Before relating today's tale, a quick follow up on the records I received from Medway hospital. It puzzled me that I received 2 identical discs of images, each marked 1 of 2. This morning I looked at the captions on the images in more detail; the CT scans are there, the bone scans are there, but no MRI images. Looks like someone made a mistake!
Now on to today's fun
I think that I might have mentioned the poor frog stuck in a well before. At risk of repeating myself.............
At risk of repeating myself (I have a feeling that I might have said that before), a frog is stuck at the bottom of a well which is 30ft deep. Every time he jumps, he goes up 3 feet and slides back 2. The question is: how many times does he have to jump to get out of the well?
Welcome back to the world of the unfortunate frog!
I duly trekked up to London on the "High Speed" (HS1) train for an appointment at 16:10. A distance of about 40 miles which takes nearly an hour! Arrived in plenty of time, checked in at the reception desk in the luxurious foyer and watched the screen for my name to come up. I thought I might be in trouble when a message flashed up that the clinic was running up to 1 hour 30 minutes late, but rationalised that advertising slogans often say things like "up to 50% off" and actually mean only 5%, so it might not be that bad.
An hour passed................
My name came up on the screen directing me to the basement reception. Progress!
Found a seat in the crowded subterranean reception and waited..................and waited......................and waited...........
Another hour passed..........
After a total of 2 hours 20 minutes, a young man with long hair called my name. A Registrar (junior doctor).
A pleasant young man who explained that the tumour was small and did not look bad, but was in a difficult place. To make sure they fully know what they are dealing with and to minimise the risk of collateral damage, they would like to do another biopsy. A more targeted biopsy than Medway had been able to do. I was disappointed in one way, but pleased that they are thinking things through. I was not so pleased with the next bit though.
Before doing the biopsy (a simple procedure involving a bit of local anaesthetic, a needle and an ultrasound device), I would need a "pre-admission check". This consists of things like an ECG to check if my heart is beating, blood pressure measurement to check that blood is being pumped around me and the obligatory blood test. This involves another trip to London and cannot be done on the day of the biopsy.
Forgive me for being cynical, but I walk about 5 miles every day with the dogs, ride a horse, wield and axe on a regular basis (no, I am not an axe murderer.........yet!) etc etc. If my heart or blood pressure have problems, I think that I would know by now. He explained that they were just being safe. There comes a point where being "safe" is ridiculous, but I am not allowed to make my own decision about risks in case the Hospital gets blamed if something goes wrong. To be honest, crossing the road in London is about a million times more risky than a biopsy, but if I want the treatment, I have to play the game and let the NHS waste public money again.
The supposedly good news is that the pre-admission check is a "drop in" service. GIven that a booked appointment can involve a wait in excess of 2 hours, I think that I might need a sleeping bag for this one.
I will let you know how I get on.
Today's tune. For some reason this came to mind as I went down the stairs to the lower reception area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE1ct5yEuVY
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