Bolton Abbey and Chemo Round 6 - The Final Session

Over the weekend we wanted to take the boys out and as it was a nice day we decided to take them to Bolton Abbey. We thought that after our trip out to Pendle the week before that Oscar and Sidney would enjoy a walk along the river and around the ruins of the abbey. We took a picnic with us and drove over to Skipton. We had lunch when we arrived and had a look around the shop before walking along the river. The area around Bolton Abbey is really beautiful and the kids enjoyed throwing stones into the river. Oscar wanted to cross the river via the stepping stones and he made it half way across before he struggled to reach the next stone and I had to rescue him! We then walked along the river and the boys enjoyed the obstacles on the "welly walk". We took our time walking and then crossed over the river and had an ice cream before making our way back to the abbey and having a wander around the ruins. It was a really good day out and all the family enjoyed the trip out. We will definitely go back and we found a campsite near by so thought we would go back to camp next year. On Monday the boys were both in school full time and I went to work again. I enjoy work and really appreciate being back as I think I was getting a bit crazy staying at home! Going to work gets me out and about and I get to see people as well. At work I managed to get some work that I could take home with me and this gives me something to focus on for the next couple of months. I'm not due in work for the rest of the week as it is my last chemotherapy session this week. This is a major milestone as its the end of the major treatment. I will still have the trial drug until the end of January but this week is the last time I will be spending all day at Rosemere. I went to see my oncologist and we went through the symptoms that I had experienced since my last chemotherapy. I have had numb fingers and been a little dizzy and sometimes I lose focus. All these have been new symptoms so we spent a bit of time discussing them. Dr Mitchell said it may be that I am anaemic or that I need vitamin B12 so they asked me to do a blood test and they would check all my levels. They also tested my blood pressure which is on the low side, this isn't a problem as they would be more concerned if it was too high. We had a good chat with the nurse as well. Claire is really pleased with my progress and is happy that I have done so well and that I am able to go back to work. She encourages me and this motivates me in my recovery. As it is my last chemo session on Wednesday, we decided to celebrate with a meal out on Tuesday evening. We went to our local indian, Shampan, and enjoyed a meal, just the two of us. I couldn't quite finish my meal but gave it a good go and enjoyed what I could manage. On Wednesday we went to Rosemere for my final full session. The bloods had come back and they couldn't have been any better. They showed I had enough B12 and that I wasn't anaemic and all other results were good. They had also screened for bowel cancer and this had come back negative. We were good to go for my last session so I was hooked up and given my treatment, another milestone passed.