I've got it!

Yippee! I was just jigging along in silence. We were having a power cut. Suddenly the light went on & the phone rang. It was the Department of Works and Pensions. I've got my benefits. No problem. That's one thing less to worry about.

YIPPEE!

Welcome sunshine

The sun is actually shining! I'm hard pushed to believe it. Over the last couple of days my heart has gone out to so many people who have had their homes ruined from the floods resulting from the recent downpour. We've not had it nearly so bad. Yes, there's the usual lake to the greenhouse & stream across the patio, but no worse than usual for this time of year. We ventured out along the prom yesterday to discover the winds were certainly blowing. The Fox popped out to deliver something to a friend who lives along there. I stayed in the car. By the time he was back I was beginning to feel quite queasy as the car rocked from side to side as the wind blew straight of the Bay, a fact I was even more aware of as I looked in the wing mirror to spot the Fox's return.

Still hopefully it will stay dry today. We're off to do the food shop. I've got a lamb curry plopping away now so it will be ready to just warm up wen we get back - nice & easy to do.

After making our delivery we went along to our local pub. The landlord there was busy preparing for "Lancashire Day" which is to be celebrated today. He reckoned he'd put in his order for sunshine for the event. It seems someone may have answered. For the celebrations I gather there is to be street skittles in the road outside, Morris dancers performing, a Lancashire quiz, Lancashire hotpot & other regional specialities. All this begins at 6pm so we won't be going. We'll be too busy digging into our curry.

Tomorrow it's back to the hospital. This time it's the breast screening clinic. It will mean another early morning. The appointments at 9.30am. We've no idea how long the visit will be. There's no indication of what will happen. Is it just a quick question of whether there's been further seepage? Or will there be another ultrasound examination & possible mammogram? We'll find out tomorrow.  

Recovering

We're actually got a day with no commitments, no trips to surgeries or hospitals, a chance to get on top of things. 

Yesterday was indeed another tiring day. We had to be at the hospital for 8.50am. Getting across Lancaster in the rush hour is a nightmare. Our 15 minute trip became 50 minutes. It wasn't helped by the fact it looked as though a ferry had recently docked at Heysham. I'm guessing that from the number of heavies from Ireland that seemed to be heading through Lancaster in order to get to the motorway & the rest of Britain.

Once there we were seen promptly enough. Sure enough I need a size smaller for knee braces. Indeed my right leg has lost so much it is almost two sizes down.

This is quite the easiest way to lose weight I know. I'm eating as well as ever, indulging in chocolate & buttery foods from time to time, & yet the weight just keeps coming off. It's just as well I was rather overweight to start off with, otherwise I would be getting quite worried. I've still got some spare flab I could afford to lose. I just wish it wasn't off my legs. But that's the way with diets. You always seem to lose the weight from the parts you don't want to lose it!

So today is another day for recovery of energies. With luck we may venture out to Snatchems to see friends. We will certainly need to venture out for some milk. We're nearly out of it & mugs of tea are essential. I can do without alcohol but no tea really would be dire!  

Oh so tired!

It’s yet another grey day. Still at least it’s a quiet day. For once we’ve no appointments. The Fox is taking the opportunity to do some cooking – a Ham & Asparagus Risotto no less. We’ll have plenty of fried mushrooms to accompany it.

Yesterday was the trip to the surgery. Like a twit I forgot to take the form with me. Fortunately we were early. I realised before I’d even checked in. The Fox hastily went home to find it while I stayed there in case the nurse felt she could go ahead once I told her what it was for. She decided she’d sooner wait. It was probably just as well. When she saw the list of required tests she had to check which colour of phial she needed. Now we have to wait for a couple of weeks for the results.

Tomorrow I’m off to be measured for some new knee braces. My present ones are forever sliding down. It’s partially that they’re getting rather old & less elastic, partially that I’ve lost so much weight. I’ve suggested it would probably be wise to re-measure as I reckon I need a size smaller. We’ll see what they make of it.

Life seems all about medical appointments at the moment. One of my teeth has been causing me problems for a while now. I’ve just not felt confident of attending any appointment. Even now, when I’m feeling so much better, I’m aware I’m also feeling so tired & stressed with all the hospital trips etc that I feel I’ve put up with toothache this long, I can wait a bit longer. A bit of rest seems more important.

The Fox isn’t doing too much better. He’s still tires far easier these days, post-stroke. We both could do with a chance to put our feet up, a holiday in the sun perhaps, to perk us up.

At last

At last I’ve got a diagnosis, or at least a partial one. I’ve definitely got pancreatitis. My pancreas is considerably enlarged & shows signs of considerable inflammation. Now we just have to sort out how severe it is, whether it is chronic or not, & whether any long term damage has been done. I am to be monitored & return to the hospital in the New Year. I also need some further blood tests & a MRI scan. Meanwhile I have to avoid all alcohol as this will only aggravate the situation.

The specialist reckoned it is probably due to the number of anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) I have been taking. I’ve been on one sort or another for over twenty years now. After about 10 years on the first type I ended up as severely anaemic, so severely my doctor was most reluctant to let me out of the village we then lived in. The next day we were going to a wedding, the Fox being best man. It was only agreed I could go provided I promised to eat as iron-rich food as I could while we were there & to head straight for the nearest hospital if I felt at all worse. I had to report back to my own surgery as soon as we were back.

Since then I have tried other NSAIDs, finally settling on one which I’ve been on for just over another ten years. This time, instead of internal bleeding, which caused the anaemia, I’ve got pancreatitis. Needless to say I’m also off the NSAIDs too, having to depend purely on pain-killers to manage the pain in my knees. I’ve already been to get some stronger ones from my GP for the duration.

By Sunday, after getting over the shock of the diagnosis & its implications, we began to think life was settling down. We could maybe think of those few days break away. Then I rang the surgery about the blood test. That appointment is today. I rang the hospital about some new knee braces. That’s the hospital on Thursday. The post brought another letter from the hospital – an appointment with the Breast Clinic next week. (As I’ve had no further bleeding I’m not particularly worried about this one, thank goodness.) 

So much for the quiet life & getting away from it all for a few days!

Onto the next

It’s done. The medical is over. Heaven knows what the results were. The doctor who came, seemed very amiable & made the affair as easy as possible. However, I don’t think that necessarily means the report he writes up will win me my benefit or even be, to me, a fair résumé of my medical condition. I’ve become very sceptical & untrusting over the years, especially when it comes to benefits. And to think another medical will probably be necessary next year as my other benefit, Disability Living Allowance, is due for renewal then! We’ll worry about that one when we’re nearer the time. Meanwhile we wait for the results of this medical.

I was so tense throughout the medical that I spent the rest of the day in severe pain, popping pills madly. Shattered as we both felt by the experience – it had taken over an hour & a half - we were both on such a high of adrenalin at first, a nap was impossible. We decided to  get the last bit of the food shop done. We had a trip over to the butcher’s for some chicken.

On the way back we decided to stop for a spot of lunch at a pub – a baguette filled with steak & onion in my case, with Cumberland sausage in the Fox’s. We were just getting me into the car, when a familiar face turned up, a friend from Geriatrics’ Corner. One of the sadnesses of no longer going to the Pub (see the Fox’s blog) is that we had lost contact with Henry. As we don’t know his surname or his address we didn’t know how to contact him. This was a real pleasure. We hastily went back into the pub & had a drink with him. We exchanged phone numbers so in future we can keep contact & arrange to meet again. We told him about our now regular visits to Snatchems where other members of the Geriatrics’ Corner meet up on a Friday, just as we all had at the Pub. Henry’s hoping to start coming along. It will be great to see him more regularly again.

I mentioned I’d been half thinking of arranging a Christmas dinner for the group some time in December. Fran & Den, & Helen have all been dropping heavy hints. If we do go ahead, Henry is keen to have details & hopefully join us. A festive meal seems more attractive now. Above all, it appeals more that I feel more settled within myself. On the whole my health has done so much better since my last hospital stay.

Talking of hospitals, my next trip to the hospital is on Saturday. At the moment my abdomen seems to have quietened down so I feel a bit of a fraud having this appointment. I’m telling myself it was very severe at the time, nothing has really been done to treat the problem so this is probably just a period of respite. I could do with finding out what caused the problem. This view is particularly important when the discharge letter from the hospital did suggest the cause may be pancreatic cancer – the form of cancer which killed my mother after being diagnosed with it at exactly my age now – and I do feel these days cancer is often survivable provided you treat it early. The fact I am not in constant pain would suggest if it is cancer, it must be at an early stage. I admit I am anxious about the fact I’ve lost 6lbs in weight within the last month despite eating normally. That sounds dramatic to me. Still I’ve survived cancer once already; I daresay I can survive it again. And at this stage it may not even be cancer!  

Meanwhile, today I’m going to roast a chicken as I doubt I will feel up to it on Saturday. One of the perks of not being obliged to go to the Pub, is that we can have a midweek roast for a change without upsetting others in the process.

The Danger Zone

It hits when you venture into the kitchen. Last night, after I went to bed, the Fox decided to get out Big Ears, the slow cooker, & make the dinner, a Lamb Madras. When I woke up & ventured to the loo in the night I was aware of the aromas, but they were not as bad as sometimes when he’s cooked during the night. They were not so bad as to disturb my sleep. But this morning…. That‘s a different matter.

The curry may be just sitting there, cooling down, letting all the flavours meld together, ready to warm up, but the spicy aromas pervade every inch of the room. My stomach instantly leaps in anticipation. However, we won’t be eating until this evening. It’s agony, an exquisite agony.

This afternoon we’ll be out. We’ve got into the unfortunate position of only having half a dozen tea bags in the house. That will never do, especially when we don’t think we’ll be able to go shopping tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be taken up with this medical. When I next write the ordeal will be over & I will move on to the next stage, awaiting the results. Although the event itself is due early in the morning, it doesn’t alter the fact I suspect by the time it’s done & we’ve talked over how we think it went, I will probably be so drained a nap will be in order. As for food, I’m working on the theory we will either eat out or it’s a ready meal from the freezer.

I’ve just got to the stage of thinking “Just hope all goes well” & with that I’ve crossed all my fingers & toes that it does in fact go well.