Deacon's Diary

There's no place like.............

2009-11-14T20:38:00.004+01:00

Day spent in Frankfurt with my mum trying to think of Christmas gifts for the whole family! Had coffee and cake in a department store before visiting 'A Taste of Britain'. 'A Taste of Britain', as you might of guessed, is a shop in Frankfurt where ex-pats can find some of their favourite British goodies. It is only a small shop but on its shelves you can find such delights as Marmite, Walkers Crips, Cadbury's chocolate, HobNobs and, in the fridge and freezer, steak and kidney pies. OK you pay a premium, for example a pack of bacon rashers cost 7 euros, but for an occasional taste of back home it is fantastic!

In the afternoon we picked up Karen who has been granted parole for the night...two bags to go!

Going..........

2009-11-13T23:33:00.002+01:00

Just 3 bags of Chemo left now.................

Schweinegrippe Fever..............

2009-11-12T21:38:00.003+01:00

Working at both a large primary and secondary school means that I am often at risk of becoming ill, no not to may badly behaved students but to the presence of all sorts of nasty viruses etc. This risk is now heightened by the arrival of Swine Flu on German shores (must visit the German coast) and with rumours abound, my daughter and I had our vaccination today. It is of course very important given Karen's condition that we do not pass on this and any other virus to her. The hospital do not have the vaccine yet, however I was informed of a doctor who had the elusive vaccine in Frankfurt. It seemed I was not the only one who knew for as soon as we entered the surgery we were greeted with a wall of people all demanding to be vaccinated. I felt sorry for the receptionists who were finding hard to cope. At one stage the Doctor came out and had to shout at the assembled masses, it all seemed a long, long way from the serenity of our former surgery at the foot of the Chilterns! Still I am happy that it has been done and I can relax a little back at school now.

Karen doing as well as can be expected. She now only has 4 Chemo bags to go but is feeling a little sick and very tired. We hope that she may be allowed home for the night over the week-end.

Cards and Chemo

2009-11-11T22:47:00.004+01:00

Following on from moving the class around, today I introduced the yellow/red card tactic, a popular ploy in maintaining class discipline. Basically the first misdemeanor earns the child a yellow card and a second 'foul' means a red card is shown and parents are informed. Tough love I know but if the children keep a clean sheet then after a period of time they can choose a reward. Two yellows awarded today!

Karen got a call from the hospital to say that a bed was now available. So when I had finished school I returned home and then took her to the hospital. As soon as she arrived she had a blood test and then the first of 6 Chemo bags began to drip through. Mixed feelings as of course I am sad that Karen is back in hospital however I am also happy that at last the final treatment has begun. I just hope and pray that she does not feel to sick or that fever returns. She will be very tired I know as the two hourly eye drops have begun again.......

Be quiet!

2009-11-10T21:08:00.003+01:00

This morning was partly spent organising and moving my class around. On Karen's suggestion all the tables were put in lines and I hoped that may have solved my 'too much chat' problem - it didn't and so I may have to impose the ultimate solution that of the dreaded 'boy-girl, boy-girl' deployment. Other suggestions on a postcard or in the comment box please!
We have a weekly meeting with all teachers of the Primary School English section and today we met with the man from the Department of Children and Families responsible for the European Schools and a very nice man he was too. He was particularly understanding and supportive of Karen.

Karen telephoned the hospital today and was told that there is not a bed available for tomorrow, so it may be Thursday before she is admitted for her final treatment. She is getting very anxious, as am I, and as I write she has retired to bed early with a bad headache. Please keep praying...

Remember, Remember the 9th of November or maybe not!

2009-11-09T22:36:00.003+01:00

Nothing much to report although any Catholic (former Anglican) Blogger living in Germany worth his salt should have something to say on today of all days - what with the publishing from the Vatican of the Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans and the celebrations taking place here today of the fall of the Berlin Wall...................

I am afraid my major concern at the the moment is how to stop my class from chattering so much (me thinks the tables may be put in lines tomorrow!) and of course worrying about Karen who returns to hospital on Wednesday for her final bout of chemo. Sorry.

Lucky 7.............

2009-11-05T22:54:00.004+01:00

Karen's Lumbar Puncture took four attempts this morning before the drill was finally inserted into her bone. The first doctor could not get it in so another had to be called while the drill was still in Karen's bone! Karen was in excruciating pain for 55mins. Thankfully the second doctor was able to complete the procedure and extract the required marrow in 5 mins. Needless to say Karen is feeling very sore at the moment.

The good news is that the Professor who is looking after her says that her prognosis has now risen from poor, at the start of the treatment, to good. Apparently the type of Leukemia Karen has is very rare with only 6 reported cases worldwide! All six so far are survivors, who have not required Bone Marrow transplants and have been cured just by the use of Chemotherapy. Karen is going to be No.7.

All OK............

2009-11-03T22:36:00.002+01:00

Not a lot to report, with the usual round of school and planning. Karen keeping very busy catching up with things here at home, sometimes I think she is too busy and needs to take it easy - not that our two year old lets any one take it easy! At least she was able to have her blood test at our local hospital today instead of having to travel into Frankfurt. Lumbar Puncture still scheduled for Thursday.

Test and Trifle.........

2009-11-01T15:07:00.005+01:00

Karen back to hospital this morning for a blood test and to get her discharge letter. Results ok although she has to be careful not to cut herself over the next few days! She has to have a further blood test on Tuesday and then a Lumbar Puncture on Thursday. They are planning for her to return for her fourth and last bout of Chemo on November 1oth. I am little bit worried that her body will not have recovered enough after all the hammering it has been having lately, however I must trust that the Doctors know what they are doing......

Roast Lamb and Trifle for our All Saints Day lunch..................

Happy Halloween........

2009-10-31T19:55:00.004+01:00

I write this with a glass of Macon in my hand with my wife at my side sitting in front of a blazing log fire. We have had Pumpkin soup and Pumpkin Risotto for dinner and on the table are the carved squashes from which these delicious dishes have come. Earlier the children were making chocolate spiders and meringue ghosts and we all enjoyed a game of apple bobbing! I am sorry dear reader if you do not celebrate Halloween and think badly of a Christian family for doing so..however I suppose that is exactly the point we are Christians and with Christ and His Saints we have no fear of the powers of darkness, however much they try.....

Home.....

2009-10-30T21:09:00.003+01:00

Karen is now home. She will not be fully discharged until Sunday when she has to go back to the hospital for a blood test. She will probably be 'on leave' for two weeks in order for her body to recover and prepare itself for the last round of chemotherapy. Great to have her back!

No go...........

2009-10-29T19:43:00.004+01:00

Karen was not allowed home today which was upsetting for everybody. The doctors were not happy that she has only just recovered from fever and they want her to finish her course of intravenous antibiotics. Her infection rate is still quite high and her immune system is still not at a safe level. However these things can improve quite quickly during regeneration so we hope for better news tomorrow.

This afternoon I took Mirjam and Eloi to the small town of Ilbenstadt to buy our Pumpkins for Halloween on Saturday. I blogged about the place where we get them from last year. While we were there we paid a visit to the town's wonderful Basilica dedicated to St's Peter and Paul. I can't tell you much about the place as the guide is in German and I need time to try and translate it. I also need to find out about the saint whose shrine is in the sanctuary Gottfried II von Cappenberg. Suffice to say it is a beautiful building with a mixture of architectural styles from it seems Romanesque to the Baroque. When I find out more I shall dedicate a post to it. I was pleased to see an icon of Our Lady of the Sick to whom of course we pleaded to on Karen's behalf.

Much better.....

2009-10-28T17:55:00.003+01:00

The good news is that Karen's fever has now gone. She is looking and now feeling good although her drip stand rather resembles a Christmas tree as it has bottles of antibiotics, water and,when I was there, two bags of blood. Throughout her treatment Karen has had many blood transfusions and we are so grateful to all those people who give this life-saver so generously. We are hoping that if her blood levels and cell count is high enough tomorrow that she may be allowed home.

Before visiting the hospital today I dropped children and Grandma at a indoor play centre in Frankfurt. The play place is situated in the brand new 'My Zeil' shopping centre in the heart of Frankfurt. One of the local newspapers waged a sarcastic campaign to have the developers change the name, complaining that its name was Den-glish (German/English) however developers held to their convictions and didn't change it. The centre has over a 100 shops and is popular not only with shoppers but also it seems with photographers as whenever I visit there are always people taking pictures of its futuristic design.

Wafarin and Worry..

2009-10-26T23:19:00.002+01:00

Half term so it allowed me to visit the Doctors for a Blood Test. When I was 15 I had a Deep Vein Thrombosis which came back on a number of occasions. Since then I have been on long time Wafarin in order to keep my blood from clotting again. I am supposed to go for regular blood tests to make sure that my blood is not too thin or too thick, however appallingly given what has happened with Karen I haven't been for probably nearly a year!!! I get the results tomorrow I hope, and I also hope that my German is good enough for me to understand them!

Karen continues worryingly to have a high fever. Over the last few days it has been over 39c. They have taken blood and given Karen a CT scan but so far they can find no cause. She is on antibiotics through a drip which work for a while but then the fever returns. Due to the chemo she has no white blood cells at the moment so we just hope that her bone marrow starts to regenerate soon so her body can fight back.......

Mission Impossible?............

2009-10-25T13:09:00.004+01:00

"I would "confirm once more that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14), a duty and a mission which the widespread and profound changes in present-day society render ever more urgent. At stake is the eternal salvation of persons, the goal and the fulfilment of human history and the universe"

The full text of the Pope's message for World Mission Sunday can be found here.

Did I hear you correctly??

2009-10-23T23:20:00.004+02:00

Hurray its now half-term. I need it especially after some in my famous now Year 4 religion class today admitted that they really didn't think Jesus is the Son of God and that they only did their first Holy Communion for the party and the money!!

Karen's blood count probably now at is lowest, but she is ok although starving having run out of provisions - looks like a trip to the English shop tomorrow then!

Stop Polizei!.................

2009-10-22T23:09:00.003+02:00

Karen continues to do well. She had some Plasma today. She has arranged for a meeting between professors, doctors, me and herself to be held in the next few weeks so all options for her continuing treatment can be considered.

I was late leaving the hospital this afternoon. So late it seems that in order to get to my class in time I drove a little too fast and was caught in a speed trap by the Frankfurt Polizei! Unfortunately this misdemeanour will cost me 40 euros (the fine comes through the post) and maybe a point on my license, although the point will be perhaps a little difficult to process as I still hold a UK license. Very annoying, although of course if I had paid a little more attention to the speedometer....................

Transfusion, Triangles and Tradition.......

2009-10-21T22:24:00.003+02:00

Karen yesterday needed a Blood Transfusion which took nearly 1o hours to go through. She is feeling ok however, but is missing the children and being here at home so much. Hopefully the blood count will begin to rise over the week-end and then perhaps she may be out of hospital for a week or so sometime next week.

In the meantime she continues to work hard at planning lessons and marking books for her class. This often takes a lot out of her but she is determined to keep hold of the reins! I just hope she is able to pick up the pieces from me...what was it today oh yes scalene, equilateral triangles.....oh dear such a long time ago. Thank goodness for mobile phones so I can phone her up when I get stuck. Karen has a webcam too so soon perhaps have a live link to her hospital bed!

Interesting news of course regarding the announcement regarding Anglicans and Rome. I am watching developments closely. It seems as if men who are already married will be able to go forward for ordination..if this is the case then Deacon David and myself may have the possibility of becoming priests??.....watch this space!

Fall...........

2009-10-18T22:13:00.004+02:00

Instead of Mass today went for a Autumn morning walk with our two children. Maybe when I can think things through I can explain why I didn't go....Our church today was the majestic trees shedding their golden and red leaves, inhabited by hawks of different kinds framed by their blue sky playground...wonderful.

Went to see Karen this afternoon. All well although this evening she sadly reported that a 50 year old man in her ward had died.

Back in..........

2009-10-17T23:39:00.002+02:00

Karen's blood count going down as usual, so she is back in hospital. She is feeling good, although was a little sick after her test drug this morning. Her new roommate is nice but apparently snores!

Bejeweled

2009-10-16T23:16:00.002+02:00

Karen allowed home once again. Probably last time for 10 or so days however as the Bone Marrow will soon start to regenerate. I am sorry if I don't seem to be blogging about much else, I suppose Cancer is 'all consuming' in many ways.

Still one good diversion tactic for us both has been the addiction to the Facebook game 'Bejeweled Blitz'. Would you believe we have both been sitting here in the living room playing it for hours on our respective laptops - how sad is that! Still if you are on Facebook and haven't played it, give it a try - I promise you will be hooked. While you are there don't forget to add me as a friend!

Escape...........

2009-10-15T21:37:00.002+02:00

Better news in that Karen's isolation has been lifted as the chances of getting VRE are less than 5%. They can't be too worried as she is currently sitting on the sofa opposite having been allowed out for the evening :)

More worry...........

2009-10-14T20:43:00.002+02:00

Karen now in Isolation until Monday. The lady who had to be resuscitated yesterday was suffering with syptoms of Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE). VRE are a type of bacteria called enterococci that have developed resistance to many antibiotics, especially vancomycin. Enterococci bacteria live in our intestines and on our skin, usually without causing problems however they become a problem when they cause infection. These infections can occur anywhere in the body including the intestines, the urinary tract, and wounds. For some people, especially those who are weak or ill or like Karen with little or no immune system these infections can become serious. VRE infections are more difficult to treat than other infections with enterococci because fewer antibiotics are effective against the bacteria.
Sorry for the medical lesson but as you can imagine we are very concerned and just pray and hope that Karen does not become infected.

A difficult day........

2009-10-13T20:12:00.003+02:00

Another busy Tuesday at school today. Literacy and Maths all morning followed by Religion all afternoon. Told my religion class that if they didn't keep quiet they would spend the whole lesson writing lines!

Karen's ECG now put off until tomorrow. Karen's roomate had to be resuscitated in front of her this afternoon. She has now recovered but please pray for her too.

Returned home to find that our Landlady's beloved Rottweiler died this morning. Since the. death of her husband, her dog 'Anton' has been her constant companion. She is intending to get a chocolate coloured Labrador in the near future and has said that Mirjam can take him/her for walks....not quite sure about that!

Off now to plan for tomorrow's classes...

Consolidation III

2009-10-12T21:39:00.003+02:00

Back again - sorry. One excuse being a few weeks ago I skillfully spilt a glass of red wine over our laptop which I'm afraid killed it! It did revive a few days ago but alas it is no more again...
Another excuse is that I have not had much spare time what with being virtually full-time teaching at school and of course back and forth to the hospital in order to see Karen.

Karen has just finished her third Consolidation Chemotherapy. As I write she is home (marking homework!) on parole for the evening. She returns to hospital tomorrow for an ECG and also to start the next round of her Test Drug. She may be allowed home again for a few nights before returning back to hospital while her blood counts drops and then rises again after the Bone Marrow Regeneration.

She remains in good spirits and keeps positive although she and us all often have bad days.....

The end (at least of the Chemotherapy) is in sight as next month will see Karen have her last batch of Chemo. Then we will have 3 anxious months as the Doctors say if the Cancer is to return it will be during the first 3 months following the end of final Consolidation Chemotherapy.

I will try and keep the Blog from now on a little more up to date. Please continue to keep Karen and our family in your prayers.