Phil's Boring Blog

GroomNews Christmas 2019 – A Rollercoaster of a year! December 13, 2019

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Last year we wrote about some of the surprises life had thrown our way. This year the surprises have continued and it’s been a real rollercoaster ride of ups and downs…

⬆️ Hip hip hooray for Sue’s new hip! Yes, it’s corny but never mind: she had the op in February and it was as if she’d been given a new lease of life, both legs the same length at last and free from pain. We celebrated by buying new bikes and began cycling up and down the towpaths, discovered other local cycle routes and even began to play tennis again…

⬇️ Then suddenly in the summer Sue’s back objected and a protracted episode — about 4 months! — of sciatica kicked in: the pain and discomfort was worse than ever! She pushed on through, kept on swimming and happily that episode is now over: thank you for all your prayers and encouragement.

⬆️ Having kept the swimming going, Sue decided to go for it and entered this year’s Aspire Channel Swim: thanks to your support, as we write she’s at No.7 on the national leaderboard having raised over £1,300 and swum more than 80 miles!

⬅️ This is Sue’s Aspire Channel Swim page on JustGiving – there’s still time to sponsor her if you’d like to show your support!

⬆️ Sue is now a member of Salisbury Cathedral Chapter. No, I don’t really know what that means either: you’ll have to ask her to explain!

⬆️ Phil’s Dad is still with us, battling on with the support of friends and family, most of all from Phil’s Mum. Amazingly, the stomach cancer hasn’t spread and the meds he’s on seem to be keeping his pain levels under control.

⬇️ Various trips to hospital for Phil’s Dad as other health issues have arisen.

⬆️ Phil survived the restructuring of Canal & River Trust and now has a much bigger fundraising region, Wales & South West. Look out for members of his team on a waterway near you, stop for a friendly chat — even better, he says: sign up and become a Friend!

⬇️ Sadly it’s been a steady downhill slide for Sue’s Mum as she becomes increasingly lost in dementia, plus hospital trips for her too.

⬆️ Phil passed his driving test in March, which means we can now share the driving when visiting friends & family.

⬆️ Discovering Sidmouth

No doubt about it, one of the best ups in our rollercoaster ride was discovering Sidmouth, first taking a short break there by ourselves, then another break with Alison, Sue’s sister. The people were friendly, the weather was kind and both Sue and Alison went swimming in the sea. We also fitted in a cruise along the Jurassic Coast: highly recommended!

⬅️ Here’s Almost on the K&A during this year’s summer holiday.

Watch this space: she’s about to grow longer in 2020!

All in all it’s been another interesting year with the various ups and downs, but we’ve been aware of many people praying for us through the rough patches: if you’re one of those people, thank you – we’d be grateful for your continued prayers, especially for our parents with the ongoing challenges they’re facing.

As always, this comes to you with our love, prayers and very best wishes for Christmas and the year ahead,