Transfer to Our New Blog

In view of the previous post we are abandoning this blog and starting a new one with the previous post as a starter.

The new blog is called 'An Unknown Mass on my Kidney' and the address is:

www.anunknownmassonmykidney.blogspot.com

I will be starting this new blog with the last posting on here.

What a week this has been!

Thursday 26 January 2017

8 more sleeps and we will be on our way to Australia. We have booked our Campervan - Booked a powered site at a campsite for our first two nights - Bridge climb booked and paid - Lounge at Heathrow booked and paid - A$2,000 in cash ready for the trip. We are just about ready to go and our families in Australia have arranged time off work and also made plans to make our trip unforgettable. Clothes are out on the spare bed ready for packing at the weekend. All in all, we are pleased with our preparation and think we've got everything covered. Australia Here We Come!

Sandra is going to Potters today with a group of friend from our Bowls Club to see the Ladies Singles World Bowls Championship.

I'm planning a lazy day pottering about after I have been to North Hykeham for a routine ultrasound scan of my bladder - no big deal.

Scan completed and the lady operating the scanner informs me that she has discovered an 'unknown mass' around my right kidney! She suggests that I make an immediate appointment with my GP and she will send her the results of the scan. Within an hour I have had a phone conversation with my GP and 30 minutes later I have an appointment to see a consultant at the renal/urology clinic at Lincoln General Hospital. Things have moved pretty quickly and I'm trying to make sense of it all but all the time knowing that we are looking at a possible cancer on my kidney. I'm wondering how I'm going to tell Sandra when she rings me and says, "How did the scan go?"  What do I say?  I couldn't lie so I told her what had been happening all morning and that our trip to Australia was looking doubtful.  Fortunately she was with some very good friends who were very supportive and looked after her.

After Sandra arrived home we decided not to cancel our trip until we were more certain and decided to wait until after the consultation on Monday when we would know more.

Our Campervan

We booked our campervan months ago but we only booked our first campsite today.
The campervan is a Jade High Top and should be just fine for us both.
We are picking up the campervan on 15th Feb and we have booked two nights at East's Riverside Holiday Park at Batemans Bay.
(https://www.eastsbatemansbay.com.au/). We think by staying two nights it will give us a chance to find out how everything works and the best way to book our next stop etc.
Getting quite excited now - We fly out from Heathrow two weeks tomorrow!

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

 Yesterday I booked my Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. ( www.bridgeclimb.com)  I was considering not doing it because of the cost but I guess this will be my one and only visit to Australia and it is a pretty unique experience.

I'm really looking forward to it and you can read all about it here on 8th/9th February.

24 Sleeps to Take-Off

9th January 2017

Sandra and I celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary 2 days ago.  To mark this occasion we are going to Australia next month and we would like to share it with you all.

We are flying with Qatar Airways to Sydney via Doha.  We bought the tickets in June and since then time has been rushing forward like an express train. We think we've thought of everything but you always have that little niggle in the back of your mind. Today I bought our travel insurance - A lot more expensive than it used to be now that we are both over 70 (I know Sandra doesn't want to admit to it but her passport doesn't lie!)

As things progress we will be adding to this blog and hope you will like it.