomit, he sees to much of it I would think.

Right we are off to sample German food and to dispel the rumour that its all pig and potatoes. Quite keen on both actually. More news tomorrow