CMC at the Coast

We were happy to receive Pat today.  She used to visit Creel HQ regularly, but it was her first visit for a few years.  She is on a week’s release from Perth; she was very perky. It was good to catch up with the news.  She is La Doyenne of the crossword world. 
 
I went in past to see Davie today.  Other than struggling through Covid (he still has a very chesty cough) he said he felt a bit off the beat the day after I last saw him.  He was examined at home.  He felt his left hand shaking and thought it was the cold.  The left side of his face became frozen, as well as his top lip.  He was admitted to hospital in Kirkwall.  He was treated and staff were very concerned about him.  He had sepsis.  Air ambulance down to Aberdeen where he was retained and treated for 8 days.  He said his whole spine has now collapsed (he has bone cancer) and he has lost six inches in height.  He has two other ‘bugs’.  He is struggling with pain from his liver and kidneys.  The chemotherapy he is getting is not being very effective, so a new type has been sourced.  The downside is, that although he’s obviously back home, is that he’d have to fly down to Aberdeen every week for treatment.  He feels it would be just too exhausting.
 
I wish you could all meet him.  All of the above was related in a totally non self-pitying way.  To say I felt humbled (yet again) after visiting him must be the understatement of the century.
 
When I left, he requested I take some of CMC’s special cake next visit.