Back on the oramorph

Pads has been in quite a lot of pain today - particularly his throat. This is the chemo doing it's job of stripping out fast-growing cells, including the lining of the throat and gut. When codeine and paracetamol were not enough to deal with the pain, most acute when swallowing, the team switched to oral morphine instead. Morphine will make his itching worse, so piriton is also being given regularly. Those two drugs will combine to knock him out somewhat but that's what it takes to get through the next four-five days. At times like this, films and audio-books come into their own to distract and while away the hours: he's got the entire unabridged Lord of the Rings trilogy (about 48 hours) and the Count of Monte Cristo (about 45 hours).
It was really nice to see Craig Bellamy on the ward earlier. Pads had said that he did not feel like seeing him but when we got another reminder I decided to dive out and see if I could get his autograph for Ash, Craig was just right there so I welcomed him to Cardiff and he was quick to point out that he's Cardiff born and bred, adding that he's really appreciating being so close to the Children's Hospital - makes visits like this a lot easier to fit into his spare time.