Older and wiser

My holiday is over and time has ticked on. I had a great time and enjoyed being by the sea again, for my wife it was a chance to catch up with her family and for me a chance to revisit the old haunts that I frequented when I was training to be a Nurse.
I was so aware of the differences that a year and a transplant had made to the visit and although I didn't manage to do as much this holiday some things I took in my stride that I could not manage last year.I will talk more about these later.
One thing I did when I got to Hastings was to buy myself a compact camera to use when I am out and about I had tried out a couple and settled on a Nikon P300 which I found was the best at image stabilisation which I need because of the shakes I get through anti rejection medication I have yet to settle on a DSLR to buy so I felt that this would be a good stand by second camera.

During the first week we went to Eastbourne to attend the annual airshow and I was able to get some great photos of the planes I used my Canon DSLR to take them because of the zoom required for good pictures.I got many nice picture of planes that did a flypast over the pier

Spitfire

I was also impressed by the aerobatics team that did a demonstration

 My family were shocked by the noise of the F16 that flew over

Finally, later than planed, we were treated to the the premier aerobatic team who were only able to do a fly past due to the weather conditions having deteriorated by this stage

Red Arrows

 The rest of the holiday was filled with a lot of walking up and down hills which I coped with better than I thought I would and I was able to spend a day at the sea in Eastbourne on one of the days when the weather was good I had hoped to walk along the beach and get some pictures in some rock pools but alas it was not to be as the tide times that day did not allow it but I did get a picture through one of the groynes looking towards beachy head using my new camera

Holywell

I also was able to take some pictures of  Brighton and the famous pier using the easy panorama function which I think you will agree does a good job

      One other trick that my new camera had in store was slow motion video and so to illustrate i have included a small piece of video of some seagulls on the seashore 

I am so grateful to have made it back to Sussex again and without my transplant I feel sure that I would not have had this opportunity. I sat by the sea drinking coffee and realised how luck I was to be able to breath in the sea air with my new lungs.
I gave thanks to the anonymous 45 year old donor who selflessly left me the gift of life 10 months ago that has enabled me to have a quality of life again that I thought I had lost forever. I have recently moved into my last year of my first half century. The experiences I have been though have made me realise how lucky I am to be writing this blog.
I follow people who have not been as lucky as me and are still waiting such as Victoria Tremlett she is presently deteriorating and desperately waiting for a transplant you can follow her blog on my blogroll

Past the Point of No Return she is needing a transplant very soon or she will die.

She is one of the people who is in danger of dying while waiting,

as three people do every day in this country  

If you are reading this and have not signed the donor register please take the time to click on the flashing heart in the right hand column of this blog and that will take you to NHSBT website where you can add yourself in a couple of minutes.Then you will receive a card in the post to carry with you in your wallet or purse.When you do, please speak to your next of kin about your decision so that they know what you want  as they will be asked about your wishes.

Holiday - Let the Games Commence

It all systems go for my holiday:) I hope to spend two weeks on the south-east coast in Hastings this will be my first holiday since my Transplant and I am looking forward to meeting up with my wife's family and hear the news.
I must be truthful when I say that I did not expect to make it to see another holiday by the sea last year before my transplant. The organisation that was required to get an oxygen supply and equipment I had to use such as the wheelchair and oxygen bottles made the whole process very stressful for me and the whole family. this year it will be better as now I am able to tolerate the hot weather and the inclines that I will encounter I will still have to carry a bit of stuff like my Bi pad machine and nebuliser and the various pills that I consume each day but I will be able to do many things that I  avoided last year.I hope that we will be able to attend the Eastbourne Airbourne Airshow and I will try to post pictures that and of my other adventures if I can.

The other thing that has happened is I have started my pulmonary rehabilitation course at the local gym unfortunately due to me being away I will miss some of it but this will continue till September when I get back.I must be honest when I say I was worn out when I had done the first two days. I found it great to be able to push myself and was able to do much more than I thought I would, so I was glad.
My wife has also been referred  for fitness training though our GP surgery so when I have finished on the rehab I will start to go for supervised fitness sessions with my wife if she wants to so we can both get fit again.

I have also been inspired by another transplntee who I know, who is presently at the UK transplant games and has managed to achieve 
Silver Medal in Archery with a score of 278, and a Bronze Medal in the 5k run.

he said  on his Facebook page today "So proud to run as part of the Harefield CF 4 x 100 metre relay team today. Running for everyone with CF, everywhere." 

Congratulation to  Richard Burbedge @AwoogaBurbs who had several problems on his way to the games including a serious sprain to his ankle and a visit to hospital that nearly put his plans on hold so I am glad that he achieved his aim to represent his country  But most of all his win  represents the gift of life his donor gave him and me that allow us to live better and more full lives

 

This year at the transplant games 15 transplant  patients from Harefields Hospital are taking part in the  British Transplant Games 15 people who lives have been saved by donors who signed the donor register HERE

There is a facebook page you can visit to find out more Westfield health British Transplant Games 

If you would like to know more Transplant Sport in the UK may interest you @TransplantSport

Great Britain Transplant Cricket Club will also be of interest @gbtcc   

There is also the Northern Ireland Transplant Association  at their twitter account @nitransplant

 So I will say happy holidays to you and go to bed as I  have a drive to do tomorrow, hope to post more and some pictures of the seaside soon :-)

Schools out for the Summer

The school holiday season is now under way my daughter and son are now at home all day!
A few things have happened since I last posted a blog entry so I thought I would update you on what has been happening.

Firstly I have great news on Kirstie 2nd chance @ life?

who's blog I now follow on this site.
She has been making great progress since her transplant and has been well enough to move to a open ward and has even managed to get out into the sunshine in the grounds of the hospital.:)
Her family are thrilled by the progress she is making. I would like to add my best wishes to Kirstie, her husband and all her family for a speedy and uneventful recovery.

A recovery that would not be possible without the brave donor and their family who allowed this to happen  saving  kirstie's life!! Please if you haven't signed the donor register click on the flashing heart at the top of the left column of this blog and you could save someone's life when you die you may regret it if you don't :-(
 
What else has happen then I hear you ask?

I have been out with my camera to a couple of events in the local area. Firstly there was a model making event at the local school. My son and I attended ,we have been regularly and enjoy seeing all the models. I find it facinating to see the hard work and devotion that goes into some of the exhibits.I have posted a few pictures of the event for you to see.

Washday

Solider

Honda in a Hedge

Military Bike

 Although I found it hard with the side effects of my medicines to take steady pictures it was so much better than last year and the presence of smoke from the model steam engines was only a minor discomfort

The other event I was able to attend was a classic car meeting at a local hotel where two of the members were having a 30th anniversary celebration. I was also able to get some pictures of a piper who came for the celebration and played some lovely classic songs on the Bagpipes

This was a bonus as there were some lovely American and British cars on show

Studebaker

Morris Minor

Finally I have been active on the new Google trial of it new social media offering Google Plus (G+) and I am finding it a really good experiences. As you may see on the blog I have added a widget for my stream on the right hand column and a G+ icon a bit lower down please feel free to click on the icon to visit me

 If you want to get invited please send  me a email from a Gmail account contact me on toolbar under blog and I will send you an invite.

If you would be kind enough to add me that would be great, as I hope that I can use G+ to promote organ donation and will be sharing with all of my new friend more of my photography in the future.

This is a great way to share. I would urge you join soon:-)

Holiday is over Back on your Heads!

Holiday is over and after a three and a half hour trip back that was very trying to say the least (usually two and half hours) we arrived home.The first night we just crashed out and the next day the grass needed cutting and we did some shopping for all the things we have run out of.

Now normality has returned with the usual moaning and squabbling from the kids and a list of things to do that were put off before we left.I rang Harefields hospital and told them that we were back home and my mother visited and I gave her the gifts we had bought while away.

Why the strange title for this post? it comes from a joke that I heard and still makes me laugh now;

A man dies and ends up in Hell and the Devil says to him you have three choices of where you want to spend eternity and points to three doors.
The man says can I have a look first before I make my choice the Devil agrees
He opens the first door behind is fire,brimstone and people burning in agony."Don't fancy that" says the man,
He opens the second door there are people being whipped and beaten."Don't like the look of that"he says
He opens the third door and there are loads of people sitting waist deep in sewerage drinking tea.
He takes a moment, then he decide. "It has to be the third door" he says.
He goes in the third room and  the door closes behind him.
"Right" says the Devil, "Tea break is over now back on your heads"

I am not suggesting that my life is like that joke, but life has a way of throwing up those sorts of unexpected outcomes at us everyday and it doesn't matter if you worry or not they still happen.
People often say "I hope you don't have to wait to long for lungs". But people never say "I hope someone will die soon".But the two statements mean the same in the real world.
Human beings are very good at protecting themselves from the truth of their own behaviour ,but worry about things that they can't do anything about.

Well my birthday is nearly here and 8 days later I will have waited on the list one year. A interesting but stressful one but one filled with new experiences not all fun.
I have done a lot more than I thought I would be able to.Met some great people online through Twitter and other sites I use. I have talked to famous people and ordinary people with extraordinary lives. Followed three people who have had transplants watching them recover,some quicker than others.Waited with others like me still to receive the gift of life.

Started this blog and continued to write it! Got published on another blog as a guest.Started to run a website, learning a new format and extending my knowledge of the web.Got commended in end of year competition in the local Photography Club. Hoping to take more winning photos when it starts again in September.

The only down side to this time of the year, apart from being one year older. Is winters approach,that is something I dread,but with the advent of the Autumn, I hope though I can get some good pictures :-)

On that note I thought I would post some of the pictures I got of Brighton on our last day out before our holiday finished.

Brighton Pier

Walk on the Pier

The pier from the beach

Seafront

Watching the waves

Not quick Enough

Brighton Pavilion

Fountain

Eastbourne pier & Memories of Whitebait

Eastbourne from Beachy head

Our holiday is going well the weather is still being kind and we have enjoyed the time with relatives catching up with the news.Our most recent foray was to Eastbourne again.This time to the pier.we spent the afternoon having a walk up the pier took tea and coffee in one of the cafes and I played some pool with my son in an games room in the arcades.
Playing pool brought back so many memories as I spent many hours during my time in Nursing training playing pool with a good friend in my training group.I was playing pool the night I met my wife in the social club of the hospital I trained in.Although the hospital  is now long gone, our memories are still strong, my wife even had a go at pool when we were playing, to show my son that she could play.
After we had finished we went to the town to find somewhere to eat and decided on a lovely little Italian restaurant where we had some lovely pasta and I found another memory booster on the menu.
Whitebait-small flour coated and deep fried whole fish. I have been looking for these for ages and was over the moon to be able to eat some again,I must explain why.
When I left Sussex and returned to Oxford I did so to be near my eldest daughter. The relationship with her mother had ended and she had returned to Oxford about the same time as I had got together with my wife.
I had made a commitment to continue a relationship with my daughter despite this.So when a new Regional Unit for Forensic Care opened in Oxfordshire I applied.
I had a great job in Sussex with good promotion prospects and my wife's family were local. But I felt that my daughter was more important and so I applied to Oxford.
I was offered the post and moved into the hospital.But before we opened there was a period of training this allowed us to work 9-5 for a few weeks while we sorted out the new clinic. A time for team building and sharing this was done in a local pub called the Waterloo (also now gone) just down the road from where I live.
We would spend our afternoons drinking and getting to know each other and having a great time.
Although I didn't particularly want to work in Oxford this was a good time in the Forensic Unit's history when we started out, as we had high hopes for the future.I remember fondly one of the specials served in the pub and a favourite of my ward manager Prem Calloo was fried whitebait served with chilli sauce washed down with lagers and dark rum, many a happy afternoon was spent there!
I was able to buy whitebait in the past, but have not seen it for sale for a long time, so I was so pleased to taste it again.My son tried it and he liked it as well.
Unfortunately Prem is also gone now, he died of a heart attack in front of me in the Clinic we started, just a few years later. One afternoon when we were working together he just dropped dead. He has a headstone in the local graveyard near Agatha Christie and is remembered fondly by me, when I eat whitebait, always with some hot sauce!

All in all this holiday has been steeped in memories for me and a realisation of the passing of time, it may be because I am getting near my birthday at the end of August, and birthdays of late tend to be reminders of the passage of time.But I do hope that there will be many more different memories yet to come after my transplant and maybe a few to revisit again, many of those will be in Sussex.

Whatever happens you cannot go back you must continue forward whatever that brings.

I thought that a couple of photos would be nice after that deep and rambling trip down memory lane so here goes;

Eastbourne pier

Beachy head

Sussex seagull

Sussex in the Sun

We have been on holiday four days now and most of the time the weather has been kind to us.One day it did rain but on the whole, although not the height of summer, there has been quite a few sunny spells.
As well as the Airbourne show in Eastbourne we have spent a day walking around the old town in Hastings where there are lots of gift shops and small interesting shops to look around. I managed a few photos,and with my son. Also attended to his addiction to the arcades, we had a good session spending only a little money to win several toys and tat for my children. Rock and sweets have also figured highly on the list of  must haves. I have forfilled my wish to eat fish and chips in one of the shops near the Stade which is in the fishing fleet end of Hastings and buys fresh fish locally yum yum!
The only fly in the ointment was my Mobile Broadband connection it seems that the USB stick I had was incompatible with my computer (Vista). So it kept crashing the computer every time I used it.After a trip to Carphone Warehouse and 45mins on the phone to T Mobile in the shop a new Dongle arrived via DHL the next day! I am most impressed by the excellent service from T Mobile.
So I am now able to get on line and update this blog. Keep up with people online which is becoming a essential part of my life of late and it has also allowed me to send out some pictures to people on Twitter of the sights in Hastings.
So I thought that I would share some of the pictures that I have taken since we have been here to give you a flavour of our holiday so far. Hope you like them there are also a couple on a photo slide show that I made that you can find here Sussex days and sunsets

Bi plane

Wing walkers over Eastbourne pier 

Above a couple of pictures from Airbourne gives a flavour of the day

Hastings

Beach Huts

Baby Seagull

Hastings from Bexhill

Are We There Yet?

We finally got to Sussex after a few hiccups on the way. The lack of services on the M25 journey proved a problem for me, necessitating a unscheduled stop and some harsh words, but once we had got of the M4 everything was better.The traffic was busy and the journey took longer than we hoped but we arrived.
We spent our first day out at Eastbourne Airborne and although the disabled parking was all filled up,we  made use of my blue badge to park on the road near where we wanted to go.The weather was windy and for the most part dry but at one point did start to rain a bit.I had to make use of the wheelchair for some of the day but also managed a bit of a walk later.
I was able to take some good photos of the air show and afterwards got my wish to eat some nice fish and chips, having Halibut and chips in a restaurant that we have been to before and liked. The kids got rock, I got some presents for my mum and my son bought himself a bulet necklace.
Mobile broadband has taken a bit of getting used to and because of this I will not be uploading many pictures till I get home but I thought that one was a must the view at sunset from my mother in laws front door I hope that I will be able to get more pictures like this.

Sussex Sunset

Rainy Weather-Must be Holiday Time

Typical,just as we prepare to head towards the Sussex Coast the Met office issued a severe weather warning for extreme rain were we are going.It is Friday the 13th today,I am not superstitious but the last one was in November 2009. If you look at the missed call page at the top of the blog you can see why I might be a bit concerned.We will leave tomorrow now and take a slow journey down to the coast, so that the holiday gets of to a good start with no stress.

I thought that just before I go away I would wish best of luck to all the athletes competing in the British Transplant Games this year.This year’s competition, which runs from August 19 to 22 in Bath, will involve more than 700 participants and see a record number of transplant athletes competing for the first time.

One of those participants this year is someone I have talked about before in this blog that is Justine Laymond she is on twitter as @LamLungArtist She is playing squash, as well as sprinting, badminton, long jump and the relay Read more I spoke with her recently and she was quite modest about her chances But I know that she would love people to follow what happens and realise that the point about the games is Organ Donation awareness.

Another participant is Jonathan Bowman who's story is here he has competed five times but for every one of the athletes  there is a story of a selfless person who has donated organs to transform their life you could be one of those people.Register as a organ donor and prevent your organs from being buried or burnt be a hero be a donor

Lynne Holt of Transplant Sport UK, said: “We are delighted to see more people taking part in the games for the first time and wish them all the best of luck. These athletes should be an inspiration to people, as they grab their second chance at life with both hands, clearly demonstrating how well they are, after recovering from their life-saving transplant.
“The aim of the games is to inspire people to sign the NHS Donor Register and give the gift of life. It only takes a minute to sign, but can give someone a whole lifetime to enjoy.” 

So if you haven't signed the register now is the time to do it you can click on link below or on theFlashingHeart picture in the top of left column of this blog NHS Donor Register

 

Holidays, Nearly There!

Got my Oxygen supply delivered to my holiday address today and collected my holiday prescription for medication I might need.Extra oxygen was delivered to my home as well and a service was done on the Oxygen machine that I use.My wife's last night shift tonight and then we are set to go.
Just need to collect all the relevant junk  into a bag to take; Phones,Chargers,Computer,NintendoDSs,Mp3players,Cameras,Binoculars,
Tripod,Hair Straighteners,I just cant live without those:))ha ha.
Then there is the make up etc but the blogs is only so long.My walking stick(yes I have one) My wheelchair, Nebubuliser all the meds and Oxygen and my packed bag for Harefields.Then we may be able to put some clothes in to take if we are lucky.
The point I am making is as a kids we were able to go on holiday with a bag of clothes and a couple of board games some cards and some drawing paper now we have to take the entire stock of Dixons for entertainment.
Happy holidays must not forget the Radio Times because the kids want to plan what to watch on TV. How did we manage as children I wonder.

I just hope we can find our way there!

They are" Under Starter's Orders"

The weekend is over and the last few days before holiday are upon us and I haven't done much!
I did manage to get mobile broadband together and have a shiny new dongle from T Mobile in a box waiting for the starters gun to go off.

This will allow me to continue with my updates on the Blog, keep up with my friends on Twitter and the kids can check Facebook while we are away.How Dependant we have become on the web!My mother in law who has no need of more, has maintained her Dial up connection to the web and so I felt that it was time to take the plunge and go mobile.

I have a few thing to sort out this week I must get some extra medication. We have a delivery of Oxygen coming on Wednesday when they will read the meter on the machine and service it. So hopefully I will have a rebate cheque waiting when we come home, after spending all our extra cash on holiday.I have been using the oxygen most of the time, so with any luck it will be a good one.

We are hoping to be at Sussex for the weekend as I hope to attend the Eastbourne Airborne show that starts on Thursday and finishes Sunday I have been in the past and have got some good pictures of planes from it.Again as always, it will be dependant on me being able to get a parking space near what is happening, fingers crossed on that. I think that we will be able to see something if the weather is good.

My plans, apart from that, are flexible. The kids what to go to Brighton for a day out, I what to get some fish and chips, from a great shop on the sea front, that uses fresh fish bought from the fishing fleet in Hastings.Another thing that always figures highly is penny arcades.I don't doubt that I will be returning with many pieces of tat by the end of the holiday, won with numerous 2pence pieces.The sea beckons but I will not be in it this year. I will have to be content to look and hope for the day when I will be able to swim in it again.
I thought that I would finish the blog with some pictures, from the last  Eastbourne Airshow we attended.

Helicopters

Lancaster,Spitfire & Hurricane 

One of The Red Arrows

Nearly Time for the Holidays

Time is ticking on and it is just one more day before the school holiday for my children and they are restless with waiting. They have half a day to go then six weeks of fighting and quarrelling.No I am joking I hope as the thought of that sort of behaviour fills me with dread.

My wife has gone to work tonight hoping that she can sort out some holiday, when we can get away to the coast to see her family.Her family live in Hastings and as we didn't have a holiday last year due to me being too ill with the persistant infection I had. It is very important that we try to go this year.

With my health problems this is a bit of an production. There is all the equipment that I have to carry like wheelchair and nebuliser, inhalers and the various drugs that I take that will need to be ordered so I don't run out. The bag with extra set of clothes that I keep packed for any calls to transplant, all the information about the car should there be a breakdown.
My stick and portable oxygen bottles.This is all before we pack the normal stuff to go away.Then there is the notice that I will have to give to the Oxygen company three weeks in advance to ensure that a Oxygen concentrator is delivered to the address I am staying at for overnight use.This needs to be provided by my doctor who will have to send forms to the company before they can provide the oxygen.so I will have to get a appointment

Finally I will have to inform Harefields that I will be away and they have said that I needed I would have to call a ambulance to ensure I got to them in time should there be a offer of Lungs.
Just writing that all down has made me feel quite worn already. But as the weather is good and my breathing is as good as it gets, we must try. I thought I would include some pictures of holidays gone by to give you a picture of the area. 

Hastings

Brighton Peir

Seagull

Eastbourne