What a week I have had. I continue to make progress with my walking although sitting is still an ordeal. On Wednesday I decided to go to my first council meeting since being sawn in half. The meeting was to discuss the Cotgrave Masterplan and was held on the first floor.
I have never used the lift before and escorted by Eric we went to the lift door. The door wouldn’t open and I wondered if it needed a key. We looked through the window on the door. There didn’t seem to be anything there. We tried the door again. Then I saw the sign “Push the button and hold it until the lift arrives.” That’s it! When all else fails read the instructions! The lift duly arrived and we were able to open the door and enter. The lift can hold a maximum of five people and only goes to one floor. It has got five buttons – one for each passenger and a list of instructions that resemble the dead sea scrolls. This time we read them all and soon reach floor one.
The meeting took about an hour and I managed to sit through it without to much effort until it was time to stand up when the pain is unbearable for two or three seconds.
Friday 29th January and I am off to have the mole removed from my face. I have two large moles – the one on my right was one that my grandfather had and the one on the left was from my father. Grandfather’s mole was larger and was difficult to shave around without making it bleed. Grandfather, who had the shakes from Parkinson’s syndrome often shaved with a cutthroat razor and he would often cut it off when it would bleed profusely. Anyway my GP didn’t like the look of mine and referred me to a specialist who shaved it off and sent it for a biopsy. The biopsy was clear but it was identified as a very rare mole. Like my grandfather’s it regrew in a week so the decision was taken to remove it and the root because in a very small numbers of cases it can become malignant.
I shaved my beard off but did a lousy job missing a few hairs. The surgeon must have thought I was a right scruff! Antony picked me up and took me to the treatment centre where I was shown into the skin surgery centre where I had to take my shirt off and put a gown on. I told the nurse that the gowns didn’t fit me but she said that they have now got new bigger ones and they did fit. I then had to put some covers on my feet and my clothes in a locker and I was shown into the operating theatre.
The operation took about half an hour and as I am writing this I have got a pressure dressing on which I have to leave for forty eight hours. They have sent my mole off for another biopsy just to make sure and the nurse will take out my stitches on Wednesday.
Monday 1st February and I have got an appointment with my consultant bowel surgeon.
