yet another landmark

I don't know; you wait ten years for a landmark to come along, and then you get three in the space of a couple of weeks!

Anyway, today - 23rd October 2024 - marks the tenth anniversary of my multiple myeloma diagnosis.  I can still remember the moment they told me, and by way of a really spooky coincidence my Seiko Kinetic watch, which hadn't skipped a second in the ten-and-a-half years I'd had it, stopped on that very morning!

I can remember the doctor coming to see me. We'd been speaking the day before as she was due to go on maternity leave the following week, and when she asked me whether I wanted to wait for my wife to arrive to give me the results of all the tests I'd had I kind of knew then it wasn't going to be good news.

So, I asked her to give it to me straight, which she did.  I had several cancerous lesions on my spine and would need a lumbar puncture along with an MRI brain scan as they suspected it was likely the cancer had spread there too. Thankfully they got this bit wrong!

It was then that I started to make notes, as the information was coming thick and fast about things like treatment, etc.  And then I was told I could go home until the following week, with strict instructions to rest and not take any risks with my fractured L3 vertebra.

I, of course, ignored this and went to watch my beloved Swansea City, then playing in the Premier League, as they beat Leicester 2-0.  Ironically, they went on to have their best season in over 40 years, eventually finishing 8th.  But alas I didn't get to see any more of them that season.

Anyway, ten whole years since that fateful day!

My cancer (unlike the Swans!) is now back but bizarrely, given I've refused treatment, is not progressing (just like the Swans!) as expected.  

My consultant told me around eighteen months ago that by now I'd likely be anaemic, suffering kidney failure and be terminally ill.  Well, I may be getting more and more fatigued and suffering from worsening bone pain but as far as dying is concerned… let's just say I'm not quite ready for that just yet!

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After all that joy, here's a lovely picture of a cabbage white butterfly, just, well, because!

And here's a video to watch from the stroll where I got this image, along with the leaf shot from Monday and a few other gems: