“Well”, I hear you ask, “What does a Grumpy old Invalid like you do this time of year when the medical profession seems to grind to a halt?” I guess in a nutshell the same as I always do, absolutely nothing. It’s the same every year all non essential departments such as out-patients etc just close till after the new year, well apart from the Dermatology Out-patient clinic which decided in their wisdom to give an appointment for 29th last Friday. Don’t these people have family to visit or what?? I suppose it was a welcome excuse to get out of the house though. They didn’t actually do anything and I think if Judith hadn’t wanted the registrar to see one of the sores I have on my lower abdomen, that sounds a bit posh and technical for me I know, what I meant is my big fat belly, then I don’t think she would have even wanted to have a look at my skin, which is a little surprising as that is the main reason for seeing the dermatologist. I’ve got this one little, what used to be a skin tag right on the waist line of my trousers. It has swollen up loads of times and actually burst leaving a nasty looking sore. It tends to scab up but because of the location it keeps getting caught and this reopens the sore again. Only solution from her was to stop putting on Inadine under the dressing and just put a dry dressing on for a while. Oh yes, “And come back in 6-8 weeks”, for some more useless information, Yeah Right !!! I think I might give that one a miss!! Hopefully I will be going back and fore Birmingham for the treatments by then so I will not be available.

Answer me this…… Why is it that the week in between Christmas Day and New Years Eve nothing ever seems to happen? It’s like a week of nothingness. I suppose if your into the rough and tumble of the yearly sport of Bargain Shopping at The Sales then this is a time to enjoy but if like me you just want to pop into Tesco’s for a couple of essentials why do I have to fight my way through these hordes of people blinkered to all else apart from shops shops shops, spend spend spend… it took us nearly 45 minutes to get from the main road into the car park at Tesco’s a distance of say about 500 metres, so as you can imagine by the time I got in there I was not in the best of moods. Thankfully the store was pretty quiet as everyone seemed to be heading for the other outlets in the park for their fix. Here’s the other annoying thing, “How come even a small shop for a few odds and ends of essential items it still comes to £80 odd”???? It wasn’t that long ago that £80 would have fed us for a month. I was given a voucher from my Big Bruva for my favourite Kitchen shop in Cardiff town centre for Christmas so I will have to make the brave step into the metropolis whilst the sale is still on so I can grab my own bargain. Sadly I think it must be the only shop that doesn’t have an online presence too so I can’t cheat there. I think maybe an early morning dash in may be appropriate that way I may be able to pop in the market when I’m there to get some nice fresh fish or meat etc..

Chest wise, as in breathing sensibly has, I must admit, probably been the worst it’s been in a long LONG time. It seems like my chest has been permanently wheezy for well over a week now, thus making breathing quite difficult at times. My nebuliser’s have all been out along with puffers and even the odd whiff of oxygen too for good measure. All to no avail really and rarely giving any relief. The weather as usual is by far the main culprit in causing this as it has been very misty and really cold and the odd spell of rain too, all things that never fail to start my chest off, all in one go too. I am finding the slightest exertion is almost rendering me incapable of sustaining life as we know it, which is somewhat worrying at times, more so for the onlookers a lot of the time. I think it might be the nice shade of blue my face radiates that causes that. The physio is still happening to a fashion at least. Obviously due to the holiday season being upon us there is a limited service available so far example I only had 2 visits last week and I will only be getting 2 visits next week also. Sadly the other reason for the reduction to just 2 days is that the care/physio being provided is coming to an end probably next week. It is only designed to run for 6 weeks and as funding is tight and the uptake of the service is overwhelming there is not much chance of extending this period. I have at least I guess now got the exercises to practise on my own which I have been doing all along anyway but it’s the walking I will miss the most I think. I know Judith could and probably will do the same thing as in follow me with a wheelchair when I go for a walk it is still different than the physio being there as I tend to push myself a little harder when they are around. I am going to have to really make an effort to go out as often as possible for a little stroll otherwise I can see me declining physically very quickly and probably ending back in Heath Towers which I think I could do without. “Did you hear that”??? I swear I heard an almighty gasp from all the nurses reading this. “What, don’t you want me to pay you a visit then”??? Spoil sports!!!

Okay then I am off now as I need to start to get dressed as we are going out for Sunday Lunch for a change ha ha ha, it’ll probably take me an hour or so to just put on a pair of trousers, shirt, socks (with my clever sock puller upper) and shoes with my trusty Long Shoehorn. See you all next year.

See Ya!!