Saying hello.  It’s been a difficult few days, with ups and downs.  That’s expected so I’m not concerned, but things are still slow.  I’m getting care and am in good hands.

Birthday greetings came in so I thank everyone for those.  One in particular was a shock.  It was from an old friend who was a neighbour here around 40 years ago and moved out of London a little later.  We haven’t met for ages.  These days we make contact mostly at birthdays and Christmas, and she learned in my Christmas letter that I have motor neurone disease.  In her card three days ago she said that she now has it also.

In September she felt that something was wrong; she browsed the internet and self-diagnosed MND; last month it was medically confirmed; she is currently in a hospice; and she says the illness is moving quickly.  This is particularly shocking for me, as you can imagine.  We now have a very active dialogue.

We’re of a similar age and we find we have similar views about life, death, what we need, what must be avoided, what cheers us up, and other things.  I sent her the blog; she’s started reading from the beginning; she says she’s determined to finish it and to bombard me with questions.  That’s the spirit.  Dear Linda.