tisdag 16 oktober 2018

Chemo therapy, fourth cycle of eight

Another cycle nears its end and when this one is done I will be halfway through my chemotherapy.


This cycle has had its ups and downs just like the ones before just in its own way this time.
Started out with getting really tired the first 4 days, couldn't go to work on Monday and Tuesday, but after that the it got a little better and I was able to do my 50% the rest of that week.

One thing that I've noticed is that if I push myself to train, even for 10 minutes with slow tempo, I don't have to go to bed in the afternoons. It just feels counter productive to put on the running shoes or change into cycling gear when my body screams for the bed. But it has been worth it each time, tired in another way afterwards and more awake. Tired in body, awake in head instead of just tired.
So, no big training sessions while in a chemo-cycle but at least I do something.



Other than the training and the positive effects from that I haven't had as many anxiety attacks this cycle. Had a big one though and actually ended up crying for twenty minutes with no control of it. The 'normal' anxiety attacks I usually get just pass by and brings up tears but seldom last for more then a minute or two. This one made me cry for real, for the first time since I got the cancer news in January. I guess its part of the process, things starting to hit home. Not trying to focus on these things, just note down in my treatment diary that I had an anxiety attack and move on to other things like coding, training or just read a book.

Another big thing I guess is that I've started reading other peoples stories on twitter. I don't think that I can cope reading a longer post at the moment, but scrolling down twitter tags has made me able to process things in a different light. From when I got the news in January I've said that I don't want to know more then what the doctors tell me, I haven't googled my disease and I've kind of blocked out most of the outside world on this subject and just focused on getting better. But now, 10 months later, I think that I'm ready to read up a little more. Not going to google my cancer form, but read up on how other people are coping with their journey.

I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but here in Sweden, October has become the pink month. This means that the Swedish Cancer Society runs its breast cancer campaign and this includes a lot of companies doing cancer related advertisements. Hard to miss, and this year the campaign has really hit home and made me really emotional. Haven't really care during previous years but now, having a lot to thank cancer research for, I really wish everyone could donate money to cancer research instead of buying a cup of coffee. Or if you live in Sweden, just buy the ribbon!


So, almost halfway through the treatment. 

Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best! If you find this post interesting, please leave a comment or share on social media, not required but appreciated!

onsdag 3 oktober 2018

Installing a Hot Tub Pw-Spa Classic


In July we decided to buy a hot tub with a wood stove. After quite a lot of research we decided to buy a PW-SPA Classic that has a diameter of 180 cm.

2 weeks after we ordered it, the whole thing arrived together with a new greenhouse. First step was to remove our old greenhouse and assemble the new one on a new location in the backyard as we would be placing the hot tub where the old one used to be.

For starters, the ground was leveled and we used concrete slabs to build a level support for the tub.
As the tub is 180 cm in diameter and weighs in at around 200 kg, we had to ask a friend that owns a HUDDIG to move it for us.

And as both my wife and I are not used to doing things half-way only we also decided to build a decking around the hot tub.

Building the decking, photos to tell the story
Building the steps up to the deck

Close fit to the hot tub

Close fit to the hot tub
Connecting the stove to the hot tub

Adding some railings
Side that can be opened for maintenance access


PW-SPA stove chimney with home made DIY spark protection mesh


Chimney

The included chimney was around 2 meters long with rain protection and 3 large holes. I ended up adding some metal mesh for spark protection. (I saw that they sold a separate chimney top with spark protection for 80€, instead I just used material that I already had at home.)

Adding water


Heating time

When the tub is empty, it takes about 1 hour to fill up with enough water to start the stove (regular garden hose). About 1.5 - 2 hours to fill it up to full.. A little depending on how many people will be using it. If its just 2 persons, then you need more water.
The heating takes around 2-3 hours. So a total time of 3 hours to from empty to hot water in the tub. These are summer-time numbers, I'll update with winter-time numbers when we get some snow and below zero temperatures!

The lid

Not really happy about the lid. At first the dealer had misplaced the original lid so they ordered a new from Finland. 6 weeks later when it arrived it had hundreds of scratch marks on it. We complained to the dealer and after countless of mails back and forth they agreed to pay back 100€.... At least it's something. After looking closely at the tub I found similar marks on it as well, nothing that I would have noticed but it seems that the PW-SPA has some quality issues with its plastic components.

The drain

When emptying the tub, be sure to have a good surface that the water can hit as it comes with quite some force from the drain. I ended up placing some concrete slabs strategically to prevent the water from creating a hole in the ground. Also, remember to empty the stove by opening it as well. Not good to have old water standing still in there either, could build up bacteria. So empty both the tub and the stove.

Conclusions

We wanted a hot tub with external wooden stove. And we got it. Nothing wrong with the stove, but the dealers customer service was a real pain....
Really happy with the decking as well, a good decision. I think that just having the tub standing there by itself would have been strange.

Disclaimer
I bought this product myself and this is my opinion on them. I am in no way affiliated with the manufacturer of this product.

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