It has been an unprecedented year, many of us have lost relatives and friends and have seen many of our normal activities curtailed.
I had intended to undertake some more postgraduate work this year but I put those plans on hold.
My mother had been very frail for some time and did catch Covid in the spring and very surprisingly she recovered. She continued to be very frail and following an extended hospital stay she returned to her care home for her final days. I was fortunate to be able to spend several days at her bedside.
At the end of the first lockdown I was diagnosed with an occular tumour and had surgery at The Royal Liverpool Hospital to insert tantulum markers and a session of proton beam therapy at Clatterbridge on the Wirral. Unfortunately due to the Covid pressures I haven’t had a post operative check up with my local consultant or any MRI scans.
We’re all hoping that there will be a successful roll out of vaccinations that may allow a more normal existence later in 2021.
We also left the EU during the last hour of 2020 which will result in significant changes to the way we interact and trade with our neighbouring countries. The end of freedom of movement and the Erasmus scheme are two areas that will have a significant impact.
I would still like to move to Ireland but there are currently more pressing issues to be resolved.
