5 down, now 28 to go

One week has passed and we are getting into the swing of things with the amount of water drunk, the coordination of peeing and travel by public transport ... TMI, I know, but best you chaps are prepared.

Irene noted in the comments on the last post that she reckoned he would know the precise locations of all toilets on the journey - I think she is probably right!

 David is pleased to have two days off without having to spend 3 hours a day travelling! It's not the journeys - he spends most of the train trip each way watching downloaded episodes of Spooks - we have seen it before, but it is excellent so bears seeing again. I think it's the fact that the whole day is focused on the treatment, 

• prepping for it in the morning 
• one litre of water drunk before leaving home to ensure he is decently hydrated, 
• bowel prep to make sure it's empty, 
• food for the journey home [my job], 
• peeing ..., 
• getting him to the station [my job usually]) 
• peeing, 
• then the journey in with another pee stop at the station, 
• at the hospital
  
• peeing to completely empty the bladder,
• then more drinking to make sure the bladder is full enough to hold the small intestine away from the path of the radiation
• changing into the loose trousers they provide
• the treatment (10 minutes all up)
• peeing 
• changing into clothes again
  
• peeing
• the return journey
• bus to station
  
• peeing at the station
• train home
• peeing at Waikanae Station
• pick up from the station (my job)
• drive to Bruce and Gary's
• in the bath for 20 minutes 
• drink tea with B&G (my job)
  
• drive home (my job)
• prepare food (my job)
  

So far the treatment has had no noticeable physical effects. I am watching carefully though.

So three times a week (rather than 5 - to make it more manageable), we drive down to Bruce and Gary's so he can have the deep warm bath with epsom salts and bicarbonate of soda added - I thought it was salt rather than bicarb, but David checked ...

We have purchased bulk amounts of both so that I am not buying small pots at higher prices with considerable waste of plastic packaging.

And now for something completely different:

Today was a bread baking day - 6 loaves went into the fridge to prove overnight last night. Usually I bake them early in the morning, but this morning I forgot! How I missed them being in the fridge this morning, I don't know - I did get the chickpeas out that I had soaked yesterday, and I blitzed them along with fresh coriander, parsley, cumin, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, 7 garlic cloves, tahini to make hummus for David to take with him, plus enough for several more days and  plenty for falafel.

But I forgot the bread!

So after I had taken David to the station and then gone for my walk with Ann (with her in Stoke and me in Waikanae and chatting away on the phone with headphones), I decided I would bake the bread. I didn't look at the time until I had the oven heated up - doh! I didn't have time to bake it as I was meeting Jane off the train and needed to leave pretty much straight away! What a dilbrain!

So the unbaked loaves got left on the bench to continue proving in the warm, the oven was turned off, and off I went. After lunch, I went home. There was time enough to form the falafel and place them on the baking tray and put them in the fridge to wait, but not enough baking time was available for bread or falafel before David's train was due in; so the loaves and the falafel waited - and they waited until we came back from the bathing process.

Now however there are 6 yummy looking loaves of bread and fewer falafel than I cooked because a certain lovely husband has consumed a few for his dinner along with a serving of coleslaw and a serving of beetroot and carrot salad.

Now doesn't that look scrumptious?

Falafel baked are healthier than deep fried obviously. We could buy an air fryer, but we wouldn't get enough use out of it and they are not cheap! I think he may have eaten 6, but that is fine - they are very good for him.

Tomorrow we will have breakfast out with the guys - David's first breakfast since Sunday! Yay!! We have someone coming to visit in the afternoon, so I will be making cheese scones - double Yay!!