500 miles for a vulnerable soul !!

So what’s been happening in the last two months – lumps, pandemics, biopsies, MRI’s, half marathons so generally pretty quiet. The covid 19 has had the effect of my vulnerable soul being under house arrest by my wife – only allowed out for one hours exercise per day, the other hours are spent in the laundry or the garden😀 Being serious Ann my wife is a Junior Sister on the intensive unit at Hereford Hospital and has been a little busy – the rest of the brood have bad backs from the bowing and curtsying we have to do when she enters a room.

Over the last two months I have unfortunately developed a lump on my neck next to my piercing-my consultant ‘Sultry’ is unsure what it is but might be my partial thyroid having rotated, hopefully not another bloody cancer. So March and April has been filled with scans and biopsies-just waiting for definitive results, when taking the biopsy with a big f…-off needle they are having trouble getting enough cells as the lump is next to my carotid artery 😂😂 So fingers crossed.

Since my last blog I have reached the milestone of running 500 Miles since my laryngectomy in July, I have loved every minute(well nearly every one) – it has given me the drive and goals to get well. The last two events The Oulton Park Half and the Ady Watts Half have been two of the most memorable events so far, the Oulton because it was memories of my childhood watching motor racing and also my mum, sister and Gabs watched me run, and the Ady Watts because I ran with two people Stephen and Claire, just chatting and didn’t give a stuff about times.

I can truly say that my family apart, exercise and the people involved in my exercise have been one of the reasons I have recovered so quickly. The current lockdown has made me realise how much I miss the weekly park runs and chats with Jon and Scotty over coffee, the Hereford Triathlon Club weekly run session where people have treated me normally and made me feel comfortable. The lockdown has given us the blessing of being a family of 5 again and given the opportunity of going cycling with my eldest Josh – I had forgotten how it feels to be left behind on every ride😂

One of the most staggering effects of the lockdown is that I have become my youngest son Tom’s de facto teacher, which for those people who know me is one of the biggest jokes going. However wait one minute, it is working and all homework is done on time and there are no tantrums from me at all-who would have thought!!

To finish I thought I would just finish with a pro’s and con’s list for having a laryngectomy:

Pro’s

• Wifey lets me buy loads of stuff for running and cycling – because it helps😎🏃‍♂️🤪
• Can make people feel very uncomfortable(I obviously don’t as it’s not in my nature)😂😂😂
• Don’t get out of breath 🤐
• Don’t have to purchase a face mask😷
• Pretend to not be able to talk😎🗣
• Not able to smell mine or other peoples farts👌🙏
• Free prescriptions for life🏥
• Excused to go to bed at anytime due to fatigue😂

Con’s

• Can’t surf or swim with my kids🏄🏼🏄🏼‍♂️🏄🏼‍♀️
• No taste at all – miss favourite foods, Asparagus, marmite🌭🍺
• Am now a bloody vegetarian as can’t swallow meat🤬
• Can’t smell cooking, wife’s perfume👃🏼
• Can’t snot rocket or spit👃🏼
• Can’t breathe when doing high intensity exercise(zone 4)🚵🏼
• Takes me so long to eat, that my food goes cold😨😱
• Can’t eat burgers from McDonald’s only bloody fillet of fish🍔
• If I bend down to soon after eating, it all comes out🤮😂

Thanks for reading hope you all stay safe ❤️❤️