Post 538: Getting to be a bit like… anniversary time!
I don’t sleep much, like many others for various reasons, but today seems like a day off so why am I not more relaxed.
My Darling came down after a long lay-in at midday-ish and looked great.
Hell she’s lost so much weight, my, my what a beauty she is. I’m looking at my intake of food in the evening and I wonder what she thinks? I’m greedy and I know it, but the Korean dinner was just the right size and tasted beautiful yet, I grab a pink corner yoghurt followed by a new packet of malted milk and some Haribos. All of which are summarily dispatched to intestinal oblivion to worry my stretched leather belt holding up my jeans-shorts.
With all that said the wait during the day was the bit in between my Darlings arrival downstairs and subsequent biggish shop in town for the dinner and other needed foodstuffs, I was ready and willing for the trip to see my favourite Doctor at the Hospice at 3pm.
After a lovely English mustard and ham tigger-bread roll, yes it was mostly mustard, and initially set my nose alight with a good old fashioned condiment.
We watched more of the “Marry my Husband” Kdrama series before heading down to my second home this week, the Hospice. At this time of the day the roads were quiet as it was just before school pick-up. Being comfortable today (in my view) I was happy to drive my Darlings big beautiful car down and back which didn’t leave me needing a masseuse and a lie down; in fact I felt a bit of a fraud because inside and outside my right side rib-cage I was increasingly more comfortable.
The doctor found me dozing in a high back chair under the roof-lights in the warmth of the watery sunshine, as was my Darling, so he apologised for waking me and led us slowly to his clinical room for a chat.
The best bit about any doctor at the Hospice, is that they have time to get to the bottom of any problem without that 10 minute duration of appointments, which is the normal situation; rush, rush, rush. (Incidentally my favourite band - ever). Enough of that…
Not only did the Doc think that I needed to go back down on the steroids, back down to 0.5 mg, (because in his view the steroids should be left until there’s a real need for them) after starting a new (new to me) pain killer pill that is going to be my salvation with any luck.
I hear you ask what is this pill but I just can’t remember, so I’ll tell you later when I’m in possession of the pills.
That wasn’t all that was spoken about because I had, in a moment of clarity earlier, asked my Darling to intervene with a reminder to ask about the scans and reports I am about to ask for under the treaty that the patient is allowed to know, see and file them.
And while there was a little break in the clinical conversation this question was met with a little scurry to the computer beside us and a bit of concentration followed by the dice explaining all, to my embarrassment again.
In a kind voice of authority he explained that “you (I) might not get what you (I) want because the reports for any scan you are seeking information on will be a written answer to a specific question only”.
“Oh”, I said, when the penny dropped. I had now remembered him saying this before, clearly and concisely. Oops! I did it again…
Although he did add that the last report did mention that my Mets were “widespread”.
So we left for home with that vague description of my insides. That will do for now and following the patient doctor’s explanation he added as we left that it would be best to contact Nina the cancer care nurse before going down the route of the SAR retrieval system…
“It’s likely she will help you with some of what you seek” was the last friendly words from the lively man.
I felt embarrassed that I had not remembered his advice before but vindicated with my “heavy” email I sent to Nina last night. She would help if she could, of course and later when we were home and after the gorgeous supper an email from her suggested that she could indeed help me and that she would call tomorrow.
What a couple of stars they are. I am so lucky I’m able to rely on such a fab service even under such worrying belt tightening times for the NHS.
I await tomorrow’s call with delight.
I checked my Blood-pressure as I went to bed tonight, before another sleepless night and was happy that it was in great shape, 128/68 at a pulse of 59.
That is giving me confidence for the newest heart pill Digoxin I’m taking.
Self Advocacy will be the order of the day tomorrow as I’m duty bound to check that the lovely Doctor will write another prescription for the 0.5 mg of Dexamethesone (steroid) because my repeat prescription list has been duly updated to 2mg last week and I need to change it back. When a pain, but it’s my fault, I can live with that.
On the drive home my a darling had to answer a call on my phone that was from Millbrook Healthcare. “Can we arrange for an engineer to visit you and check you medical bed supplied by us, please.
Oh yes you can.
Oh blimey, that means I’ve had this bed for a year or more now.
Hasn’t time flown.
And as for the Anniversary/birthday celebrations and gifts for my Darling, well, errr, I’m not done yet. More thought needed. Just less than two weeks to go.
It’s the same week as Millibob is down, holidaying in the sunny south.
With our reservoirs nearly empty and no sign of rain he, his wife and lovely sight hound will have to put up with the warm autumnal welcome from the weather and the wonderful residents. Ha ha!
So have a great day and I’ll be back tomorrow.
I hope it’s not too boring today, it’s just that I can’t stop writing…
