Yey Made It At Last!!

Howdy.  Well I thought I would write and let you know that I actually made it to Heath Towers today after Monday’s fiasco, but as you probably guessed it wasn’t as smooth an operation as any other NORMAL PERSON would have been.  

Well I was extremely well prepared today.  Judith had put a note on the front door for me when she left for work at 7am asking for people to knock hard as a bit deaf,  (that’s a laugh, a bit deaf, more like deaf as a post ha ha)  and if no reply to ring this number as I am here honest and left my telephone number obviously.  I myself rose from my deep and as per usual disturbed and completely useless slumber at around 8am.  I had all my clothes and stuff ready last night and just had to do the hard part putting them on,   Jeeez that’s hard work these days!!!  So by 8.30 I was sat suitably attired ,(well suitable for me anyhow) and started the daily grind of pill popping, if I had a penny for every pill that went in the slot I would be a very VERY rich man!!  So I guess you have the picture, no way  was I missing this appointment because I wasn’t ready!!!

Okay here we go then are you sitting comfortably?????

Then I shall begin…..

Once upon a time in St Athan………..

My appointment was booked for 11am and this along with the fact that I live as a lot of you know about 35-45 mins from Heath Towers By Supersonic Jet or my New Car when I can get round to driving it,  are the 2 main factors to bear in mind.  

Okay well here I sat waiting with remote control in hand, bags packed etc and I waited …………..and waited…………………and waited……………….and waited………………..AND WAITED!!!!!  Finally at about 10.40 I rang mission control to see if they were thinking of maybe coming to collect me today or is that too much to ask??  The nice lady on the phone said yes they are definitely coming and they have your phone number too in fact they are in your area right now so they won’t be long.  Great, I thought at least they are nearby,  well maybe they are who knows??  10 mins later Judith shouted in from the front as she was seeing to a delivery that they were here.  Hooray they found me!!  Well after loading myself and the chair up we headed around to where they had parked.  Soon as she headed around the back of our house I knew that they had called at the wrong house the other day as no one ever goes that way.  The ambulance escort was mumbling something about oxygen and other stuff on the way to the ambulance but to be honest with the wind howling in my hearing aids I couldn’t make out what she was saying and just sort of politely nodded no and then and dropped in the odd little giggle!!  When we arrived at the ambulance she turned around and said to the driver “You were right this time it is up there”.  The Swines!!  Well she pushed me up the ramp into the back and said to the driver he is on oxygen as well.  The driver said he is not allowed to administer oxygen and as such won’t be able to take me. YOU WHAT???  Apparently they need a paramedic or trained professional or somebody on board if a patient requires oxygen.  After some very strong arguments from I said hold on there a minute then I will ring Judith in the house to come around and take the portable oxygen I had with me back home, that way I was not on oxygen according to them.  I explained that I almost certainly wont need it but it is there are an emergency measure should I need it.  They finally decided after telling me that I need to accept that if anything happens they won’t be able to give me their oxygen, SO BLOODY WHAT I’VE GOT ME OWN!!  Right finally on the road at least heading sort of in the right direction till the driver veers off down some narrow, windy country lane and I knew then I was in for a long day!!  After spending what seems like hours driving round and round the same lanes and fields we get to where the next patient lived only for him to turn round and say if you’d have come the other way it would only take you 5 mins Grrrrrr!!  Right of to Heath Towers at last.  NOPE,  NOT YET YOU DON’T they were dropping off this other patient at another hospital and picking one other from there up at the same time before dropping me off.  They wonder why my head is so messed up half the time, look what I got to deal with……  Well you will be glad to know that I finally arrived at said Heath Towers a whole 1hour 45 mins after leaving home.  Let me just go and get a porter she said, NOT ON YOUR BLOODY LIFE MISSUS, I’M OFF ON MY OWN!!!!  

I finally made it to the day unit nearly 2 hours late and what a relief to see all those smiling happy faces, and the nurses were a bit happy too!!  They have this knack of making you feel special and are I know genuinely concerned for your well being and stuff it is quite comforting.  I find too that even after mornings like this and other times I’ve been wound up by something or other they always, just by being them, calm me down.  It’s almost as if there needs to be a sign on the day unit’s door saying leave all your problems outside please!!  I’ll have to suggest that to Penelope when I see her next or maybe even to Sheri when I see her at the next coffee morning next week.  Well I suppose after all this going on the actual appointment was totally uneventful.  The nicked a load of blood as usual and then there is the obligatory 1 hour wait for the microbiologists to do their thing and be bothered to type in the results for the doctor to see.  Then finally in to see one of Merlin’s many Underlings as I won’t be graced by his majestic and all powerful presence today, I’ll have to wait till Monday for that pleasure.  PLEASURE???  I have to apologise profusely for not know the registrar’s name and he has been quite heavily involved in my case too, I really must find out and add him to the Hall Of Fame List as I don’t want him to feel left out, but for now I’ll just call him Doctor X.  Well all is fine with the blood counts.  Just a change of antibiotics needed.  There was a note from the wizard on my file saying he wanted me to go back on a months course of Voriconozole, (remember, they were the ones that cost and arm and a leg and the local GP wouldn’t prescribe them)  and just for safe measure he want me to take another antibiotic called Clarythromycin just in case I have any other baddies that managed to get under the radar.  They had found one of the usual suspects in my last sputum sample, Candida, and these should cover it.  More blinking pills!!  

Crumbs this going on a bit tonight I am sorry honest, really I am….  

There’s still loads to tell you too, like a lovely long natter I had with Sheri, who I hasten to add did jump the queue in the pharmacy, tut tut.   I just thought now Sheri and Sarah are fulfilling these new positions they don’t come under the general wing of being nurses anymore and as a result I think they need to be honoured on here in the time honoured tradition, and no I don’t mean tie them up and force them to listen to endless hours of my drivel, they are to have pet names, so anyone with any suggestions as to a suitable or not even, name for these two lovely, sweet, adorable, helpful (can I stop grovelling now?) Ladies lets have them and also I suppose for Doctor X too as he will be needing one as well sooner of later.      Also Nigel Is Back!!!  He has been a Nursing Assistant on C1 since I was diagnosed at least and he decided to up sticks and emigrate to New Zealand about 3 months ago lucky bugger.  Well it turns out pastures green were not as good as spending countless hours cleaning up all sorts of unpleasant things mostly from me on the ward.  I must admit though it is kind of nice to have him back he’s a nice guy.

Right then I’m off for those of you still awake after trawling through this and I’ll try and remember to put a few highlights of today in the next blog if I remember them that is.

See Ya!!