The Changing of the Guards…

at Pirin Shestniaset  (Pirin 16…where I live)

So here I was, starting to feel a little nervous about Jillian’s impending departure and wondering if I could just manage on my own here while I  sorted out getting myself and Gina back to Australia, for this is the decision I had made.

Unbeknown to myself there were plans afoot that should have involved me but, for some reason, my family made the decision to exclude me from their ideas. Anyway, Tony blew that out of the water when he forwarded an email that certainly was not for my eyes and I then spat my dummy and insisted that anything that was being planned for me, was to include me.  Now, it was all good anyway and yesterday another of my sisters, Marie, arrived from Australia to take up the care duties of this broken down old soul.

So ‘Cyclone Jillian’ made her departure back to Australia this morning and the ‘quietly determined, don’t argue with me Marie Mercer’  (all 5ft of her) has stepped in to fill the breach.

I will never be able to thank Jillian for all she has done for me. I told her that this morning and really, there just isn’t.  She has certainly aided my recovery and made a huge difference to my mental state. She has done so much work around the place that should I actually be fit by Spring, getting the summer garden in won’t be too much of a chore, and she’s finished off dozens a ‘things’ around the house that I won’t have to worry about any more…she’s a bleedin’ star !!  And it’s been fun having her here, probably more fun for me than her, but fun none the less.

As I write this, she’s in a plane winging her way back to her real life, her dog and her home…and I suspect she’ll be glad to put her feet up for a few days before she gets back to work.

And working quietly around the place now, Marie is picking up where Jillian left off, and it is wonderful to have her here as well.  I guess I really don’t want to face this alone, and my sisters have made things just that big bit better.

To things bloody…I spoke with my doctor yesterday and he believes the reason my last result were so rubbish is because I had a couple of infections and was fighting them off instead to working to rebuild my immune system. Problem I have is every opportunistic little infection like thrush, herpes or urinary tract infections becomes a BIG problem for my system.  When I had my last blood test, I had the bloody lot….riddled I was !! and that would not help my white count.

So, this week I’m spending my time and Marie’s energy trying to build myself up again…mind you, I do have something nasty growing in my right nostril, but I’m sure I can beat that into submission before I have another test.  One of my brothers partners, Marilu, has sent me a blood tonic, which I’m getting stuck into and I’m jumping on any infections that try and poke their heads over the parapet, hopefully before they get established.  I even have a little pink in my lower eyelids, which is already an improvement on the last few weeks. With any luck, by Monday or Tuesday it will be time to have another crack at my blood

And look  …

I’m clearly not dead yet…and there’s even a little life in those eyes of mine