The pain in Spain

Summer of 2022 to early spring 2023 was tough at work. We had a system implementation and we were doing our day job and our system implementation at the same time. We worked 60 to 70 hours a week, worked weekends and evenings. Tough and unenjoyable.

I felt really tired.

It was great to get the implementation done, year end over and have the opportunity to take a holiday. I love to travel and have recently started to explore Spain and booked a week in Madrid for late Feb 23.

I loved it. Beautiful squares, with the locals chatting during the evening over beer or coffee. Kind people in cafes and bars who spoke English to me when I tried to order in dreadful Spanish.

Great food and wine, beautiful and interesting museums - I loved the Prado - and enjoyed learning more about Goya and other less well known Spanish artists. The power of Picasso's "Guernica" - at the Reina Sofia museum - is extraordinary.

I loved having a lie in with the indulgence of being able to read rather than having to rush to work.

After the demanding work schedule, I was, naturally, tired. I felt some energy return - but I was surprised how tired I felt. Despite the interest of Madrid, it was hard to raise my energy in the morning. Even after an early evening, a long lie in and 2 hours at the bullring, I felt a deep tiredness.

On day 5, I didn't have the energy to visit a museum. I didn't push myself and had a quiet day reading in the square, drinking coffee. But, I was surprised that after a lovely holiday I felt so tired.

On my last day, I felt a deep wearyness and I wished I could stay for another week.

It felt strange feeling so tired after a weeks holiday.

In retrospect, it is blindingly and embarrassingly obvious that deep inside me, unknowingly, the cancer was growing fast.