Every day is a blessing

Well we've made it as far as Howth marina, Dublin. I have returned home for a few days to rest and attend to some medical issues. There's a problem with the boat; the foresail roller reefing system has jammed up, making us unable to continue until this is resolved.

Returning to Drogheda to take "Stoney B" to Howth

Leaving Drogheda

We returned to Drogheda today, Saturday 5th July and pumped up the new bigger dinghy and lowered it down the 20ft vertical ladder. Brendan went down first and I passed the gear down, then I took Tobin and lowered him down and boarded myself.

B&M bargain store SailforCancer day

B&M bargain store, Strand Road, Derry, proved its weight in gold as Emmet the manager gave me a couple of days collecting for Macmillan sailforcancer event. It took a while, but Emmet kept his word and proved he was a true gentleman, plus he donated a £20 gift voucher for the Ritz raffle.

Every day is precious

Every day is precious. The thought of death does not frighten me, but the thought of lying helpless and incapacitated in the final chapter seems so harsh. The painstaking suffering for my loved ones to endure, a swift ending would be a noble departure from this world if you had a choice.

Last Tuesday 17th June I was put clearly in the picture when I attended an appointment up in the City hospital cancer care unit with Russell Houston a leading oncologist with the NHS of 30 years.

Health Update

Please God my health will let me complete this sail. I am still waiting to hear what they are going to do about the tumour on my kidney its a worry 63mm that's a tennis ball.

It has been 30 days now since the biopsy which has showed up malignant. I can feel it now if I lay down or sit rubbing against my spine, to be honest I'm frightened with this one, things are not looking good. Roger Lawson, the surgeon who would normally deal with this, has told me he cannot operate because the tumour has entwined around a main blood artery and there was too much risk that I could bleed to death.

There's no place like home

One man and his dog, inseparable

I've been discharged from Hospital, thank God. Plenty of rest now until the medical team put a plan of action in place to remove a tumour just at the top of my kidney under the tip of my right hand side ribcage.

Operation a success

Well that's that operation over with, you loose track of time once the anesthetic puts you to sleep this one took five hours before I came too, compared to ten hours in 2011 there was no trauma this time round thankfully, I'm just glad to be awake, I would

The grapes of Wrath

Joe McGaragle, James McElhome and myself,
all in great spirits passing through
Ward 8, Cancer Ward, Altnagelvin Hospital

It's all so day ja voo at the moment reality is setting in I'm in the same ward, with the same staff nurses as last time in 2011 just a bit greyer, and less green behind the ears. I had my biopsy today for the tumour on my kidney. What I had previously thought, in the months preceding, was a kidney infection, is a 63mm diameter tumour.

Health Update

Darren has been called in earlier today, Sunday 11th May, to Altnagelvin Hospital, Ward 31. He has a tumour on the "good" side of his neck and a previously unknown lump on one of his kidneys. Surgery will be sooner than expected. Please pray for a successful outcome. This has certainly come as a shock to Darren and Sarah and they would value your support at this time.

A set back

5 weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, I found a lump on the good side of my neck. After 2 biopsies, ultrasound, a CAT scan and a PET scan at the Royal Infirmary in Belfast, the consultant today confirmed that it was a malignant tumour. God willing, on Tuesday coming, I will be going for an operation to "whip it right out" as the consultant said. After my neck heals, I will be undertaking another series of radiation treatments.

Interview on BBC Radio

I would like to thank Mark Patterson and his team from BBC Radio Foyle for the interview yesterday. It really helped both me in my endeavours to sail around Ireland and

Interview with the Derry News

An interview I did with Derry News today.https://www.justgiving.com/DarrenRobbSailing/