Leaks & floods

On Tuesday night, when I got changed for bed & went through my clothes, de-hairing, I was surprised & alarmed to find a patch of dried-on yellowness on the inside of my T-shirt. I realised there must have been some leaking from Lump.

 

I rang the hospice to find out what, if anything, I should do. The leaking had stopped. There seemed to be some healthy scabbing over. They recommended I got onto the district or practice nurse to have it checked out & possibly dressed.

 

So in the morning I rang the district nurse who instantly said it wasn’t their responsibility unless I was physically unable to get to a surgery. I rang the surgery. They decided I needed to see a GP first. So off we went.

 

We were surprised by how much water Storm Christoph had poured onto the roads & fields. Puddles extended halfway across the road. Nonetheless we got through.

 

Two doctors, one just a 5^th year trainee, examined me. Their real problem was they hadn’t seen me before. That inevitably meant they had no idea how extensive the tumours are spread across my chest. During the examination I also discovered some yellowness between my breasts, where obviously those tumours had also leaked.  Eventually they concluded that as long as the leaks seem to heal over healthily, not to worry. Equally, if they don’t heal over or look very unhealthy – as if a tumour ever looks healthy! – I’m not to hesitate to call the surgery again. They also decided the time had come for me to have some liquid morphine & sleeping pills to hopefully enable me to be in less pain & be able to sleep better. They should be being delivered today.

 

Come the evening, I discovered Lump had leaked again all over my blouse. Again it seemed to heal over healthily. Looking in the mirror I now realise Lump is covered with small blisters, all of which I suspect are likely to burst. Lump seems to have grown in size since the weekend.

 

Now I’m just hoping these blisters & leaks are not going to affect the decision as to whether I can have some radiotherapy to reduce the size of Lump. I should hear about that tomorrow.

 

Meanwhile our attention has been caught by the news of the extensive flooding around Manchester. The route we used to go to Christie’s last week is closed as there is fear that one of the bridges across the Mersey is likely to be damaged, possibly even swept away, by the floodwaters. We suddenly find ourselves trying to remember how far from the river the Fox’s brother & family live.

 

Then this morning I hear the River Bollin has burst its banks & I start to worry about my stepbrother & his wife. I’ve now remembered where their new house is. It is up the hill so they should be safe enough.

 

The Bollin was a river we sometimes explored in my childhood. It was within easy walking distance for us to go on nature walks with my primary school. Childhood memories are brought up from the pigeon boxes at the back of my mind.