Walk to City Centre

We walked into Milton Keynes City Centre the other morning. We walked along the Grand Union Canal, which is a reasonably short walk along the Redway from here.

It was cold, but still bright and sunny, so we decided to take the digital camera with us, as we usually do when we go out. On the walk along the canal we saw a fox hiding in the undergrowth. It was staring at me for a long time and I managed to take some photographs of it. We went through Campbell Park and then into John Lewis's store. The place is already decked out in Christmas decorations and they have a great department where you can see a fine selection of Christmas decorations to buy. Middleton Hall in the shopping centre has a large Christmas spectacular each year and no doubt that will be installed in the next two weeks. This usually has a Father Christmas grotto, something like a train ride, carousel ride and somewhere for you to throw cash for charity and lots of animatronic characters. Last year it was based on "Wind In The Willows," and the year before that, if my memory is right, it had a pirate theme.

I am currently doing a proofreading and editing course and we're paying in monthly installments, but the bank has messed things up and not taken the correct amount so we went to the NatWest bank in the shopping centre to sort this out so that the account is back in credit. We then went into several shops to look for a shirt for my birthday. We eventually found more or less what I wanted in Debenhams, and so we will go back later to buy one.

Birthday

Well, it's my 60th birthday today, but I'm not going to labour the point too much. We're going to London next week as we haven't been there for a long time. We're probably going to Tate Modern.

It's bright and sunny today, but it's still cold.

Sunny, But Cold

The weather is deceptive. If I look out of the window it is bright and sunny, but as soon as I get outside it's strikes really chilly, so a coat is required. I did some washing on Tuesday, when it was sunny and warm. It was hung out on the line in the garden, but there was a short sharp rainstorm so we bought it back in, but next day I put it all out once more and it was soon dried.

We took both dogs for a walk along the Redway as far as Woughton Green (actually pronounced 'Wow-ton' and not 'Wuff-ton' as I had expected. It doesn't make a lot of sense when there is a village near here called Loughton which is pronounced 'Low-ton.') We let the dogs off their leads. Poppy just pootles around, sniffing and exploring, whilst Alfie runs off and enjoys his freedom. Every time someone comes along, either walking or on a bicycle, Alfie has to run up to them and ingratiate himself, going 'hello, talk to me, stroke me!' and so on. He doesn't run off far, and just a call from us brings him back. As long as we're within ear/eye shot he's happy. We have to put their leads on when we approach the road, as there is no telling whether there will be traffic, although the road is devoid of any cars or other vehicles. We go under the main road, Marlborough Street and walk over the canal bridge at Peartree Bridge. I'm not so sure that either dog won't decide to jump in the canal, so we are glad that the dogs are on their leads again. There is a dog being walked along the opposite side of the canal and ducks that Poppy looks likely to decide to chase. Several months ago we walked in the opposite direction with both dogs, let them off their leads and Alfie ran off, jumped a low wall and landed up in the canal, much to his great surprise! I don't think he'll be trying that trick again in a hurry. We managed to fish him out, and he had to run around for quite a while, looking for all the world like a drowned rat, until he dried out completely. Anyway, there are a couple of young swans drifting along on the canal, and as soon as the dogs approach they hiss. I think it's more a sort of 'keep your distance' sort of sound rather than any sort of aggressive intention, but I'm not too keen to discover what they're likely to do. We walked on along the canal until we came to the next bridge back over the canal and walked back the opposite way through Woughton village, following a path which goes through this really nice orchard and then back across the village green and back, in a loop, towards the canal and then eventually along the Redway towards home.

We took the dogs out again this morning, when we walked through the park in Eaglestone, and as we were about to leave the house the workman came to the door, ready to install two smoke alarms and put some hardboard along the landing where he'd repaired the floor. We let the dogs off to run in the park, Alfie going crazy and barking madly, and he jumped up to grab the lead and nipped Carol on the arm in the process. I don't think he meant to hurt her, he was just being over-zealous. Just the thought of going out and being free to run for a while had gone to his head. We went as far as the shop and bought some rolls for our lunch and some chocolate. One can never do without chocolate, as I'm sure you'll agree.

I must have told you that I'd stopped taking Pravastatin. This was a result, if you remember, of my last time being in hospital, when I mentioned to the consultant the muscular pain I have experienced since having my heart attack. Mostly due to taking statins. I was prescribed this medication as it controls my cholestrol levels. I was prescribed various types of statins, which do more or less the same thing in that they keep my cholestrol levels within safe boundaries in order to prevent a further blood clot and another heart attack. The first sort I took, when I was originally in hospital, gave me side-effects similar to flu. I only knew this when I discussed it with one of the nurses who cared for me on the C.C.U. I eventually ended up taking Pravastatin, which seems the statin that my body is most tolerant of, apart from the muscle pains, particularly in my legs and stomach. Well, I have started taking Pravastatin again, as the one month's rest from it has come to an end, and what happens? The muscle pain has started up again.  My medication at present is at follows: Bisoprolol 10 mg tablets and Dispersible Asprin 75mg, one tablet dissolved in water. Taken around 6 a.m. each day. Isorbide Mononitrate Tablets 20mg. currently taken at 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. Originally taken at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. but times changed due to side effects. The headaches have now worn off, but I still feel somewhat light headed as a result of taking this medication. Pravastatin taken in the evening, round about bedtime.

Stress Echocardiography Test

We spent  all of yesterday at home. Carol has finished at the Academy on Friday as it's now Half-Term. They had a day's teacher training and they had some specialist talking about 'Behaviour' or something.

We walked to Milton Keynes Hospital around 11.30 as my appointment was at 12.00. It has been a bright and sunny day, and there really was no point using the car as we'd only have to pay in the hospital car park. We were under the impression that we could get into the hospital through one of the back entrances, but we found most of the doors shut, but we walked round to the front entrance. The place is a maze of corridors and even though there is fairly good signs to wherever you want to go it's a good walk to get to the cardiology department. I've never been for an appointment at the weekend, but apparently they open up the hospital for in-patients appointments in an attempt to cut the waiting times. There were people wandering around the place, but certainly not as many as there usually are mid-week.

We eventually found the cardiology department and was surprised to find only one other person waiting in the waiting room. We sat down, but it was only a short while before a nurse came to collect me and we went into the room where the test was to be done.  I lay on the examination couch and the nurses prepared me for the test, by putting contacts on my chest for the E.C.G. and a cuff on my right arm to take blood pressure. I have said before that I dislike giving blood and anything to do with needles. They needed to put a canular into my arm so that the drug  (Dobutamine) which would be used to run the test and make my heart work faster could be given to me. I was beginning to feel a little queasy, but after a while it went off. The doctor who was to carry out the test came in. It was at this point that the nurse who was attempting to find a vein in my arm so as it put in the canular let the doctor take over. I had two canulars in, one in my left and another in my right arms. They started the machine that pumped the Dobutamine into my body and the test began. After a while I had to lay on my left hand side (a fairly difficult matter as I had so many cables and tubes attached to me) and my head had to be lifted up higher on the couch. Then the doctor used a ultrasound device on my chest to view my heart in action once the effect of the drug took effect. It didn't take long and it made my heart pump faster. I was told it would be rather like the exertion you get when walking up a fairly steep hill. I thought it was rather like running up and down stairs several times. It also gave me a strange tingling sensation in my head, although it wasn't entirely unpleasant. A bit like when you've drunk several pints of beer and you get a sort of light-headed feeling. This test went on for about 15-20 minutes and I had to breath in and out when the doctor took the ultrascan. Then the drug was turned off and the test came to an end. All the cables and tubes were disconnected and I was able to stand up, although I felt rather groggy and one of the nurses gave me some water to drink. I was taken back to the waiting room where Carol was but didn't leave immediately as I still wasn't feeling one hundred percent and wasn't feeling up to walking so we sat in the waiting room for fifteen minutes or so. I was told by the doctor that the scan had shown that there was no major damage to my heart, although it could show the initial clot which had caused the heart attack just over four years ago and that I wouldn't need surgery and that I should continue with my current medication.

We walked home and by then I was feeling really tired. We had something to eat and spent the rest of the day either sleeping or resting.

Woburn Deer and Floor Repair

The work on the floor outside the bathroom has now been completed, so there is no chance of any of us falling through into the hallway beneath.

The cooker may need to be replaced, as it seems that it's beyond repair. It is actually up to our landlord to sort it out. We hope that if it is replaced it's done well before Christmas, as we don't want to have any problems cooking our Christmas dinner!

I went to collect Carol from the Academy in the car as she wanted to drive over to Woburn and go through the park to see the deer. Yesterday was quite a misty day, and the deer were near the road so we could take some quite good photographs of them out of the car window. I have posted a few here.

This particular stag was lying down on his own down near the roadway which leads to the Abbey. Carol was driving the car and said 'get out and creep slowy up to him! You should be able to get some good shots.' I reluctantly got out of the car and walked cautiously towards the stage, who was still lying down. I walked closer and stood by a tree, at which point the stag stood up and began bellowing, although I'm not sure if it was at me as a sort of warning to keep out of the way, or to attract the attention of other deer, but I managed to get this quite superb shot, if I say it myself. I soon moved quickly out of the way on my way back to the car, as I wasn't over keen to find out what the stag was likely to do. Would he chase me? Would he attack me and run into me with his antlers? Was I invading his territory, which might account for his bellowing? I wasn't going to hang around to find out the answers to any of these questions, as you might imagine!

The main road runs through the centre of Woburn park and when you drive in from Woburn village you go through an area of rhodedendrons and beside several lakes, then you go over a cattle grid on either side of which are two lodges. The road to the left if where cars come out from the Woburn Safari Park, and directly opposite is the road which goes up and round to the Abbey. We drove on and up through the park and then we saw herds of deer  on the left hand side of the road in the distance and near a road which leads off to the new Going Ape attraction. We drew the car in and took the first set of photographs, three of which I have uploaded below.

It's quite a difficult and dangerous job trying to get photographs when other motorists are speeding though the park. We tried to keep the car at the regulation 30 m.p.h., but there is always some idiot who is so impatient that he has to come up really close behind  our car. On the way into the park there are signs stating the number of deer which are killed each year; 3 this year and 9 last year. I would say this is due to peoples impatience. If the deer wander into the road surely you'd slow down and let them get out of your way, rather than speeding up and running into them? Seems fairly simple to me, but it's obvious that some motorists are just ignorant.

Autumn Takes Hold

It's been fairly warm and mild over the past few days, but today it seems a good deal colder. There seem to be more leaves outside the house. I went along the Redway towards the Academy with Carol today and it's like an explosion in a Corn Flakes factory as there has been a great fall of leaves outside the Academy. 

Daniel has gone to Alton Towers with his college mates. He's doing a computer course and seems to have settled in alright. I can't say I envy him as I'm not a great fan of theme parks. The bus he was going on left at 8.45, a little over 25 minutes ago (as I write this.

I can hear someone using a chain-saw or something outside. Perhaps it's Council workers cutting down trees or something. I can't see exactly what it is, but perhaps I will find out later. The dogs are running in and out of the house, Alfie, particularly, is barking, no doubt he can hear the noise of the chain saw. They bark at anything and everything.

I have now seen the workmen making their noise with whatever gadget it is. They have appeared over the back garden fence, in their bright yellow safety helmets, and busily cutting some of the trees at the back of our house and overlooking the Redway which runs to the rear of this property.

We've had to ring our landlord, or rather the agency who manages this property, as there have been one or two problems which need to be solved, to wit, the floorboards outside the bathroom on the landing. The floor is somewhat spongy there, meaning that whenever you walk on that particular bit of floor it sinks slightly.  It does need repair, otherwise their is going to be a nasty accident with someone falling through the floor! I have rung the agency and this morning their handyman came and has lifted the old, broken floorboards, revealing quite a  hole. As I write this the dogs are locked in the bedroom and he has gone off to get some planks to replace the broken ones. He is also going to have to sort out the boiler, as it doesn't work properly. The thing comes on but seems very reluctant to actually heat sufficient water for a bath or so that I can do the washing up. As winter takes hold and the weather changes we are definitely going to need heating, so it really does need attention.

I am attempting to write a novel. This is something that I have been meaning to do for many years, and I have had several ideas on what this might be, but over the last few months I have been making fairly good headway with this project. Do keep on watching this space for further developments. I'm really surprised how much I have managed to write thus far. 

Flu Jabs and Stress-Tests

Well, I'm sorry I didn't post anything yesterday. I really didn't have much to write about, so I hope nobody reading this was disappointed. I know that out there, I have quite a few people who read this. Clever technology tells me so. If you do bother to follow my ramblings, do, please, leave a comment or two. Just let me know what brought you to my blog, as I'd be interested.

Carol and I had our flu jabs on Saturday. It seems that Carol had a reaction, and was off work on Monday. She has a quite painful arm, where the needle went in, and the place is quite red and swollen-looking. I seem to have escaped any side-effects, until this morning. I feel quite sicky and below par, and this, together with the effects of my medication, which make me feel really queasy, doesn't improve matters. When I first took the Isosorbide Mononitrate I got quite intense headaches, which the doctor told me would happen, but, thankfully, they have worn off, but I now feel quesey. At first I took them at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., as instructed by the hospital, but then I decided to change the times to 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in an attempt to avoid the side effects. I don't seem to feel too bad with the first one, nor the second, but during the night I felt really awful, almost as if I was drunk, but, as I write this (8.40 a.m.) the queasyness has worn off, thankfully. I wouldn't be able to drive the car, so it's perhaps just as well that I'm not working at the moment (it does warn you about not driving on the medication's packaging.)

I had a call yesterday from the Cardiology department at Milton Keynes Hospital, to tell me I had an appointment with them this Saturday, for a Stress-Echo Test. I haven't got to eat anything for two hours previous to the test. I have had this done before, so I have a good idea what to expect. It also means that Carol won't have to book a day off work to come with me.

Strictly Come Dancing and Saturday Television

Oh dear, what's happening? I sat and watched ALL of 'Strictly Come Dancing' yesterday evening. I'm not exactly a fan, although Carol loves it. I find anything 'celebrity' orientated, or 'reality television' totally awful, but this is somehow engrossing. I have never seen what was so interesting in seeing a group of really boring individuals sitting around in a house (ie. 'Big Brother') or a load of celebrities in the middle of a jungle doing really stupid things, but the dancing in 'Strictly' is quite good. Although the prospect of someone like Anne Widdecombe or Paul Daniels making a complete fool of themselves on the dance floor is quite amusing. At least she doesn't take it too seriously and is really self-deprocating. Anyway, what is so wonderful about 'celebrity' and what is a celebity, anyway? They're just people doing a job, but in the public eye. In general they're just self-promoting individuals who know how to play the Public Relations game. The show is really just a way of selling tabloid newspapers, because everytime something happens to them, such as them falling over in rehearsals or saying something awful about someone else, it appears in the newspapers the next day. I'm not over-keen when the judges say something nasty about the contestants, particularly Craig Revel-Horwood. He's really negative about most of the dancers. I'd love to now what his qualifications are for actually being a judge on this show. I don't think the audience actually like him, because they always boo whenever he says anything negative about any of the contestants.

Yesterday we did some shopping, and I have to report that Christmas is coming! We saw Christmas cards, and the usual pre-Christmas junk which the supermarkets foist on us three months before the actual Festive period. Asda, where this was seen, has an aisle which you can't avoid as you enter the store, which is currently fully of Hallowe'en tat. This is where the 'Seasonal' goods seem to go. It may be Bonfire Night items one week, Valentine's Day items around about Mid-January, Easter eggs, or in this case severed arms, legs, and other mutifarious bodyparts which constitute good taste for Hallow e'en.Who really wants a false severed arm, covered in blood? What do you do with it?? Or, in the matter of Christmas items, puddings, mince pies, wrapping paper, chocolate Christmas tree decorations??? Are we expected to store these things somewhere in our homes, for three months until Christmas Day? We've got little space to store everyday items, such as cleaning materials, toilet rolls, and all the things you don't generally want just lying around your home on public display, but all this Christmas tat, where are we supposed to keep it? And do the food items (ie, puddings, chocolate, mincepies) have a long enough 'best before' date that they don't deteriate before the 25th December.)

Before I sign off this post, I must just mention that I haven't had any work from Casting Collective. I did mention towards the beginning of this blog, it must be back in October or November last year that I was going to sign up with this film/television extra Supporting Artiste agency in London. Well, I have had not a single day's work out of them. They have texted me on several occasions for work, and 'put me forward' for several things, for example, a film with Colin Firth called 'The King's Speech', another, a Disney movie called 'John Carter of Mars' but not a sniff of a day's work on that. There has been a Channel Four series being made in Oxford called,  I can't remember the name, but I didn't get chosen for that, and quite a few more bits and pieces, including a commercial for Bulmer's cider being made in Henley on Thames and 'Johnny English 2' which was being made in Milton Keynes, which would have been good as I wouldn't have had to drive far, but not a sniff, sneeze or otherwise on actually being used. So that lets you know what happened with that agency. And they emailed me to ask if I was interested in continuing with my membership for next year. My answer will be a big no, unless you cast me in something DEFINITE and actually USE ME!

Car Fails It's MOT

We traded in our Hyundai Matrix for an Atos, as we were finding the Hyundai was getting really expensive to run. We had seen an advertisement in the local paper back in February and decided to go and see this car at a local trader's showroom near Leighton Buzzard. Carol had already owned an Atos some years ago, and thought that if we could do a deal on the Matrix it would make sense financially. We got a reasonable price for the Matrix and a deal was done, and we also got some cash spare for other things, which seemed a bonus. The bright green Atos is cheaper not only as regards petrol, but Road Tax and insurance, as it come into the lower engine size and hence, lower running costs. The Matrix was really comfortable and great for long journeys, but we had decided some while ago that we didn't need such a large vehicle. We can fill the Atos up with a tankful of petrol and we are able to keep on driving for a great deal longer than with the Matrix, so in that respect it seems a sensible move.

The MOT ran out at the end of last month, so I took it to the garage we usually go to in Bletchley. Unfortunately the car failed quite badly, mainly on brakes and tyres, so we have had to spend quite a lot on having it brought up to standard to pass the MOT. I took the car in on Monday morning, and have only just managed to collect it today (Thursday.)

The day has turned out really bright and sunny, compared with the past few days which have been really miserable and overcast. Generally, it can be quite cold and misty first thing in the morning, but as the day progresses and the sun comes out it can become quite warm and pleasant.

Autumn

Autumn is definitely here. Well, I suppose it would be, considering we're now into October. The trees are now turning colour, a really rich-red-brown, in some cases and many of the leaves are falling fast. It's currently raining, and has been for the past couple of days. On the television weather forecast there's been  a 'severe weather warning' been given for some parts of the country. We can expect it to get worse. A bit like the economy, 'it'll get worse before it gets better.' We've been picking blackberries. We have a blackberry bush (bramble bush) growing at the bottom of our garden, and we've managed to pick many blackberries. We took the dogs for a walk the other weekend and Carol managed to pick a handful of blackberries. I have also gathered quite a lot along the Redway (the path which runs behind our house. Note: Milton Keynes has a network of Redways, paths which link the various estates and allows cyclists walkers to travel around the city without using any of the roads.)

Returning to my hospital visit and my health in general. I have now received a letter from the Cardiology department at the hospital and have an appointment there on November 4th. I had a doctor's appointment a couple of days ago, as a follow-up to my discharge from Milton Keynes hospital, and I was told that I would have to ring the Cardiology department to arrange an appointment. I rang and was told that a letter had already been sent out with the appointment. 

The new drugs are taking effect. I began to get really bad headaches, but after two weeks that side-effect has gradually worn off, although I still feel light-headed.

Heart, Hospital and Home . . . Part The Third

Sorry to keep you chaps and chappesses waiting to find out the out-come of my stay in hospital, but there's been a weekend since the last post and I haven't really had the time or inclination to write anything further.

 To business. 

I was told that I would need to have a visit from someone from the Cardiology department before any decision could be made as regards my discharge, and nobody could give me any definite time as to when this was likely to be, so I was going to have to endure a further day, at least, just sitting and staring at the four walls of Ward 2. I was hoping that I wasn't going to have to stay in hospital over the weekend, as someone had said that there was a chance that I might not get a visit from Cardiology until Monday.

Carol came back and it was good to have her company. She was told, rather unceremoniosly and rather abruptly by one of the nurses I thought, that she wasn't really supposed to be there, and would need to leave until the correct visiting time. I can't see what the problem was, as she wasn't in the way. I do remember, the last time I was on the C.D.U., there being a woman who seemed to take it upon herself to make life difficult for all and sundry, mostly, any visitors. Carol had nowhere to sit, as there were no chairs near the beds. There was a pile of folding chairs elsewhere on the ward, which were intended for visitors to use. Carol managed to take one and sat near my bed. I think, before you left the ward, as a visitor, you were expect to fold the chair and return it to it's rightful place. Carol forgot, and got told off, in no uncertain terms, by this bossy old woman. Then Carol decided to read my notes and this dragon of a woman shouted across the ward that she wasn't to look at my notes. Why? We are husband and wife. What was her problem? I am fully aware of confidentiality, having worked as a carer, and I wouldn't expect to read anyone else's notes, so what was so bad about Carol reading mine? I read my frequently, but, to be honest, you have to be fairly up in the ways doctors and nurses write things, as it's all in their own style of writing which they seem to have. I have a vague idea of what some of the terminology means, so I don't bother that it's written in unintelligable language. Anyway, that dragon of a woman on the C.D.U. was there this time, although she didn't seem quite as agressive to everyone as she was on my last visit. Perhaps someone has complained and she has toned down her behaviour. It seems that, given some sort of power, some people let it go to their heads. This woman certainly had let it go to her head.

It's no good feeling hungry if you're in hospital. Granted, you don't expect it to be like a hotel, and certainly, as mentioned before, it's not the sort of place for rest and recuperation, as it's so noisy. You aren't always that keen on food if you've been ill (why else would you be in hospital?) so trying to eat can be rather an effort.  But the food can be good or just plain awful. Breakfast consists of a bowl of cereal, a cup of tea and bread and butter. Why not toast and marmalade or jam? As for lunch, or evening meal, you have to decide the day before what you're going to have, as they come round with a sort of menu that you have to tick. I'm not always feeling hungry when I have to choose, so I end up with something really revolting. If you have breakfast too early, then you end up feeling hungry around 10 o'clock. I realise that they have to get breakfast out of the way quickly so that the ward can be tidied before the doctors do their rounds, but does it really have to be so early?

Anyway, let's get to the end of this post. I eventually had my visit from two people from the  Cardiology team at around around 3 p.m. When they arrived on the ward. I was told that I would need to have further tests, and that I would soon get a referral from the department in the post. I was to be put on new medication, isosorbide mononitrate , which works in a similar way to the nitrolingual spray. It's supposed to open up your blood vessels to increase blood flow and help decrease the possibility of a further blood clot. After using the spray I generally get headaches, which would be the result of blood vessels in the brain opening up. It usually goes off after about 15 minutes. I mentioned that I got muscle pain, as a result of using pravastatin. I was told that I could stop taking this medication for a month to try and relieve this side effect. As I write this I have been off it for two weeks and I must say the muscle pain has virtually gone. It seems that whatever you take it has some side effect or other. When I originally was put on statins after my heart attack the medication had the effect of me having flu-like symptoms, and I would only have known this when I spoke to one of the nurses, so I was put on another type of statin. I'm not sure what this original statin was, but I tried several versions, Simvastatin being one of them.

Anyway, I was that the treadmill test hadn't uncovered anything suspicious, and that I was free to go home.

I telephoned Carol to give her the news, and she immediately came back to the hospital. She came in the car, which meant that we would incur a parking fee. It does seem unfair that you have to pay to park your car when visiting hospital. As we live so close to the hospital it seems crazy to use the car as it's just a relatively short walk through the back of the hospital from our home, but she thought I might need a lift home as I wasn't feeling to bright.

It took some while for the discharge paperwork to be completed, and they had to organise my medication. When I was in Bedford Hospital I'm sure I had to pay for my medication when I left, but this time, on leaving Milton Keynes Hospital, I did not have to pay. Then I was told that it wouldn't be ready for a few more hours, so we said that we'd come back in the morning to collect it.

So, we walked out of the hospital and back home in the car. It was nearly three days since I had telephoned 999 and been admitted through Accident and Emergency.

The house was so quiet, apart from Poppy and Alfie running around barking when I walked in, being able to sleep in my own bed again after the noise and confusion of the hospital, sheer luxury!

Heart, Hospital and Home . . . Part The Second

I was unloaded from the ambulance, and taken into A and E sitting in a wheelchair. It's a rather odd experience, having been a carer and pushing other people around in a wheelchair. You get a rather odd view of the world, and even more so for me as I'm over six foot tall and so sitting and viewing things is very strange. 

I was handed over to the staff in the Accident and Emergency department, and then had to explain again what had happened. I was then put in one of the curtained-off cubicles, had a canular put in my right arm and left alone for a long time. At that time the nurse took a blood sample, which went off to be analysed. I gave Carol's mobile phone number and she went off and called her. She came back some time later to tell me she'd managed to speak to her, and around 5 p.m. she and Daniel arrived. I think it was around then, but I have found that time seems to go somewhat awry when you're in hospital, so I have no idea of the exact time. They didn't stay that long with me, as Carol had done a long day's teaching at the Academy and was tired, so she and Daniel went home. It would have meant them hanging around for hours. I wasn't expecting to go home for at least 12 hours, as that was what happened last time I was brought into hospital. They insist on observing your for 12 hours at least before they let you go home, when you have had heart problems like I have.

It was extremely busy in Accident and Emergency. I have never seen so many people in there. People came in to the department in all shapes and sizes, from very young infants to elderly people. 

I was eventually seen by a doctor, who told me that I needed to go to the X Ray Department. I was told by the doctor that they would keep me in hospital for 12 hours at least and that they would do a further blood test at around 3 a.m. which was twelve hours after I'd been admitted.I think that I was eventually wheeled there by a porter at around 7 p.m. The department was actually part of A and E. After I'd been there I was returned to A and E and had to lay on a trolley in the corridor for hours on end.

By now I was getting really hungry. Before I'd come into hospital, I had made spaghetti bolognase for dinner, and it was left, half-prepared on the cooker in the kitchen at home, but I wasn't likely to get to eat any of it, unfortunately, as I was now laying on a trolley in a corridor in the hospital A and E department. A nurse managed to get me a cup of tea and an egg sandwich, which I ate ravenously.

At last, after goodness knows how long, I was given the news that there was a bed for me in the C.D.U. ward (Clinical Decisions Unit), and at around 11 p.m. I was pushed up there by a porter. Another very strange experience, being pushed through the hospital corridors whilst lying in a bed!

I had no pyjamas to wear, so I had to have standard-issue N.H.S. pyjamas, a pair that didn't match, the top were green and the bottoms were blue! 

I have to say that a hospital ward isn't exactly the most sleep-inducing place I can think of. For a start, there are lights on all over the place, and people making strange noises. The last time I was in this ward there was a man who kept singing at the top of his voice. And this time there was a man who kept calling for his mother. This went on for a good many hours, but thankfully it stopped, no doubt after the other patients complained and he was moved elsewhere. I think I did manage to get to sleep at one point, but then I woke up and heard a nurse or someone talking to a patient at the next bed. I have to say that nothing is very private on these wards and you can't help over-hearing conversations which, in all honestly, should be kept private, but it's difficult to not hear what's being said.

At around 3 a.m. a nurse came and did the obligatory 'obs' (observations- blood pressure, temperature, E.C.G. etc.) and took another blood sample. I'm not much good when it comes to needles, and even more so when they take blood, but I had no problem with it this time. Several years ago I had to give a blood sample, and it meant not eating anything ('fasting') for 12 hours, so I was quite hungry when I got to the hospital. I gave the blood sample, and walked out of the building, and then felt really queasy, and sat down on a low wall outside in the hospital car park. I then fell over and lay on the ground, at which point an ambulance turned up and I was surrounded by nurses and taken back inside the hospital. I eventually went to A and E at Bedford Hospital and  was checked over. I think it was all caused because I hadn't had anything to eat. I'm fine when the person taking the blood does it really quickly; it's when they fiddle around, tapping your vein to try and get the needle in that I have problems, and then begin to feel faint and rather queasy. I have been told that I have 'narrow veins' and that they can never manage to get the needle in. I have been told to drink plenty, as it's more difficult if you're dehydrated. At one point, when I originally had my heart attack, my arms looked like a dart-board, the number of times I'd had needles stuck in. A nurse then wanted to take the blood out of my hand, but I really objected, so they had to take it from another part of my arm! I  also had to contend with a drip, and a tube going into the canular on the back of my wrist, which was really difficult to sleep with, because every time you turned over in the bed, the confounded tube would get twisted.

Something else that was rather unpleasant that is done on the several occasions that I have been in hospital since my heart attack is that they give you injection in your stomach. This is a drug which is supposed to help prevent your blood clotting (the cause of the hear attack in the first place.) Why it has to be injected immediately into your stomach, I have no idea. It is perhaps no worse than any other injection, no more than a tiny stinging prick, but it causes the worst bruising and having had two of these injections I now have/had two rather nasty bright blue bruises on my stomach.

Something else, rather minor perhaps, are the small buts of sticky adhesive residue which is left all over your chest, legs, arms and upper torso after the nurses have done the E.C.G's. It's where the electrodes are attached to your skin so they can monitor your heart. I found these nasty bits of rubbery gunk on my skin when I got home the first time I was in hospital, and it only comes off after you've used something like surgical spirit to remove it. No amount of scrubbing with soap and water will remove it completely. I have several bits of this still remaining as I write this. The other thing is the adhesive tape they use when you have a canular put in your arm. I think it is made to be really unpleasant to remove so that the nurses can inflict some sort of pain deliberately on their charges when they come to remove it! When I had to have my angiogram done they had to insert the dye into my blood stream through my groin, and the canular was kept in place with a similar tape with equally agressive adhesion, which caused a certain amount of discomfort when it was removed! (I won't illucidate further, but I think you get my drift . . . )

I'm not at all sure exactly what time it was when I eventually got to see a doctor on this ward. I was told that there was nothing serious going on, that the blood tests had found that there was no sign of a further heart attack, thankfully. I was told that I'd need to stay in hospital for further observations and would need to see the consultant from the cardiology department.

The following morning (Thursday) I was seen by the doctors doing their ward round and it was at that point that I was told that I might need to have further tests before I could go home. The last time I came into hospital with a severe angina attack I had to do tests, one a stress test, I (I believe that this is what's known as a 'stress-echo test' but I may, of course, be totally wrong.) This consists of putting adreneline into your body, which makes your heart pump faster, and then they use a gadget which can see the heart and work out how well it is pumping. I also had to undergo a test on a tread mill, something I did at Bedford Hospital at the time of my heart attack.

Carol came in to see me, having phoned in to the Academy and setting cover for her lessons for the day. She was determined to stay with me as long as possible. There seemed no chance that I would be discharged immediately, unfortunately. Late on Thursday I was told that I was going to the Cardiology department to have a treadmill test. Carol came with me. She had to wait in the waiting room whilst I was taken into the room where the test equipment was. I  was fitted up with no end of wires and sensors stuck all over my chest to monitor my heart, and a blood pressure cuff put on my left arm and then I had to start walking on the treadmill. At first it was relatively slowly, but then it got faster and I had to pace out a good deal faster with longer strides. I was taken back to the ward. I was told that I would be told what the results of the test revealed, once the doctors had had a look at them. Carol went home, so I was again left alone, and by now I was getting really bored. I had nothing to read, no books, magazines or even a newspaper. There are television console things over the beds, but you need to pay for this service, as well as using headphones which plug into the units, which are on adjustable brackets over each bed.

During the evening I was eventually moved to yet another ward, Ward 2, which is only a short distance along the corridor from the C.D.U. I do remember it was quite late and when I arrived on the ward, a nurse said, 'Welcome to the mad-house' which hardly seemed appropriate. Most of the patients there seemed somewhat geriatric, so I didn't expect to have any sparkling or stimulating conversations with anyone. The gentlemen in the bed directly opposite me lay at a rather peculiar angle in his bed, which looked extremely uncomfortable, and it took several nurses to change him and deal with his care.

I managed to ring Carol on the ward telephone to let her know where I was and that I had moved wards. I was ceremoniously dumped on this ward, and, although I was occasionally approached by nurses for the routine 'obs' nobody spoke to me or acknowledged my presence. I was told that I would be seeing someone 'from the Cardiology Department' sometime during the next day, but nobody could tell me exactly what time. This didn't exactly help me, as I was by now really keen to go home.

As this post has become rather long, I think I will post it now, and complete my thoughts and impressions of my time in hospital in a further post, otherwise this is going to become something of rather epic proportions.