Life's a beach

Our Caribbean holiday seems such a long time ago. I felt we were due another break but we also wanted some "normal" time at home, so we settled on a long weekend. Our friends Alf and Esther had invited us for a weekend's sailing on their boat in Mallorca, so we added a few days on the beach for Oakley - and had a wonderful time! It was just the tonic we needed - time spent with nothing to do but enjoy the wonderful scenery, the fantastic weather and the great company.

The boat turned out to be a 58 foot classic yacht. For the non-sailors amongst you, 58 means huge (nearly double the size of our previous vessel) and classic means all wood and brass - a beautifully restored 46 year old. I thought it was stunning, Quent looked like a kid in a sweet shop and Oakley, of course, took it all for granted. The boat, that is - not the company. His head was turned by Esther and he had bags of fun and loads of cuddles.


The sweet shop
Oakley at the helm

Shot by Oakley

Shot by Oakley!

Since we have been back, Oakley has started school and seems to be enjoying it. This evening, I told him it was school tomorrow and he jumped up and down shouting "Yippee. Big school". It won't last.

We still have over three weeks before our next trip north (18th October is the scan date). All being well, I probably won't post much until then as we won't have any medical news - or any holidays to brag about ;o))

For the fainthearted.

Suddenly, everyone seems to be clambering for me to put pictures of Oakley on the blog. “Cuter than a thrushed tongue” seems to be the latest compliment to pay a toddler. So, for the squeamish amongst you, here is the ultimate U-certificate picture. It’s just a shame you can’t see how beautifully I have sewn on the name tags.

D-day is 20th September, so we are having a long weekend in Mallorca to ensure he arrives at his new school with a decent tan and a few holiday tales for the girls.

(Quent, by the way, is doing well. Swollen-elbowed and tired, but as cheeky, chirpy and gorgeous as ever.)

No 'arm done

I had a major panic on Sunday evening, when I saw Quent's right elbow. It had looked a little swollen a day or so after leaving Christie's, but now there was a huge lump. Cancer patients don't like lumps. Well, their wives don't anyway. Quent seemed sure it was nothing to worry about - but he was saying that about his primary, so I knew to ignore his opinion.

I took the above pictures (right and left elbow, respectively) and emailed them to Prof Hawkins and Dr Savage. They both responded with their usual speed and yesterday we were back in Charing Cross having it checked out.

They did an X-ray, an ultrasound scan (to check for links to the cancer) and some whacky blood tests (to see if the interleukin had triggered some sort of auto-immune response, such as arthritis). The results say it is olecranon bursitis (which is like house maid's knee but on your elbow). To quote Dr Savage, "hopefully with rest, the swelling/fluid will settle down on its own". Quent is unfamiliar with this technical term but thinks it must be short for restaurant.