“It's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.” ― Zig Ziglar

End of Week two in Oakland Lodge (St. Luke's Hospital)

This is only going to be a short blog to keep you all updated on the progress of my radiotherapy and my experience of living in the Lodge.  To say that my life has changed over the last nine months is a total understatement.  I have had to deal with so much, not only my diagnosis of Cancer, but in chronological order, as follows:

Time Line 

• October 2015: My initial diagnosis on 2nd October 2015 and subsequent long term sick leave from work. 
• Late October 2015: The news that there was not just one tumour but three, two of which were deep and too close to my ribs for comfort
• December 2015:  My bad reaction to the first chemo (T.C. chemo) and hospitalisation where it was said that the Chemo was killing me quicker than it was killing the cancer
• January 2016:  My radical surgery - a bilateral mastectomy, basically the amputation of both my breasts.
• January 2016:  The sudden death of my Mother in Law the day after my discharge from hospital
• January 2016: The organising of my Mother in Law's funeral and subsequent re admittance to hospital with severe neutropenia, sepsis and chest infection. I remained in hospital three days short of one month.
• February 2016:  The utter joy at being told by my surgical oncologist that I was technically cancer free after my surgery
• February 2016: The utter devastation at being told by my Chemotherapy Oncologist that I had residual cancer cells and more chemo was necessary, that the first chemo had not reduced the tumours, and the remaining tissue was riddled with residual cancer cells. That more chemo was necessary.
• February 2016:  Going through very harsh chemo (AC chemo)  and finding out that the TM (Tumour Markers) in my blood were not really reducing. 
• March 2016:  Gerry falling ill with Crohns Disease and needed an ambulance to hospital.
• March 2016:  Further admission into hospital again with neutropenia on two occasions during this chemo, but I was not going to let them stop until the course was finished.
• March 2016:  Gerry being admitted into hospital for surgery to remove part of his small intestine, having to cope battling cancer, going through treatment, looking after my hubby who was very poorly and looking after my sons and our home.
• April 2016:  beginning a third lot of chemo (CMF Chemo), discovering that the chemo was not as harsh as the first two and managing it fairly well. 
• May/June 2016:  Beginning radiotherapy so that chemo and radio can work together to reduce those tumour markers.
• June 2016:  Finding out that tumour markers are not necessarily accurate and that it can mean that the cells are still there but merely less active - but still there with a high chance of returning. 
• June 2016:  Moving into the Lodge in St. Luke's 

Besides all the above taking place, I also kept myself busy with hobbies old and new,  becoming involved with the PDST helping to teach teachers how to incorporate coding into their lessons of numeracy and literacy, helping my colleagues by collating all exam results for all classes throughout the school, reading, lots and lots of reading, meeting friends for coffee etc. It is no wonder that I really cannot get over the fact that this nine months has flown by at the speed of light.  It has been chronic, without a break from one disaster or another. Yet still I have tried to find the 'sunnier' side of the street, but I do ask myself, "Will we ever get a break?"

Sanctuary - at last:

As I had previously mentioned in my earlier blog, Oakland Lodge is the epitome of peace and quiet, calm, relaxation, inner peace and harmony. You are transported from reality and given 'Me' time. Truly 'Me' time, yet it is not time spent on 'wallowing' in the fact that we all have cancer - St. Luke's is the only hospital in Ireland that is totally and solely dedicated to the care and treatment of cancer patients - Yes now and again, when chatting one to one with some of the other 'residents' of Oakland Lodge, there is naturally some comparing of symptoms, treatment, hints and tips. We are all there for radiotherapy, some of us (a handful) are receiving both chemo and radiotherapy at the same time. We do not dwell on our situation but make the best of it. We play pitch and putt, go to art classes, go to relaxation sessions, have beauty treatments, have reflexology sessions, socialise in the evenings listening to music and chatting and laughing, or sitting in the library/sitting room area reading peacefully, sitting quietly in the gardens listening to life going on all around you or simply going to our own room and taking much needed naps or going to sleep for the night. It is unreal just how fatigued receiving chemo and radiotherapy makes  you. But all the above helps you to cope with it. 

I returned to the Lodge last Tuesday to begin my second week of radiotherapy. It was a Tuesday because of the Bank Holiday Monday. This will add a day on to the end of my treatment. I drove myself to the Lodge having left Gerry that morning at Tesco. Gerry had woken up with a strange feeling in the back of his mouth. His tongue was swelling and his throat closing. I managed to get him an appointment with the doctor for 10:50 am. I however had to leave in order to get to the Lodge and on to St. Jame's Hospital for my radiotherapy. As I was getting into my car to leave and Gerry into his van,  Elaine (my neighbour) came over to wish me well and gave me a beautiful candle holder in the form of an angel to light in my room, we hugged and yes we had a few tears, but I felt so totally appreciative of Elaine's kindness and concern and appreciative of the lovely neighbours that surround me. Everyone has been wonderful. We said our goodbyes and Gerry and I headed off to Tesco before I left so that I could stock up on healthy nibbles for when I was in my room of an evening. We dashed around tesco and then we too hugged goodbye and headed off on our seperate ways, Gerry to the GP re his throat and tongue, and myself to Rathgar. 

I pulled into the parking space outside the Lodge, as I opened up my car door and started to climb out, my mobile rang, it was Gerry, I quickly said "Honey, can I call you back in two minutes, I am just getting out of the car with bags etc to take up to my room!" We hung up and I headed into the lodge and picked up my room key. I headed up the corridor, up the stairs and let myself in. Clean bedding was on the bed and I opened up the windows to let in some fresh air. I then rang Gerry, 

"Hi hon how are you and what did the doctor say?" 

Gerry replied,

"I am on my way to hospital, to St. Vincents!" Well you could have knocked me over with a feather!

I could not believe it, not again, what the hell now! I wanted to scream, to shout, to punch the nearest idiot... I just wanted to explode, not with Gerry of course, but with this constant reign of shite! It appears to be never ending. The doctor was not sure what was wrong and felt that hospital was necessary.  I was once again worried about Gerry "Please God, do not let this be anything serious, not now please not now!" I then wondered if it was even worth saying such a prayer, because right now I feel that the 'Big Fella' in the sky has abandoned us, has decided that we just have not had enough shit thrown at us, so he was just going to add more and more. I can understand totally why people lose faith, no this is not God's fault I understand that, but Dear God! surely it is our time to be given a break? I headed downstairs as it was time to go for radiotherapy. Off I went and radiotherapy was administered I then returned to the Lodge. I headed up to my room and had a quiet lie down, trying to gather my thoughts.  I rang the hospital and spoke to Gerry, Gerry in turn was still waiting to see a doctor. I took up my book and headed to the gardens. I managed to get the swing seat and rocked gently as I read my book. I then rang my sister. We had a lovely chat. 

It was getting cooler so decided to return to my room, a warmer top was needed. As I approached the steps leading up to the front door, my toes (which I have to add here, have no feeling thanks to the initial chemo I had nine months ago), caught the lip of the first step, I came crashing down onto the steps and landed fully and very heavily onto by breastbone. The edge of the steps above smacking right across my mastectomy sites, crashing my breastbone into solid concrete. My head banged onto the top step luckily cushioned by my ear and glasses. Oh Lordy, I could not breath, move or speak, the pain was dreadful. I could hear a noise, a shout then groaning. It was coming from me. Barry, the male carer in the lodge came tearing from behind the desk. He gently helped me into a sitting position, he had a glass of water and in no time at all a wheelchair, into which he helped me. Before I knew it I was being wheeled to the main hospital. 

I was in such awful pain that I began to cry, In fact I sobbed and could not stop. I could barely speak. I think that this was a pent up release of all that had gone on for the past nine months. I finally calmed down and I was admitted onto the ward for over night observation with an x-ray booked for first thing in the morning. I still had not heard from Gerry. A friend was called who kindly came to the hospital and rang my sister and then Gerry, letting them know what had happened. Gerry informed us that he had suffered an anaphylactic type reaction to something that he had either eaten or breathed in, and thankfully was now home. My sister after hearing of my fall,  was on the boat within the hour and on her way over. My friend offered to pick her up. Diane arrived at the hospital just after midnight. It was fantastic seeing her. She spent the night sleeping in my room in the lodge. The next morning Diane came over to the ward and sat with me for the whole morning. I was sent for x-rays, and thankfully there was no crack in the breastbone that they could see, just badly bruised. I was told that should the pain increase a different xray would be given to look deeper into the bone,  it seemed to become easier to walk, but lifting myself out of a chair, or off a bed hurts like crazy.  I was discharged from the ward with strict instructions to return if the pain did not ease or became worse, I was given  painkillers and then headed off to Art class. Diane attended with me and we had a good time deciding what to paint. We left for an early lunch as we had to be on the bus for radiotherapy. Thankfully the fall did not affect my treatment. Diane was allowed to come into the radiotherapy room to see the machine and see how I was prepared for the administration of the radiotherapy. When it was about to be administered, she and the radiographers left the room and I was nuked.

We returned to the Lodge, both of us quite exhausted from the late night and busy morning. I set the alarm and we both slept for a good hour. When we woke, I went on line to book a table in a local restaurant, the least I could do was to take my little Sister out for her tea. She had dropped everything to come over to me. I found a restaurant called Coman's. The menu looked good, and you were able to book online. We got ready and slowly walked into the village for our meal, we had both decided to have a steak dinner. We arrived at Coman's to find the doors shut and a notice saying it was closed due to a fire. Well... how was that for luck.... ffs!!!!!   We walked over to The 108 and had pub grub, it was nice, but not the steaks we were looking for. The waiter also told us that the restaurant had been closed for over a year. It could only happen to us! At nine, my phone pinged ... an email to let me know our earlier booking had been declined... well that was three hours too late!!! We headed back to the Lodge for an early night. 

The next morning, Diane and I went down for breakfast. After that we strolled around the garden then headed back to the art class. I finished my painting from the day before. We then headed up to relaxation where the two of us tried to 'go with the flow' and relax from the feet up. Yes we did stifle giggles and try not look at each other, we failed. Eventually we both got into the swing of it and by the end were nearly slipping into a coma. We returned to the art class to finish off and pick up my art work. We then made our way to the dining room for our lunch. This was a difficult time for both of us now. Diane's taxi was booked to take her back to the port for half past one, the same time that my bus was arriving to take me to radiotherapy. Diane had her case packed and we went downstairs. The taxi was  on time and I had to say bye to my Little Sister. I hugged her and we both shed tears as she left. It was heartbreaking to see Diane leave. She is not only my sister, she is also my best friend, advisor, listening ear and strength when I feel low, weak or tired. As her taxi left, my bus arrived and I headed back to radiotherapy. I returned to the Lodge and decided to read my book for the afternoon. Stephen King had me hypnotised. So much so I nearly missed dinner. I returned to my room as I did not feel in the mood to socialise. I spent my time reading and I went to sleep very early. I actually slept most of the night. I woke at about six the next morning. I packed my stuff that I would be taking home with me for the weekend and then packed them into my car. I went to breakfast and sat with one of the ladies from the art class and her husband. We chatted for some time and before I knew it, it was time for me to drive to the hospital once again for radiotherapy. It was all done fairly quickly and I was soon on the road home. I picked up some new paints that had arrived in the post office on route. I arrived home, unpacked the car and relaxed for the afternoon testing out my new paints. 

I am now chilling writing this blog, I did say it was only a short one, but with all that has happened this week it has turned out longer than planned. Let us hope that next week is a better week with no more hiccoughs. I think we have had our fair share at this point. 

Here is the collection of paintings to date. 

Have a good weekend folks, please keep up any prayers you may be sending up for us, and if you have foresight the lotto numbers would be appreciated ;) 

P.S.  Sorry just had to add this to the list of woes, today Gerry fell whilst on a roof, hurting his shoulder... He now has little movement and a bit of pain. Looks like another trip to the doctors for Gerry, We will have shares in the surgery before long!!! If anyone has a voodoo doll with our faces on it and I find you... well, start digging now is my advice ....

Whoever Said That Winning Isn't Everything, Obviously Never Had Cancer!

Counting down to the end of my treatment! 

The night before I leave for St. Luke's Oakland Lodge.

OK folks, tomorrow begins the countdown to what is supposed to be the end of all my treatment. I am feeling both excited at this prospect but also fearful. Excited because this could be the end of cancer for me and we will all be celebrating like mad, with the next 12 months allowing my body to recover not only from the cancer and the vicious surgery, but recovering from the treatment used to kill the cancer. After all, chemotherapy is a poison fed into  your veins in the hope that it kills the cancer before it kills the human being whose veins it is flowing through.  Fearful because I am not looking forward to suffering burns, albeit that many have said that radiotherapy is not as bad as chemotherapy, chemo didn't burn my skin, the nurses have told me that because my skin is so dry despite moisturising, I may find that I will suffer burns to my chest, neck and my back. Frightened because I could put myself through all this and find at the end of it that there are still cancer cells just eager to beat the treatment. I have fought hard to remain positive throughout my treatment, and I am doing my best to continue to do so, but my head just cannot keep out the 'What if's'. Tomorrow I find out if my TM markers in my blood have reduced (TM markers = Tumour Markers - signs of cancer). The normal reading for TM markers are 0-40, those who follow me on Facebook will recall that my markers were at 65. I have had one CMF chemo, it will be interesting to find out if the chemo I had three weeks ago has helped to reduce the amount of cells. I will keep you all posted on this one.  

I have spent the past three weeks keeping quite busy. In fact,  besides the odd worried listed above, I have spent more time on activities than I have on thinking about the cancer, which is excellent.  I have laughed with friends and neighbours, who in all honesty are a godsend that I am so lucky to have. I have enjoyed being artistically creative. I have spent time, at one with nature ;) feeding the ducks, swans and geese at the conservation area behind the Arklow Bay Hotel and Coral Leisure. I helped my colleagues in school by collating all exam results for each class in the school, I have enjoyed glasses of wine and the odd Captain Morgan's a couple of times, I had a big surprise on Friday when Joe walked in after working with his Dad for the day, gone was the Afro and there stood a very handsome young man. Gerry and I enjoyed a walk around Inch Market.




I have enjoyed days out with my family, the latest being yesterday when Gerry, Jimmy and I enjoyed a day in Dublin, lunch in Murray's on O'Connell St., Walks around the shops where I shopped for Gerry's birthday presents, and where Gerry bought me a new charm for my Pandora bracelet - a family tree to signify that the family will be with me while I go through this next step to my recovery. Today I have planted up my plant pots outside our house, while Gerry strimmed around the lawn and pulled up the grass growing through my rose bushes. I have relaxed with a glass of wine after a lovely salad for tea, and my weekly dose of Coronation Street and Eastenders. Now though, I am off to pack my suitcase. I have a small bedsit in the Lodge that will be my home Monday to Friday for the next five weeks. I will be coming home Friday evenings to Monday Mornings. So folks, its off packing I will go. I will continue with this blog tomorrow evening after my radiotherapy. Here is to the next step in this adventure that is my life. Night all, Chat tomorrow.

A few images from my last three weeks.

 Day Three of Radiotherapy:

Hi all, I do apologise as I had said that I would update the blog two days ago. However, I felt that a period of settling in would be needed before I could give you an honest and open opinion of my experience staying here at Oakland Lodge, St. Luke's in Rathgar. I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous on my journey here, apprehensive that I was going to be among strangers for five long weeks facing radiotherapy, another unknown. As I mentioned above, a slight fear too. My first port of call was to St Vincent's Hospital for my second dose of CMF chemotherapy. Would my tumour markers have dropped since my first CMF three weeks ago? If you recall it was at 65 with the 'norm' being 0-40. I arrived at the St. Anne's Day Ward for the chemo treatment. I was called through at 9:30 a.m. and my bloods were taken. All results had to be back before chemo could be administered. I had asked the doctor and the nurse to please let me know the TM results as soon as the bloods came back. I kept myself occupied reading my book as I sat in the chemo chair waiting for things to get moving. At 11:30, I called the nurse over and reminded her that I needed to be at St. Luke's for half past one to check into the lodge and to catch the bus over to St. Jame's for the radiotherapy. She called down, just as the blood results arrived, so she ordered the chemo to be brought up to the ward as soon as possible. It arrived an hour later.  However the wait was not a problem even thought I had to drive across to Rathgar, Why? Well my TM markers had dropped from 65 to 53... it was definitely heading in the right direction. I was elated to be fair. However there is always someone who tends to 'Piss on you Battery'. As much as I like Dr. Gullo and I have told them to be very honest with me, he advised me not to become to focused on the TM markers as they were merely a 'loose guide' that indicated the cancer cells are reducing in their level of activity. Yes, this is what they note at each appointment, because, the lower they are the least active they are, that however does not mean that the cancer cells have necessarily gone, they are there but currently inactive. It is keeping an eye on the fact that the TM markers do not rise. Ideally, we would love to see no cancer cells at all, however, If I have to carry cancer cells and they remain inactive, that is just fine by me. As technically I will be given the 'all clear' with a very long term care plan from the hospital, care that I cannot complain about at all. Everyone has been fantastic. Even Dr Gullo's news could not reduce my level of happiness at the news, the nurses were elated as were two other doctors. "Yes Elaine, all is going in the right direction!" That is all I needed to hear. Happy Days!

I left St. Vincents at 1:10 pm. Put the address to St. Luke's into google maps on my phone and followed the directions. I was there in record time. 1:20 p.m. I walked into the reception area of Oakland Lodge and was allocated my room. The bus was just leaving to take patients to St. Jame's for radiotherapy, but as I had that only that second arrived, the driver said that he would return for me, giving me chance to settle into my room. I went up and carried up my case and bags. I was pleasantly surprised by the room. I have a twin room, with an en-suite shower, toilet, sink and a small 'kitchenette' area where I can make hot drinks or store cold foods. It is bright, and the window looks out onto a court yard with the most beautiful plants in it. I returned to the reception area for 2:00 p.m. The bus was going to be here shortly. So I took my handbag, put my book inside it to keep me company, when who did I see arrive. Sue, she had come to keep me company and ensure I had settled in. She hopped on the bus with me and off we went, being given a tour round Rathgar and local areas by the driver who pointed out all the places of interest on the route. We even had Guinness store house pointed out and were given an in depth history of the area. I think he would like a job on the open topped tour buses.


Finally, what should have been a ten minute journey, had taken over half an hour for a sight seeing tour, we arrived at St. Luke's Site on St. Jame's Hospital Grounds. I checked in at reception and was not waiting too long before I was called in for my appointment. Everything was explained to me as to how the radiotherapy would be given and the difference I would notice between the machine used on my preparation day a week previously and the  machine that would be used today. On the preparation day, I had a CT scan, this is now radiotherapy. It differs a lot. You are on a 'bed' and positioned so that the tattoo dots that were put on in the preparation are lined up correctly, once this is achieved and more pen marks made and further measurements and adjustments the machine then moves around you. It moves the bed about and side arms come out that take images of your insides ensuring that all measurements and depth of radiotherapy are correct, after all, you do not want to end up with deep fried heart and lungs. I am having radiotherapy to the left mastectomy site and to the left side of my neck, where lymph nodes are being blasted as it appears that this is how the residual cancer cells have got into my system. So with the combination of CMF chemo and radiotherapy, hopefully they will now do the trick in getting rid of these blighters. Once the radiotherapy had finished, we headed outside to wait for the bus. Hmmm... some wait we had, rather than waiting for me to finish radiotherapy, the driver decided to go back to St. Luke's minus myself, Suzanne and three other people.  After nearly 40 minutes of waiting he finally arrived, and had also discovered a swifter route back too. Thank goodness.



We had now missed tea time, A stroll into Rathgar and to a lovely little pub for some pub grub it was. Along with an impromptu quiz night. Excellent. We were with another four people and we all took part in what proved to be an evening of such fun and laughter. Soon it was time to head back to the Lodge where I settled in for the evening. It was so quiet and peaceful. A quiet time sitting on the swing seat on this beautifully warm and balmy evening was a must before 'hitting the hay' I took a few photos of some of the trees surrounding me in the dark. I could hear the cries of foxes and hear scuttling nearby. 'Time to go in now' I said to myself so off to bed for my first night in the Lodge.



The following day, Suzanne picked me up for my radiotherapy rather than take the magical mystery bus tour. She picked me up fairly early so that I could drop paperwork needed to the school that Joe and Jimmy attend. Saragh came with us and we decided that a stop in Bray on our return for a bag of chips sitting on the wall on the sea front. We also decided that a return to our childhood days of fun in the amusements would be a great bit of craic too... and yes it certainly was. We left in plenty of time and arrived at St. Jame's for my next round of Radiotherapy. We went from there to Suzanne's house for a visit before returning to the Lodge. On my return, I challenged Sue to some pitch and putt. I was a fun filled event with one lady from the Lodge nipping back and forth giving us tips. Clearly a golfing lady who knew what she was talking about.   Later on, I decided to just lie in my room listening to my radio. Gerry had bought me a new radio to take with me. I have taken to listening to the radio a lot lately. It is much better than being spoon fed some of the trite on TV these days. Before long I was knocking out those Zs.


At 4:00a.m., The sun was shining through my window. It was a beautiful morning, but too early to be heading out for a walk so I listened to the birds outside and watch the sun get higher in the sky, just gently nodding in and out of light sleep. This morning would be my third day here and my third dose of radiotherapy. This beautiful morning was really making me feel great. I also decided that today would be the day that I would attend the art class. I went down for breakfast at 7:00 am. Grapefruit segments, two rounds of toast and jam, fresh orange then a nice cup of tea. I had a few hours to kill before the Art class opened at ten, so I went and fetched my book from my room and sat on the swing seat reading for a while. It was lovely reading, but I could not help but be distracted from my book by the utter peacefulness of the area. The trees are beautiful as are the flowers, the birds, the squirrel and the occasional fox if you are early or late enough to catch them out and about. So reading on the swing seat became a gently rocking with my eyes closed listening to the sounds of nature around me. Considering there are a number of people there, you are not constantly surrounded by people and the ability to be able to relax in the gardens in such quietness is utterly enjoyable.


I checked the time and realised it was now a quarter to 10:00. Time to make my way over to the activities room in the main hospital for the Art Class. I arrived on time and was made very welcome. I was surprised at how few take the opportunities offered to them. There were three of us in the art class today. I note that others do attend not only from the Lodge but from the wards too, so the reduction could be just down to the person on the ward not having a very good day. It doesn't matter what skills you have when it comes to art, all levels are made very welcome. Today we were working on acrylics. I was given some books to browse through and decide what I wanted to try. I wanted to work on Washes and Movement, something that I do not always get right in my own paintings, so I decided on the sea scene. My painting depicts my journey, as you can see the dark skies and rough seas are tossing the boat, however it is aiming to sail to lighter skies and hopefully less stormier seas. Very apt for this time of my life and my own journey that I am having to take. After finishing off my painting, I headed back to the lodge as I was feeling a little tired. I put on my radio, took out my laptop to start this blog and my eyes closed. I woke at half one and made a mad rush downstairs, not before washing my face to wake myself up and grabbing a bottle of water from my fridge. Suzanne was waiting down in the reception area, as she was getting the bus with me today. After the radiotherapy, we were heading in to Luigi Malone's for tea out. It was a lovely dinner. I like the social side to the Lodge everyone is so upbeat and Cancer is not the sole topic of conversation. We laugh, compare lives, discuss parenthood and also marvel at just how much we appreciate life, and everything about it. All we all want  to be able to do, is to  appreciate it, and make more out of life for many more years to come. And, please God this will be the desired outcome.

view from my room

We popped into Doyle's on the way back to the lodge where I enjoyed a white wine spritzer. We then hailed a cab and headed back to the Lodge. Before heading back to my room, I said goodbye and good night to Suzanne and my new neighbours and sat out on the swing seat for a while. I just sat quietly listening to the different sounds around me. This calmness and this peaceful environment really is making me feel so alive and totally at one with myself.  Naturally as the weeks go on, the tiredness and lethargy of having both chemo and radiotherapy together will undoubtedly take its toll, but I'm just hoping that it won't be to the extent that I cannot enjoy and appreciate the calmness, peacefulness, art and crafts, relaxation, care and socialisation of The Lodge. I truly do appreciate having been lucky enough to be given a place here for this last part of my treatment. Thank you to all who have involvement in providing and making this 'retreat' available to those of us unlucky enough to have been hit with cancer, and those who work tirelessly, and many voluntarily, to supply the services that are afforded me. I can't thank you enough.

Friday morning arrived and I was up with the birds again. I packed up what I would be taking home with me for the long weekend. I stripped my bed and put the blanket, towels, sheets and pillowcases into the laundry bags in the hallway.  I then took my bags to the car. After doing this I took a stroll around the gardens and photographed some of the flowers. Possible painting projects as next week is water colours - not a strong point of mine but I am going to give it a good go.



I headed back towards the Lodge and went to the dining room for breakfast. I left there just after 8 as my radiotherapy would be at 9:00a.m. I drove myself to the hospital and waited to be called, there was a slight delay so being up and early didn't do much good there after all. Never mind though. Following the radiotherapy, I was hitting the road home for the weekend. Time to stop all this indulgence and spend time with my three men. Next week, all going well, my hubby will be joining me at the Lodge too, so he too can savour this relaxed environment. One that I hope he can just learn to chill and not pace around looking for things to do. Zen like Mode Gerry... you will have to find that Zen switch :)

Have a good weekend everyone and to all family and friends here in Ireland a good, sunny and peaceful bank holiday weekend.