I'm back in Oxford as per usual on a Friday. Mum is having an operation on Monday to insert a Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG). That's a feeding tube to you and me. She can't wait! She's actually counting down how many more meals she has to get through before she can be fed through the tube! She is so incredibly brave. She has been forcing herself to eat, to keep her going, for probably 3 years now. But she hasn't enjoyed it and now that she is finding it harder to swallow the Doctors think this step is necessary. I think it is quite common in people with her condition (that's Multi System Atrophy in case you weren't sure).

It's apparently quite a routine procedure but obviously it is a little worrying because she is quite frail. Just recently she seems to have lost movement in her left arm and this is causing her quite some pain, in the shoulder and the wrist. It must be hurting for her to even mention it: she never complains otherwise. She gamely takes an array of pain killers but admits they don't seem to make any difference.

Throughout all of this somehow she remains positive and even cheerful. I wouldn't say she is enjoying life, but she can still find pleasure and enjoyment in it. She still loves watching cricket and during the last test, when Freddy was whacking the ball to the boundary, I could hear her murmur with delight at the most magnificent shots. I hope I never forget this.