Hmmm! The good news is that my ALT reading was 42 so I had my chemotherapy yesterday. After the 5 hours of the usual chemotherapy they fitted the 24 hour device to administer the rest of the chemo through my PICC line. It was 6 pm by the time I left and I was the last person in the ward for the last hour. My nurse joked that she’d leave the keys with me so that I could lock up before going home.

At home I was fine for a while and I’m fine now. But I did experience really bad stomach pains last night, then diarrhoea during the night which seemed to resolve my tummy problems. My fingertips tingle slightly but only when they are cold and I have a slight sore throat, but these are expected side effects and certainly no problem.

However the device they fitted hasn’t worked so no drugs have gone into my system over the last 20 hours. I’m sitting here in the Cherrybrook cancer ward in Exeter RD&E waiting to find out what will happen next. It’s so frustrating having to drive to Exeter again spending hours in hospital waiting. The Xmas lights and decorations still sit in their boxes at home as I’m either too tired or too busy to hang them and Neil’s been working hard. But all I can do is wait here until Dr Toy decides what to do about the failed devices and go with the flow. She must be frustrated too.

I’ve just met a lovely chap called Keith next to me who has had exactly the same problem with his device. None of the staff know why these devices don’t work or even how they work.

In the end, the nurses disconnected them and Keith and I are having to return tomorrow. They will be set up with new medication and fitted again. These chemo meds cost a fortune so I hope the NHS can claim this back from the company supplying the devices.

But more than that, I hope it works tomorrow as I want my chemotherapy. At least I don’t have to sleep with it tonight although it didn’t really bother last night. I barely noticed the long tiny tube which came out of my arm then under the pillow to the device on the other side of the pillow. I could toss and turn as much as I liked.

It’s a 5” diameter doughnut shaped clear hard plastic device with the meds in a clear plastic bag inside. I can see the bag decrease in size as the meds are administered (or not which is how I realised it wasn’t working). During the day I keep it in a black bum bug around my waist under a floppy jumper, so that too was fine.

On my way home I popped in to see Wendy who’s daughter Sophie got married on Saturday. It was such a great wedding and we had a lovely post wedding catch up, so all in all I’m pretty fine.

Tomorrow is another day! Tingly fingers crossed!!