Haven't updated here for a while so...
Dad has been very settled at RHC and enjoys the life.
There are many trips and treats organised and Dad was in a group that went to see War Horse and then invited up on stage and behind the scenes. He absolutely loved the play and the opportunity to get a look at the horse and other workings.
He's the In-Pensioner to the far right on the picture on this page - can't shift pictures on the ipad
http://www.chelsea-pensioners.co.uk/That's the good stuff out of the way...
Last week he was admitted to the infirmary for a few days having been under the weather for a few months. He'd shrugged it off as being the weather and ' I have good days and bad days' and he'd also recently lost one of his closer cousins so a sense of being down was understandable but nonetheless he was less than his normal self.
He was due to come up to us yesterday on the train and was keen to get out of the infirmary in time to do so. I got a call on Wednesday to say that was going to be ok and he'd be up as planned.
'I'm fine' says he, 'just needed a rest'
So, when I mentioned in conversation to wife that my Deepstack ticket was either going to have to be used this weekend or in July and she said ' play today then' I went for it.
Lucy was deputed to collect Dad from the station and I set off for DTD.
Rang home at the break and wife tells me that he looked terrible when he arrived and that Lucy had had to stop the car to let him be sick on the way from the station.
My head was not fully on the poker for the next couple of hours but by the time I busted it was too late to get home to see him before bedtime and I couldn't find the energy to leave so I stuck around on a friendly cash table (they were friendly to me 'cos I was a donator obv)
So this morning, we waved off my eldest and the four grandchildren and Dad then told us that the ultrasound scan had revealed a growth in his liver. He'll have a full scan next week to check if the cancer has spread anywhere else and then a proper consultation to consider treatment options.
Having had major heart surgery three years ago he's not keen on more operations but will obviously wait to hear the words from the consultants.
I'm numb at the moment, I feel guilty that I wasn't there last night for him and relieved that my tournament ended early and i can spend Sunday with him (Gordon Goodall is still a dirty fish). My head wasn't there at all yesterday and on every level I wish I had stuck with my original plan to not play this weekend.
The RHC is absolutely the best place Dad could be right now. He will get top quality care and his group of comrades will support him. I wish I lived closer, but it's only around 2hrs 40 on the train from Darlington to Kings Cross.
My sister is due to be over from Canada in May but may well make an earlier trip depending on the prognosis. She's a retired health professional and will no doubt have a list of the right questions when we speak to her later today.
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