On it like a tramp on chips

The decision is made, I will be at Nottingham. I can't believe how different I feel to this time last week, It's like the whole stomach thing is just a bad memory, but pictures like this, from Danny's BNBF show, remind me that it was so bad that we had to do the obligatory "coach & pupil" photo in an unorthodox way as my tummy was so swollen. I am back in full show prep training and have had no adverse reactions at all, the bruise is going and the lump and pain have all but gone, go figure. So life is back to normal, I had Caden for the afternoon on Thursday and that was an incredible experience as usual. Martin is 3 weeks out and looks amazing, I'll see if I can get a pic of him on here soon!

Answers on a postcard please.....

So the latest news is that I woke up this morning to find that the lump had decreased massively and I was in no pain for the first time in weeks. Instead, where the lump was there is now a huge bruise. I'm guessing that whatever it was has bled internally to a point where the lump has nothing in it, I say guessing because I called the doctors and they couldn't explain it either! All I know is that I had my first day off from painkillers in a while and already I'm thinking that although my tummy is still badly swollen I have time to fix that, so maybe Nottingham is still a possibility. First though, now I'm well again, I have to focus on helping Martin Duckett get ready for the BNBF Britain on September 18th, updates on that to follow!

Protein shakes and Tramadol

Well life is getting somewhere near back to normal, sort of. As you can see from the hospital letter their best guess now is that it is scar tissue. They have given me Tramadol which I take before training and that gets me through my workouts, some meals have had to be replaced by protein shakes too. The lump is getting smaller and the pain less and of course I will stay positive, tomorrow I will see the Granchildren for the first time since I went in, Im really looking forward to that. Finally can I just say a huge thanks to everyone who has been so kind and supportive throughout all of this, with a special word for my son Steve who put me before anything else in his busy life to make sure that my hospital stay was as comfortable as possible. Years ago, as a joke, he put a note on his contact card on my laptop that I was "lucky to have him as a son". I've always kept that note on there because its absolutely true, I am blessed.

A week of my life completely lost!

So after being in hospital since Monday I am now being sent home, none the wiser, with no corrective work done and still in as much pain as when I got here. My body has been put through a bettery of tests yet still they don't know what's wrong despite a lump being visible on my lower abdomen and me being in constant pain. I will go to the gym tomorrow, duly drugged up on painkillers and just do some stretching and cardio, after that I will see how my body feels and I'll have the rest of the weekend to decide what to do from here with regard to competitions etc. It's a depressing time but I will remain positive and hope that they can still come up with a solution.

The best laid plans....

I had forgotten just how much I hate hospitals. In 2008 my 3 weeks of hell were mainly a blur as I was hooked up to a morphine pump the whole time and that takes away all the pain by putting you in a constantly spaced out state. This time however they won't give me a morphine pump as they say it's not as serious as before. Although from a medical point of view they are right, it is  very serious to me as it means that my competition plans for the rest of the year have been thrown out of the window. I have to just accept that and get on with life but it is incredibly disappointing. The latest news is that after nearly 48 hours they still don't know exactly what's wrong and I am currently awaiting a colonoscopy, which will be most uncomfortable to say the least!

The pleasure and the pain

Well yesterday Danny won the NPA Midlands Junior title. It was a great day, he was so happy and I am so proud of him, he thoroughly deserved it for all of his hard work. However, what he and nobody knew was that my tummy has been getting progressively worse but I kept it quiet as I didn't want my problems to affect his chances. Today however I saw the doctor, he confirmed that my old troubles have returned and to cut a long story short I am currently  blogging from a hospital bed. I'm not quite sure yet just how serious it is or where this leaves me in relation to the shows that I am currently preparing for. I will regularly update the blog with the latest news, after all I won't have anything else to do for the next few days!

Do it again

So tomorrow we will do it all over again with Danny as he tries to win the NPA show at Stratford on Avon. It's hard to improve in 2 weeks but a mixture of carb cycling, variable training and an extra days depletion has worked well for him and he looks even sharper than he did at the BNBF show. You never know who you will be up against of course but both he and I are very confident. I've had a busy week and not just bodybuilding wise. I've spent a lot of time with the kids, their kids and their friends and their kids! I must admit it makes me want to give up bodybuilding and have more children of my own but I don't think that it will happen. The highlight of my week was having Lilybelle for the night on Tuesday, here we are having morning cuddles, just after she had woken me up at 6.30 am!

And so it starts again....

Well after a few hectic 7 day weeks lately I'm pleased to say that this coming one will be a little bit more relaxed. That's not to say that it will be quiet though; tomorrow, as well as training, I have some serious coaching to do. Danny is fine and on course for his NPA show on August 14th but I have several people that are just starting to diet for various shows in October and November. Along with this I am now of course dieting myself in preparation for Nottingham in October. All things considered relaxation time will be at a premium but I'll have some this weekend when I go shopping to buy stuff for all my loved ones. Caden had his present yesterday when I got him a Captain America outfit, he now owns one of every outfit that was in the shop!

A cruel sport

Well after perfect preparation and total dedication Danny performed brilliantly yesterday but still did not place in the top 4. We won't know his exact placing for a day or two but I was genuinely surprised that he didn't place as his condition was immense as you can see from this picture. Bodybuilding can be cruel sometimes but Dan was very upbeat after, mainly because the quality of the opposition was amazing so he knew that he had been on stage with some of the best in his class from all over the country. In fact I have never been to a regional drug free show of an overall higher standard than yesterday. A big thank you to everyone in the team from both me and Danny. He must have enjoyed it as we are going to do it all over again at the NPA show in 2 weeks time!