Update - End of treatment Sunday 19th April '09

Jo finished her last treatment last Wednesday, 15th April, that was the largest dose of radiation that the human brain can take and left her somewhat dazed. Now we have to wait for 2 months to find out if it has worked. The treatment continues to work for another two weeks so she will feel increasingly tired and suffer the many small side effects that she has been experiencing before things start to settle down. Hopefully her speech will start to improve and she should be more steady on her feet.

Even though the daily trips to the Churchill were a pain, Jo says she found it a relief to get out of the house and to have someone different to talk to every day. She has lost her appetite and survives on weetabix, cornflakes and tomato sandwiches, and Bernie is not allowed to eat anything spicy within 500 yards of her because it makes her feel sick!!

A special thanks to all the drivers who took time off work and out of their day to take Jo to the Churchill every day.

This is Sarah Edwards typing for Bernie, I came over today and took Jo for a bit of retail therapy. Bernie said he didn't mind how much she spent, so we went straight down to M&S, where Jo bought a lovely green skirt and a beige top, and we had a good look around for bargains. Then we went food shopping in M&S and stocked Bernie's food supplies up for the week, including the wonderful blueberry puffs. Jo and I had a snooze in her summer house at the end of the garden, and I got sunburnt!! We had a good laugh about one thing and another, and I've caught her up on all the gossip.

The "team" of dog walkers are continuing to do a great job, and both Jo and Bernie are so grateful for their continued support. Now that the better weather is coming, Jo has been doing a bit of gardening, so if you're going to a garden centre she would love to join you. She finds it hard not being able to just jump in her car and go.

Date for the diary - Sunday 12th July (provisionally), we are hoping to organise a beer and blue grass festival in aid of Katherine House. What this space for further news......................

Jo's next appointment at the Churchill will be in approximately 2 months time. I will continue to make entries on this blog from time to time. Keep adding your comments to the blog as both Jo and I enjoy hearing from you.

Update 5 April

Jo is now in her 5 th & final week of her Radiotherapy treatment, the last weeks treatment will be particularly arduous as the the dose will be increased to a very high level, this will cause her extreme tiredness as well as nausea.

She will become more unsteady on her feet. She will then have to wait for two months before the give her an MRI to see if the treatment has been successful and stopped the Tumor from growing.

If it is successful she may expect another 12 -18 months.

last Tuesday she got her new wig it is blond and it is really good and makes her look more like her old self. The sunny weather has been a boon allowing her to indulge one of her passinons - gardening, she says that its totally absorbing and she can briefly forget all her worries for a while.

We are looking forward to Easter and Jamie coming home for a few days. This week has been particularly busy with Peter Wilson lining & insulting the summer house to make it cooler in the summer and warmer in winter he has toiled very hard and is doing a fantastic job, it may become a comfortable place for me and the dogs.

I have to congratulate Mary Street in the grand job she has made of organising the 6 weeks lifts for Jo's daily treatment which have run very smoothly not forgeting all the drivers who have given up their time to make it happen, if we had to use hospital transport she would be comming home at 4/5 pm. and not 1130 am as she has been doing.

Some of us think that her speech has been better this week, Ii hope we are right and that it contiues to get better.

I will post another update next Tuesday.