Back home

It was strange to be outside walking. I was glad to be able to sit and rest in the car. The journey home was uneventful, and I wished it was just a 10-minute journey. We just chatted mainly about the girls and how they would be. Although, as we all know, cats can be finicky, Richard said they’d not wanted to go in the field with him since I went in, and they love to walk there.

We pulled onto the drive, and who was sitting on the doorstep, Maisie. It was just as if she’d been expecting me. I got out of the car and called her, and she came strolling over. She meowed at me and smudged my legs. I bent down to stroke her, and she jumped up to meet my hand. She was fine. Now, where is Gracie? We got through the door, and there was Gracie. And she meowed and jumped up to greet me too. I couldn’t have wanted a better welcome home. I decided to sit in the garden before unpacking, but the girls had other plans. They wanted me to take them into the field, and I couldn’t resist. I managed to climb over the stile, closely followed by them. They had a chase around, and they and I were happy. I didn’t stay long as I was exhausted and needed a sit-down and a cup of tea. All was well I was heartened by Maisie and Gracies’ response. It was purrfect!

That evening Maisie stayed on my lap and purred loudly. She was warm, her coat was soft, and she smelt lovely.

I went to bed early. I was amazed that Gracie had decided to come with me. She’s not been one to stay on the bed long, but she stayed with me all night, snuggling as close as possible.

Over the following weeks, our girls took on new roles. Every time I sat down, Maisie would jump on and snuggle, and Gracie did the same when we went to bed. This routine lasted four weeks when they deemed I was well enough to be left, but they were never far away.

Recovery

I had a plan to walk every day, even if it was just a short one with the girls, and to make sure I pushed a little bit further. It was hard. I could have just sat and snoozed, but that’s not me. Not working at this time meant I could focus on my fitness. Being the tortoise and not the hare. I started to enjoy my little walks as my body became more used to them, and at the end of March, I was walking a whole mile, and I was happy!

My recovery was slow and challenging, but on the upside, my eating was getting better, and I wasn’t being as sick as often. And I could now walk one mile and cycle indoors for three miles. I find Zwift the best exercise to get the legs moving when you are not well or carrying an injury and of course, it’s full of like-minded people, using it in the way they need to.

My Zwift Avatar in the club kit!

I didn’t appreciate how much the SCT treatment had taken out of me. Unfortunately, there is much work to do to get my fitness back, and I will have to be patient.

During April and May, I concentrated on my fitness. I’m so thankful to have the woods right on my doorstep. An excellent place to wander without being too close to people as I’m still to get all the COVID and childhood vaccines.

It was hard at first, but as the weeks went by, I was getting stronger and managed to increase the distance just by the odd half mile until it was an extra mile. Then, of course, I needed a sit down afterwards to allow recovery. My heart rate was always up, as chemo can have that effect. I felt more like me, and my chemo brain was getting better.

We met with my consultant from the transplant team, and she was very pleased with my progress and confirmed the odd thing like my dry mouth would take some time to come back. And if I did feel well enough, I could return to work. She also confirmed that it would be best for me to go on a two-year maintenance program using Obinutuzumab, as I have responded well to this one in the past. I felt deflated as I thought the treatment was over for the next few years. But they are being very cautious and giving me the best chance to keep this disease at bay. On the bright side of life, she did say I could go outside on the bike especially as Richard had bought me an E-Bike which would definitely help with my recovery both mentally and physically.

I was so happy to be out and in the fresh air and able to watch the woods change back. The trees were getting their leaves back, the ferns were unfurling, and everywhere was getting greener.

This week 23 May I cracked 24 miles on the E-Bike, and I have walked 4 miles in a reasonable time, not far off my time before treatment, so life is slowly getting back to normal. However, we are still having to be careful about mixing with people.

E-Bike note, you do have to pedal, and you can vary the amount of assistance you get from the battery. The bike is heavy compared to my road bike, and that’s because of the battery. However, it is helping build back my core strength, legs and breathing. Richard has had his E-Bike for a long time, and I can now appreciate that it gave him (with two hip replacements) the chance to come out with us, keeping him fit while having fun.