Well now, that was a long silent spell, wasn't it? Perhaps I should give my excuses along with my apologies?
We left Egypt in the March of last year (2019) with heavy hearts, as we knew, even then, that we might not get back for quite some time. My mother's physical abilities were waning with the passing of every week, and we knew that she would need more and more help to live independently. Who else could help her but her own family? The vast majority of us only ever get one mother!
Added to that were my own health problems; the four year cough being uppermost in my mind. After eventually getting to see a doctor and persuading her that it needed some proper investigation, I had another chest x-ray. Nothing untoward was seen, except that the sharp-eyed chest consultant noticed something, on the very edge of the picture, which he wasn't happy about! He referred me to someone else who, after scans of one sort and another, told me that it was "inconceivable" that the growth on my left kidney was not cancerous. That sort of announcement makes you sit up, I can tell you!
Cutting a long story short, and after at least 1000 more visits to various clinics at several hospitals, I was given a "Partial Nephrectomy" (some of my kidney chopped out) at the wonderful Freeman Hospital in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in November. (Four days after my mother's funeral, so I wasn't at my best!)
Mam had been ready to go, and was confined to bed for eight days before she finally did. Between us, we managed to be with her all the time until she slipped into unconsciousness in her own bed, and took her final breath at 11.45 at night. Our two girls were on their way to let Freda and I get some sleep when mam drifted away, and missed her by about ten minutes. Mind you, they brushed her hair and made her look presentable after the emergency nurses had been and done what they needed to do. Of course everyone was in a state of deep sadness at her dying, but we all knew it was inevitable. God blessed her in many ways in those last few days.
Back to my own problems again; I've been under four consultants at three hospitals all through the summer! Some things have been interconnected, like the four year cough and the over production of calcium which was found and retrospectively blamed for the kidney stone which I had in Aswan the year before, and possibly (if I remember correctly) for the onset of the cancer in the other kidney, too. Anyway, we've eventually managed to escape to Luxor for a few weeks in between hospital appointments, and are here now at "Our Luxor" (cleaning, as usual!!!).
Mind you, the journey here wasn't without problems either! After late boarding at London's Heathrow Terminal 2, we had to sit on the plane on the Tarmac for two hours, whilst a "technical fault" was supposedly being seen to. Eventually, we were told that a replacement part had to be sent from Cairo and that we would spend the night in the Heathrow Holiday Inn before finally departing the next day. Oh joy! It's not so bad for us (even though we had to forfeit our first night at the Winter Palace) as we are here for quite some time, but there were other passengers who only had a week in Egypt and were losing a day of their holiday. Obviously, they weren't very happy!
But it's nearing bedtime here in the Land of the Pharaohs, so I'll get back to you in the next few days with more news about our Egyptian problems, and some of the many changes here since we left. Ten months is a long time in Paradise! TTFN.
We left Egypt in the March of last year (2019) with heavy hearts, as we knew, even then, that we might not get back for quite some time. My mother's physical abilities were waning with the passing of every week, and we knew that she would need more and more help to live independently. Who else could help her but her own family? The vast majority of us only ever get one mother!
Added to that were my own health problems; the four year cough being uppermost in my mind. After eventually getting to see a doctor and persuading her that it needed some proper investigation, I had another chest x-ray. Nothing untoward was seen, except that the sharp-eyed chest consultant noticed something, on the very edge of the picture, which he wasn't happy about! He referred me to someone else who, after scans of one sort and another, told me that it was "inconceivable" that the growth on my left kidney was not cancerous. That sort of announcement makes you sit up, I can tell you!
Cutting a long story short, and after at least 1000 more visits to various clinics at several hospitals, I was given a "Partial Nephrectomy" (some of my kidney chopped out) at the wonderful Freeman Hospital in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in November. (Four days after my mother's funeral, so I wasn't at my best!)
Mam had been ready to go, and was confined to bed for eight days before she finally did. Between us, we managed to be with her all the time until she slipped into unconsciousness in her own bed, and took her final breath at 11.45 at night. Our two girls were on their way to let Freda and I get some sleep when mam drifted away, and missed her by about ten minutes. Mind you, they brushed her hair and made her look presentable after the emergency nurses had been and done what they needed to do. Of course everyone was in a state of deep sadness at her dying, but we all knew it was inevitable. God blessed her in many ways in those last few days.
Back to my own problems again; I've been under four consultants at three hospitals all through the summer! Some things have been interconnected, like the four year cough and the over production of calcium which was found and retrospectively blamed for the kidney stone which I had in Aswan the year before, and possibly (if I remember correctly) for the onset of the cancer in the other kidney, too. Anyway, we've eventually managed to escape to Luxor for a few weeks in between hospital appointments, and are here now at "Our Luxor" (cleaning, as usual!!!).
Mind you, the journey here wasn't without problems either! After late boarding at London's Heathrow Terminal 2, we had to sit on the plane on the Tarmac for two hours, whilst a "technical fault" was supposedly being seen to. Eventually, we were told that a replacement part had to be sent from Cairo and that we would spend the night in the Heathrow Holiday Inn before finally departing the next day. Oh joy! It's not so bad for us (even though we had to forfeit our first night at the Winter Palace) as we are here for quite some time, but there were other passengers who only had a week in Egypt and were losing a day of their holiday. Obviously, they weren't very happy!
But it's nearing bedtime here in the Land of the Pharaohs, so I'll get back to you in the next few days with more news about our Egyptian problems, and some of the many changes here since we left. Ten months is a long time in Paradise! TTFN.
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