Renewed energy

By 09:30 this morning, I was heading towards the village, shopping bag in hand, on foot despite the drizzle. The only thing that stopped this trip to buy some milk was the suddenly memory of an impending visit by an upholsterer. So, I've turned round and come home, planning to do the walk later this morning. Instead of my trip out, I've spent half an hour digging vigorously in the garden - in the rain - installing new plants in the recently-tidied flower beds.

Why am I telling you this? Despite having slept quite badly, I woke up this morning wanting to take exercise. For the last few years, as my cancer developed, this has been unheard of. For the last few weeks, the thought of exercise made me quiver in horror, despite having begun a new, post-operative exercise regime. Radiotherapy did make me tired - eventually - although it wasn't nearly as bad as the anaemic tiredness I'd had since about 2004. It did cause internal problems (already described, so don't worry, I'm not going to go into it all again - there are only so many occasions on which one can repeat such details without hearing virtual cries of, "Too much information!") and it did make me wonder if I'd ever feel well again.

Today, the answer is, "Yes". The side-effects wear off - in my case fairly quickly (but who knows, I could still get new ones). My energy levels are rapidly returning to what they were many years ago, and this is really exciting. Only a few weeks ago, if I left an item upstairs, I wouldn't bother to go back to fetch it. Consequently, there were usually several half-read books to be found in different parts of the house! Now, I simply go to collect the missing object without even thinking about it.

It's not all wonderful; I still get tired quite quickly, but that's getting better every day. And, of course, I still have to go back to the hospital for regular check-ups. However, I've been told by others in my position, the check-ups are quite comforting (I'm not convinced - I've had a horror of all things medical dating from childhood when I spent a lot of time visiting sick relatives in hospital, where they often spent the end of their lives) and, of course, in a way, I'm lucky to have a medical team monitoring my health; not everyone has that privilege.