Visit With Merlin Update.

Just got back from visiting Merlin at Heath Towers and what a day it was too. After arriving the usual 15 mins or so early it was looking good. I was called almost immediately to have my blood sucked for all the usual routine stuff. This all sounds good doesn’t it, but when you think what happened on Friday at the day unit you will understand why I was rather apprehensive. Justine shied away from taking it thank god as she is quite new at doing it so I guess has less chance of hitting the bulls eye first time. She handed over that responsibility to the steady handed Charlotte. She went straight for it, no hanging about for niceties. She ended up having to wiggle it around, always a rather unpleasant experience, but did manage to eventually find the old geezer, just!! By the time I got back out into the waiting area it was looking rather busy. The receptionist was giving out the usual message that “He is running a little behind today”. He’s always bloody running behind, it’s in his genes I recon. Well finally he called me in and only 1hour 45mins late too, wow that’s a record. He must have caught up a little!! He had a couple of young students, in fact VERY young students with him. They looked like they were just out of nappies, literally!! Well after all the usual poking and prodding and questioning etc etc which I wont bore you with as you’ve heard them all before, it was onto the nitty gritty, well what I would call the nitty gritty anyhow. Both myself and Judith, as she had come in with me as usual, didn’t hold back in letting him know that we were not at all happy with the level of attention and care I have been getting with regards to the Extracorporeal Therapy the he said I would be having back in January. Predictably he did say that it was in a lot of ways out of his hands and that it was yet again down to the various people who hold the purse strings. He informed us that they were in the middle of changing over the way that care is funded and that this problem should not occur again in the future, you’ll forgive me if I don’t have as much faith as you?? He was due to meet with the bankers so to speak on Friday this week anyway for a general chat but did give us his assurance that as this was now becoming a rather serious matter that he would contact them directly beforehand to discuss my case personally as well as pre warn them in preparation for Friday. A somewhat heated and in some instances comical debate took place too whereby Judith was stating hers and mine too for that matter impression that this is just another of the “If we left them wait long enough they might just die, so we won’t have to pay then” situations, to which Merlin feebly attempted to reassure us that this was not the case. There is no doubt nothing written down but the general feeling and verbal instruction passed between the people who have control over such things is very much along this wavelength. His face was a picture when I ended up telling him straight that it has now got to the point that I have given up and have no fight left. I am now on anti-depressants, I can sleep properly, my skin is getting rapidly worse with my lungs paying the price too, and need I go on?? He was gob smacked. First time I have seen him speechless I recon. Well this is the real life me, Merlin, not the same old happy go lucky, not a care in the world guy you have known all this time. Those days are gone, it is time for you to start fighting my corner again and getting things done. He did say too that he would contact the Chiropodist and the Eye Consultant directly as they have both been messing me around cancelling appointments etc, going on months now.

Well after all that, the usual 45 mins wait in Pharmacy for the usual potions seemed stress free in comparison. Back to the car only to find they have done their usual trick and left off one item, thankfully it was just the shampoo for the dodgy scalp which I can wait for. Blinking incompetent buggers!!! Grrrrrrrr!!!!!!!

I did manage to console myself by stopping off at our favourite Chinese Restaurant to pick up a take away on our way home as we were so late. It will have to be the last for a while though I recon as I had the shocking news today that I have put on a whopping 2 ½ stone since I got out of hospital 5 months ago. I was now banging on the door of 15 stone, well 14 stone 13 to be precise. So its lettuce leaves and beans and pulses for me for a while, god help anyone standing down wind though!!

See Ya!!