Life Update

[andrewducker]

Things seem to be a little better. Julie saw her consultant last week, and her white blood cells are up, although at 3.6 they’re still off the bottom of the normal range (4-10). Her haemoglobin is also up, although it’s only about 11.5 (normal range 12.6 - 17.7). We don’t know how her cancer levels are, because her doctor wanted to wait a few months from the initial diagnosis to give the drugs a chance to do their work before he started taking readings there. She’s still tired most of the time. She has good days, when she’s got a bit more energy, but I try not to get my hopes up, because those tend to be (a) a day here and there, not a general upswing, and (b) a good day doesn’t include enough energy for a fifteen minute walk to the park and back. But she manages that as well as she can, and it hasn’t stopped her being fully involved in the work we’re having done to the flat (tiny bathroom has been ripped out, kitchen is next). And we still have fun together, it’s just a little more sedentary than it has been. I’m doing alright myself. I had a series of counselling sessions that helped me to sort out my own anxiety and stress, at least down to manageable levels, and I’ve been enjoying being an indoor human for a bit. I see people a bit less, but I get to spend more time coding for fun (including the posting replacement app, now good enough that I’m using it to post this). Work’s actually been more stressful than home life, as I’ve been branching out into more management-type activities. Which is an interesting change, and less annoying than I thought it might be. I’d still make a _terrible_ project manager, but I can stick my nose into strategic direction pretty well :-> Part of that is leading to me being involved in organising a conference for the 600-odd IT staff at my work, including 10 minutes on stage, interviewing a few people. That’s going to be an interesting experience – I’ve given talks before, but never to more than about 60 people…

Comments

[beachlass]

I've been holding you and Julie in prayer, and will continue to do so. I'm so glad to hear that she is having good days, and that there are improvements. I hope and pray there will be more good news.

The big difference I find between speaking to 60 and 600 - is the lack of eye contact. I find that makes the room a little harder to read - so my strategy is to always assume everything is going terrificly well, and that they are hanging on my every word!