Losing It

Since Last Post P/L: £630.97

Monthly P/L: £630.97

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Caden has suffered from a bout of sickness and diarrhoea this week so with looking after him, fighting the snow and coping with the launch of a new product in work it's surprising I've been able to make any profit at all!

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Following a nice win on the 1st ODI International between Australia and New Zealand I decided that I needed to investigate ways of lessening the Premium Charge burden. My initial thoughts were to put together a horse laying system that over a period of time returned a break even p&l with an even percentage of winners of losers. My first foray into this strategy ended in a small loss of £28.43 (which is more than I would have paid in terms of PC) but it's not an approach that can be judged on one day so I won't fret just yet. It is a sad state of affairs though when you have to consider how to lose in order to keep hold of profit.

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With 'losing' firmly in my mindset I then thought to myself, "Hey, what the heck, why not take another look at Tennis?" and proceeded to spend a good few hours going through some simulated scenarios. Although the Movistar Open currently being held in Chile isn't Wimbledon, it served it's purpose and provided some enlightening moments. Although I'm still paying for my education I'm beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

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Here's a round-up of my results for February:

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American Football : £12.60

Cricket : £434.79

Darts : £94.10

Horse Racing : £28.43

Rugby Union : £249.35

Tennis : £53.82

Premium Charge : £77.62

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Miracles Do Happen

Since Last Post P/L: £412.68

Monthly P/L: £412.68

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The last few weeks have been hugely demanding and extremely stressful but I’m very happy to report that Caden has had his heart repair surgery and is now on the road to recovery. However, there’ve been many highs and lows and I wouldn’t wish an experience like this on my worst enemy.
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To begin with we were told the night before the operation that due to a lack of beds within intensive care, the operation would need to be postponed with there likely to be a 1-2 week delay. After travelling to Bristol you can imagine our despair – his condition was becoming more noticeable and we were now ready, we needed this to happen.
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Fortunately the surgeon could see our determination and agreed for us to stay at the hospital in the unlikely event that a slot became available. Luckily for us one did and the operation took place on the 20th November. For what seemed like the longest 5 hours we lulled around shopping centres and restaurants waiting for the phone call telling us everything was okay and when we were told that everything was over we all shared a huge sigh of relief. Apparently he had suffered 2 : 1 Heart Block when coming out of theatre but this was something they were able to treat quickly and in general things had gone well.

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It was at this point I thought the worst was over. What I hadn’t considered was the possibility of any setbacks.
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The first day after the operation went to plan but when he started to show signs of deterioration on the second day panic started to set in. It turned out that fluid had started to collect around his heart and lungs and that another operation would be needed to drain what was there. The risks weren’t as great but I still had to sign the consent form and whenever that happens there’s always an element of doubt. A stark reminder of this was the 6 month year old boy in the next bed. He’d been admitted for a similar heart operation but following complications during the procedure he’d suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain. Unfortunately there was no way back and he passed away whilst we were there.
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With these thoughts fresh in the memory it was practically impossible to remain completely calm but I shouldn’t have worried as he sailed through. Even though this complication did set him back he started to show signs of improvement pretty quickly afterwards and within a few days he was fully conscious and trying to become more mobile. He was discharged a week later but within 48 hours were back in hospital. His temperature was spiking for no apparent reason and with the risk of infection high on the radar the doctors wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
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That worry has now died down and since then he’s been gradually on the mend. As of today the progress he’s made completely astounds me. He’s nearly back to being normal and if any of you reading this want proof of a living miracle then you’re welcome to visit :-) The little guy’s been through so much we’re now going to make sure he has the best ever first Christmas!
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At this point of my post I’d love to be able lift the mood but unfortunately I can’t as I was deeply saddened this week to read of the passing of Richard Wildman. Richard was a fellow blogger who fought a courageous battle against cancer throughout 2008 before finally succumbing on the 5th December. If medals were awarded for having a ‘positive outlook’ then Richard would have been at the front of queue as anyone who has read his posts would testify. At the age of 36 he leaves behind a wife and two children and my thoughts are with them at this desperately tough time.
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What I’ve mentioned above really does highlight how precious our time is in this life and this is something I need to make sure stays fresh in my mind. If in future I ever take Caden or any of my family for granted I need to stop, take stock and think about how much others who are less fortunate would love to swap places.
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For what it’s worth I’ve now also been able to start trading again. The Heineken Cup Rugby has been the main focus of my attention and here’s my full results for the month so far:
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American Football : £95.91
Horse Racing : £25.55
Rugby Union : £368.55
Special Bets : £8.26
Poker : £34.49
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The highlight of December always seems to be the PDC Darts World Championship and this year appears to be no exception. Things kickoff on Friday and even though Phil Taylor has had a phenomenal year I’m not sure if the tournament being hosted at Alexandra Palace suits him. The Circus Tavern was his territory but last year he looked a little lost in the new surroundings so it’s difficult for me to get too excited about his chances when his odds are hovering around the 1.60 mark. He’ll surely reach the latter stages but I’d be surprised if you aren’t able to get better odds at some point along the line.
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Either way, the 13 days of competition will determine how I finish the year – will I be a ‘star’ or a ‘turkey’?
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Thanks again to everyone who’s left supportive messages during the past few weeks – they meant a great deal.
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Merry Christmas to you all.
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Mark

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The Big One

Since Last Post P/L: £110.66
Monthly P/L: £421.51

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I'd been hoping for a quiet week but an 8 month old baby had other ideas! Caden decided last Tuesday to get himself another infection and this unfortunately hit him harder than before. His oxygen saturation levels weren't good so it was back to the hospital for a very stressful 3 nights and it was only after the Doctors declared that his temperature was back under control that we were allowed to come home on Friday evening. With his full heart repair operation scheduled for Wednesday the worry was that any deterioration in his condition would force it to be delayed and in extreme circumstances this could be for up to another 6 weeks. With his 'tet spells' becoming more regular this is something we clearly want to avoid so it's sods law that Nicola woke up with a cold on Saturday morning! She's now been banned from going anywhere near him :-)

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So this is it - the big one. As a natural control freak this feeling of uselessness isn't resting comfortably on my shoulders and with there little left for me to do, I'm now resigned to the events that lay ahead. The statistics are in our favour but I'm very nervous - I just want my little boy to be okay.

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With all of this going on I've only been able to to take a quick look at a few events over the weekend. There've been some topsy turvey results and if I hadn't taken a look at the NFL last night I'd have saved myself £80.

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American Football : £63.94

Horse Racing : £4.26

Rugby Union : £175.42

Soccer : £0.36

Poker : £5.44

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Nevermind, other things are way more important and all of my attention now turns to what looks to be a hugely challenging few weeks. Hopefully life will start to return to normal come the beginning of December and I'll be able to let out a huge sigh of relief.

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As I'm not likely to be around for a while, many thanks in advance for all the best wishes we may receive - they are a source of strength and we are hugely grateful.

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Please...No More Drama

Since Last Post P/L: £42.75
Monthly P/L: £188.95

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On Saturday night myself and Nicola were invited by my best mate to a Cancer Aid Charity Dinner that was being held at the Millennium Stadium. Finding it hard to turn down a freebie and as it was for a good cause we jumped at the offer and got dressed up for the black tie event. Bob Champion was the guest speaker, and even though I wouldn't describe him as a natural comedian, his story about how he fought back to beat Cancer before riding Aldaniti to victory in the Grand National was inspiring.

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After several drinks everyone was enjoying themselves and it wasn't long before it was time for home. Our group was one of the last to leave and it was at this point the stupid behaviour started. My mate (the one who'd invited us) thought it would be apt given the surroundings to rugby tackle me as I walked down the corridor to the exit. Needless to say this wasn't a good idea and following a brief scuffle my head cracked into the side of the only radiator within 50 yards! I knew it was quite bad as people came rushing to help me, and with Nic crying in the background I guessed my head was in a bit a of a mess. Fast forward a couple of hours and I'm lying in the local A&E Department whilst a nurse puts 9 staples into my scalp to try and close the gash. We finally left at 6am and after inhaling enough gas & air to see most women through labour crashed off to sleep with a headache as soon as we got in.

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Yesterday was then meant to be a day of doing 'nothing much' in order to aid my recovery but after picking Caden up from his Nan's, he experienced another 'tet spell' that is to be expected from time to time with his heart condition. These spells aren't nice things; he has a screaming fit, he turns blue and whilst this is happening we're supposed to keep him calm and hold his knees into his chest to increase the flow of blood to his lungs. This is what we did but after a few minutes he seemed to be getting worse rather than better so it was time to call for an Ambulance. As you can imagine, the longest 6 minutes passed before the paramedics turned up and it was only then that he started to come around. To make sure he was going to be okay the decision was made to take him to the hospital and after a thorough examination I'm pleased to say we were on our way back home.

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Phew! I guess that when it rains, it pours :-)

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With all of this going on I haven't been able to take a look at the Stanford Super Series yet. From what I can gather the pitch is proving to be a rather difficult one, so if I'm up to it tonight I'll take a look and hopefully get my month back on track.

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Greyhound Racing : £2.36

Horse Racing : £2.56

Poker : £37.83

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Over The Moon

I haven't been as happy as I was yesterday for a very, very long time.

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The Doctors weren't keen on performing a cardiac catheter operation on Caden unless they really had to, so the decision was taken to try and get all the information they needed from a sedated chest echo scan. He's had these before during regular check-ups but they haven't been fully happy with the results so sending him off to sleep first seemed a good idea.

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And guess what? It worked! The pictures and measurements the Doctors were able to get look to have done the job and although the next big step is to go straight to the heart repair operation the fact he doesn't have to go under general anaesthetic twice is fantastic news due to the increased risk of his other condition.

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There's still a small chance that this plan could change when the results are passed over to the surgeons at Bristol's Children Hospital, but from the way the main man was talking yesterday the outlook looks good.

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You can imagine the sheer relief for Nic and I. We hadn't let ourselves get sucked up in the idea that he wouldn't have to have the operation just in case we were disappointed, but as soon as the penny dropped that we'd be going home you couldn't keep the smiles off our faces!

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I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone that left good will messages following my last post - it brings a lump to my throat that people care so much and just goes to show the goodness in human nature. You guys are the best!

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Many many thanks.

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Mark & Nic.

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A Quick Message

Thought I'd leave a short note to let those of you that read my blog regularly know that tomorrow sees my son (Caden) go into hospital for the first of his 2 heart operations. This isn't the full repair - just an exploratory mission to get a good feel for what lays ahead but I'm exceptionally anxious as he'll still need to go under general anesthetic and I don't think that mixes very well with his other condition (Long QT Syndrome).
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So I'm making my apologies now for the blog not being updated for a few days. Every bit of energy I have at the moment is concentrated on him getting better as soon as possible which I'm sure the majority of you will understand.
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All thoughts and prayers are extremely welcome and appreciated as we'd like as many people in our corner as possible.
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All the best as always,
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Mark
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Dodging Bullets

Since Last Post P/L: £309.10

Monthly P/L: £1,182.02

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Last Friday turned out to be a great laugh - I just wish I could say the same for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend.

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On Sunday, Caden was taken ill and admitted to hospital following a bout of diarrhoea, violent vomiting and a soaring temperature. With his heart conditions also a factor, a view was taken that it was better to be safe than sorry so we grabbed our things and got there as quickly we could. Needless to say, the next few hours were pretty horrendous as they had to give him a thorough going over - the poor bugger was still awake at 2.30am as the Doctors tried 8 times to get a blood sample out of him. I've never felt so distressed. It was excruciating to see him in pain and be absolutely powerless to help him. I've always been a bit of a protective type so to subdue my natural instincts I had to keep reminding myself that it was for the best. This wasn't so easy to do on Monday though, as his lack of wet nappies indicated that he was dehydrated - the solution was to have a feeding tube put down through his nose and into his stomach. If the previous night had been bad this was ten times worse. As they began to pass the tube down, his body began to contract and vomit at the same time - it was horrific. He was screaming, Nic was starting to have a panic attack and I didn't have a clue where I was.

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I'm glad to say that after a few minutes things started to get back to normal. Another night of observation followed, but after clear blood test results were received he was discharged on Tuesday. Looking back, I must have come across as being a bit pushy but I'm sure the nurses understand that parents are just worried sick. The thought of him having his heart repair operation is now weighing very heavily on my mind.

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As you can imagine, my trading performance over the last week pales into significance compared to the other stuff that's been going on but for those of you still reading here's the full list of my results:

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Rugby Union

South Africa v Australia : £2.01

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Motor Sport

European Grand Prix : £20.08

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Cricket

Middlesex v Hampshire : £259.17

Gloucestershire v Middlesex : £27.84

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In all honesty, these figures don't tell the whole story.

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On Wednesday, I successfully blew a £250 profit and last night I was staring at a £435 loss on the Somerset v Worcestershire match before a miracle happened.

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What saved me?

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The tie! Can you believe it!?!

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Worcestershire were chasing Somerset's score of 298 and off the last ball required 4 runs to draw the game. Only a boundary would do if I was to escape unharmed and unbelievably that's what happened! I definitely used up one of my nine lives here so I'm planning to have Friday off, take Caden around his grandparents and take Nic out for a curry. I think I've pushed my luck enough for one week.

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