Sunshine Is Good For The Soul

It's another of those beautifully bright and sunny July days which really lifts your spirits. Having taken the Diazepam tablet last night, I had yet another really good sleep and didn't wake until gone 6 o'clock. I think Alfie is gradually adjusting to my new routine of getting up later and later and we didn't get out until a little before 7 a.m. I am a little bit concerned that there are far more cars parked along Golden Drive and even a few traffic cones. I have an idea that these cars may belong to employees of the hospital which is just behind this house. I do hope it doesn't mean we're going to get more employees parking here as it's getting a bit crowded. I have no complaint about this issue, but if it means that Eaglestone residents don't have space to park then it is a serious issue. What does annoys me is when people insist on parking across the footpath. It's difficult to actually differentiate which is road and which is path for pedestrians and it's a bit unfair that you have to walk into the road when a car is in the way. Some cars even park on the grass, which is eventually going to destroy this feature along the roadside because this area isn't designed to take the weight of a car. It would be alright in the summer, when it it is dry, but when it rains or there's snow and ice it is going to cause more problems and merely churn up the grass and create mud.

I had decided to go into the Council offices and discover whether they had heard anything from the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) with regards my Pension Credit. I wanted to get there as soon as I could after they opened at 9 o'clock. I was daring when I wore my shorts! It has been hot enough to wear them. I parked the car in the usual carpark near The Point, using the RingGo app to pay. It actually worked, but I had a pocket-full of £1 coins just in case.

I walked into the shopping centre and then out the opposite side near Costa and near Marks and Spencer and on arrival in the Civic Centre I had to first sign in using one of the touch-screen terminals. I couldn't get the one I used to work so I had to ask a member of staff and then got a ticket from the machine with number 204 on it and went to sit down and wait. I was surprised how few people there were in there. I imagine most people would arrive later or simply couldn't get out of bed. I had bought my World Wildlife Fund reusable bag with me, containing reading as well as writing material. But my number wasn't long in appearing on the digital screen and the automated voice spoke out the number. No doubt this is for those whose vision isn't very good and I walked across to the desk. I explained to the lady behind the desk why I was there, to find out if they'd had any notification from the D.W.P. about my Pension Credit claim. They hadn't. Then I asked her about having my Housing Benefit paid directly into my landlord's bank account. She tried to persuade me against this, saying it was only done in exceptional circumstances and I was adamant that I wanted this. She said that it would require a signature from my landlord and she went away to find the relevant form for me to fill in. As it is about the time when I get a visit from the landlord and his wife, once a year for a mere ten minutes, it would be then that I would get him to agree to the Housing Benefit going directly into his bank account. I also learnt that the next payment of Housing Benefit (which should be to cover the entirety of the rent.) is on 22nd July. By which time I should have heard via the D.W.P. regarding the newly-discovered pension that Carol had when she was living and working in Bournemouth (which is going to effect the amount I receive from the Council.)

A Tropical Heatwave

I just have to sing the song 'Heatwave' from some musical or other, or 'Too Darn Hot' from perhaps the best-ever musical, 'Kiss Me Kate.' It's because we're enjoying a heatwave at the moment. I love it warm and sunny, but it's been far too hot. With a heart condition I have to be careful in sunshine. It can be quite dangerous. Likewise, Carol, with her health condition. Having been on chemotherapy for over six months too much sunshine can be just as dangerous for her as it can be for me. I don't want to complain about the warm weather. We don't get much decent weather as it is, and considering what we've had to go through during the past year.

It's been a really hot and sticky few nights. Even with the window open in the bedroom and an electric fan on at full blast, it's been rather difficult to sleep. Then you get extraneous sounds coming into the house, adding to further difficulties sleeping. It gets light early, the dawn chorus. Boy, can those little critters half sing? I don't think they sleep. A real racket. No wonder I wake up early in the summer months.

I've continued with the clearing of the brambles and other overgrown plantlife in our garden, such as it is. I did some more work on it early this morning, as it was over-cast at around 7.30. I was determined to get more done as a lot of the stuff I managed to grub out and cut back had gone in our Wheely bin and the rubbish is collected on a Wednesday morning. I had to bring it through the house as we don't have a side gate which would obviously make life easier. The space where the gate should be had to be blocked up when the fence was repaired and it would cost at least £150 to have a new gate put in. Our lovely landlord wouldn't spend out on having this done, I am sure. But it would make our lives easier if we could just push the bin round to the front of the house for collection by the Council workmen. I'm not sure whether they take this every week. I have a feeling it's only taken every fortnight because when I put it out a couple of weeks ago it was either forgotten or ignored by the Council workmen. I have no idea when it's supposed to be taken. But it was taken and emptied early this morning. Which means I can now fill it up again. With more garden waste.

I've been looking for new shoes. I went on line as I wanted something like a trainer but made of leather. Also, with substantial soles, so I don't feel gravel or whatever through them. On using Google I went on the Sports Direct site and found some Sketchers, a lightweight sort of shoe with a more substantial sole. When we went to Waterperry Gardens the other week, no sooner had we parked the car and were walking towards the entrance, across gravel, I could feel the gravel through the soles of my current pair of Adidas trainers. Not good. They are still in good condition. Since I was at school I have always kept shoes I own and wear clean. I use treatment to keep them waterproof and make sure they are polished or at least wiped clean. I don't suppose today's children have to worry about their shoes being cleaned like I did when I was at school. They should do. Having a sort of sense of personal pride should surely be instilled into the younger generation.

I digress. Never mind. Anyway, as I say, I found what I wanted on the Sports Direct website. I could have bought them through the website, but really wanted to try them on. Which you obviously can't do from a website. I could have bought them and tried them on, not liked them, for whatever reason and then had to send them back, which I didn't fancy doing. So on Monday we drove to the retail park at Bletchley and had a look at their vast selection. I found what I was looking for and then tried them on. A very helpful lady assistant got me the second shoe (a size 10 1/2, which I found to be slightly too large. I take a 10. When she came back with the size 10 pair I tried them on and they were perfect, so I decided to buy them, together with a shoe-care kit comprising special 'rain and stain' protector as well as instant cleaning spray.

We went to Frost's garden centre in Woburn Sands this morning. Carol had another scan this afternoon at the hospital and couldn't eat after 2 p.m. We had lattes and really fantastic scones, jam and cream. These scones are larger and far tastier than the average and are to be recommended. Also had a quick browse before we went home.

We decided to drive to the hospital for Carol's scan appointment. We could have walked, but, as it was so hot, it seemed a better idea to go in the car. On getting in the car, which had been standing on the drive all day in the full force of the sun, we discovered it to be extremely hot, rather like sitting in an oven (not that either of us has done such a thing.) I had an idea it wasn't as hot as the previous day, which was supposed to have been the hottest day this year, according to the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast this morning. Anyway, we drove round to the hospital and then had to park outside the scanning department which fortunately has several dedicated parking spaces for patients. I wasn't over-pleased that we had to park on a sloping piece of tarmac, so trusted that Carol had successfully applied the car's brakes, otherwise the car would have rolled forward and crashed through the scanning unit's glass facade. The unit was running approximately 20 minutes late. No reason given, but at least the staff on reception apologised. No doubt this was due to patients being bought in from the hospital wards to be scanned. Carol was soon taken off to be scanned and I was left to read the magazines in the waiting area. It was hot in the waiting area, but the staff closed the blinds and the place soon cooled down. About 45 minutes later Carol returned, the scan having been done, and she had to sit for 15 further minutes as she had a cannula in her arm. They put some sort of dye into the patient's arm (possibly radioactive? I don't know.) and eventually it was taken out by the nurse and we returned home, having had to make a somewhat difficult reverse out of the parking space outside the unit.

Two Hospital Appointments

Carol was due to have an appointment with the stoma nurse on Thursday morning at around 10.15. We arrived in good time, deciding to walk as the weather was fine. We got to out-patients in plenty of time and Carol signed in at one of the self-service screens. Well, the one that was actually working as sometimes they don't function. We were sent through to the correct area. You get assigned a place nearest where your appointment is booked. There were two staff members on the reception area and there were very few patients waiting. One man near us, filling in a form. Another man in the next area doing the same. Presumably you have to fill in these forms if you are a new patient. Why don't they send them out in the post, or via email (for those who have access to a computer of some sort.) so that you have the form filled in when you arrived at your appointment? They probably had, but it does seem far more logical if you arrived with the form already completed. Carol attempted to join in the conversation the two staff were having, but one of them, a really cross-looking of woman in her late 40's or early 50's totally ignored her. A lady came in with a child and needed some assistance, but this staff member was somewhat abrasive with her. Well, I thought so. Not exactly the sort of manner you expect from N.H.S. staff. Most are extremely polite and pleasant, but this woman was really rude.

Carol was eventually called in by the nurse. She knows us well, so it was quite an easy appointment. Afterwards we went to have coffee in Costa, which is in the new entrance area of the hospital. Nice to be able to relax after the appointment.

Before we left, Carol walked back towards the main area of the hospital through the long corridor and we ended up at the hairdressers. I've walked past on several occasions and noticed this. She managed to book a hair appointment for 3 o'clock this afternoon. It has been quite difficult to make such an appointment, when she has so many various hospital appointments, along with chemotherapy sessions.

We went back to the hospital for Carol's hair appointment. The lady who did the hair-trim was very efficient and the job was done very quickly. Carol had looked on-line to find a hair style that suited her and eventually found exactly what she wanted and we printed it out to take to the appointment. Unfortunately we didn't have the correct money to pay for the haircut, and they didn't have a chip-and-pin machine to pay and didn't have the cash on us, so I had to go to an A.T.M. machine. The machine at the hospital entrance was 'out of order,' and I realised that there was a machine near the restaurant which was a long walk through those endless corridors, but I managed to get the cash out and walk back to the hairdresser's salon. Done and paid.

On Friday Carol had a further appointment with one of the oncology consultants at the Macmillan Unit at Milton Keynes Hospital. It was another bright and fairly sunny day so it seemed a sensible idea to again walk, avoiding having to park the car.  We got to the Macmillan unit far too early. We saw the colorectal nurse we've seen on many occasions. Infact she was there at the time of Carol's original diagnosis but we haven't seen her that many times over the past year or so. Then we were called in to see the consultant. We had been told that things were going well, that the chemotherapy was successful, that the tumors were shrinking considerably. We had been told that Carol was to have two operations, one in Milton Keynes to deal with the lower bowel tumors and then she would go to Oxford for the liver operation and that some radiotherapy would be used. That was what we were expecting when we went to the Churchill in Oxford a few weeks ago. But when Carol mentioned all this on Friday she was told that they had never promised an use of an operation. We are beginning to get very conflicting responses from both Oxford and Milton Keynes. Carol was told that she needed to have a P.E.T. can in Oxford, and that they had attempted to ring her during the week but couldn't get through, hence the cancer coordinator who rang the other day. She had been told that Oxford wanted the scan done before her next Chemotherapy cycle (which will be the final, twelfth, one, starting this Tuesday.) before they can go ahead with the liver operation. But then the consultant in Milton Keynes said he knew nothing about this. We are going to Oxford on Monday, having got the scan appointment there at about 3.30 in the afternoon. (On Monday morning Carol has to go to the Milton Keynes oncology department as usual to have another blood test to check that she can continue with chemotherapy on Tuesday.) So you can see why we are so confused as to what is actually going on and what the next stage of treatment will be. I would say that both sides need to sort out any communication issues which is what is causing all the confusion. We spoke to a nurse who has now gone out of her way to attempt to find out what is going on and we will have a meeting with the lead consultant who will be able to rectify any confusion which should put our minds at rest. Unfortunately after the consultant's meeting on Friday, we left feeling somewhat negative about things, which didn't exactly help matters.
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Weekend Shopping and Completion Of Third Chemo Cycle

I've been out extra early this morning to do some shopping. I went all the way over to Westcroft to go to Aldi. Last week I went into the main shopping centre to buy Carol a diary as well as a calendar to mark in all her hospital appointments. I then went to Aldi at Bradwell Common and got there too later, so the place was heaving with customers and it was all but impossible to move around the store. Not entirely helped by the fact that there were no end of pallets and boxes being used to stock the place. All this was why I decided to go so early this morning and it worth worth it as I was in and out within about half an hour. We'd made a list which also helped. The one thing we like about Aldi, apart from everything being a good deal cheaper (around a third, I reckon.) their stores are smaller than the average supermarket so you can get around quicker and there's less to choose from. Why have so many versions of the same product, such as tomato ketchup? Just confusing and makes choosing more difficult. Mind you, we don't particularly like their tomato ketchup, so we have to go to Sainsbury's for Heinz ketchup. There are some products which you can't compromise on, such as tea (has to be P.G. Tips every time) as well as toothpaste (Has to be Colgate.) But Aldi's meat fruit and vegetables can't be bettered. They have a faster system at the checkout. You make sure your trolley is in place and they whizz your shopping through the scanner and then you have to pack it on the shelf which saves time.  They've managed to place the bar codes on the packaging in such a way that  the operator doesn't have to search for them and they're large enough, unlike on most products where you spend time looking for the bar code so it can be scanned, so wasting time and energy. It was relatively easy to park as well and it's not far to push the trolley when the shopping is done.

Carol had to go into the hospital to have the pump disconnected. We had to go to ward 22, which is over the Endoscopy department, and not the Oncology Suite. Fortunately I knew where it was as I noticed the signage for it when I walked through the hospital the other day. The chemotherapy makes Carol feel really awful, mostly dizzy. It was quite difficult for her to walk from the car into the hospital.

We didn't have to wait long when we eventually reached Ward 22. Carol was taken into a side-room and a nurse removed the pump. Unfortunately Carol was even more dizzy when she came out and sat on a chair in the corridor. We began to walk out, but the dizziness got worse, so she had to sit down again. A nurse rang for a porter to come with a wheelchair. I couldn't push a wheelchair because of my heart condition. After about 20 minutes or so the porter arrived with the wheelchair and we began the journey back to the entrance at Cardiology, where we had come into the hospital. The porter couldn't wheel Carol outside, so I was left with Carol to slowly return to the car. Fortunately, when we drove out of the carpark, the barrier was raised, so we didn't have to pay. At the weekend you have to pay and can't get your ticket stamped at Macmillan's unit as it's closed, so it was a relief to find we didn't have to pay.

N.H.S. Hospital Ward Experiences

Being in a hospital ward is something of an eye-opener. I realise it's not supposed to be like a hotel, but it could be a little more comfortable. For visitors and not just the patients. The chair in the side room where Carol is at present is made of plastic, no doubt because the surface of it is easier to clean and so help prevent infection. But sit on one of these for any length of time and you'll discover how uncomfortable they can be, besides the fact you keep sliding off the seat because it's so slippery. A table which is on castors for ease of movement around the room and designed to be raised or lowered as desired, and intended to be used across the bed so the patient can eat from it, write and keep things  is another piece of furniture in the room. This over-bed table is annoying because the moment you need to move it, it won't move particularly easily, and because the room is so small it seems to take up a great deal of space.  This table can be raised or lowered. Another standard item in the room is a water jug, complete with lid (which is so annoying because it only rests on the top of the jug and isn't hinged, which sense would say was a better design feature.   Whenever you need to pour water from this jug, the lid won't lift off properly. A good example of a bad product design. No doubt they have separate lids for ease of washing, but not much else.) The whole room isn't furnished to allow much of a patients' personal belongings to be stored. There's a weird bedside cabinet which has some odd doors in it, and just about enough space inside to store a pair of shoes and some of the clothes a patient might have arrived on the ward in. It has a sort of lockable metal safe which I presume is for valuable items, but it's placed in such a way as to take up space which could be used better and doesn't allow for much to be placed on the unit, which would have been an ideal bedside unit. Another complete  design fail. Carol has to have a drip and theres a stand which is on a sort of five-castor base. It's a metal-constructed stand with a telescope central section with a sort of 'T'-shaped cross-piece with hooks on and the clear plastic bags of saline solution or medication are hung. There are clear plastic tubes running off this stand and into an electronic device with a digital read-out which is a pump which feeds the liquid into Carol's body via a series of cannulas in her arms. This pump is easily disturbed and when it is, it sets off a high-pitched alarm which can be more than a little bit annoying. Whenever Carol needs to use the toilet or have a wash in the nearby wet room (conveniently only a short distance from her room) she has to take the stand with her with all the tubes attached, which can take a bit of manoeuvring out of the room. It's quite a difficult job to avoid the bits of furniture, the end of the bed and the bedside table. More like a game of Tetris or one of those old fashioned games which had plastic shapes which had to be moved around a small frame to create an image of some sort, for example, a flag or famous scene of some sort.

In another corner of the room there is another standard N.H.S. item. It's a bin which has what is called 'silent closing.' You use your foot to open the lid, but you mustn't use your hand to close it (there's a notice stuck to the lid telling you his, in no uncertain terms, to use your hands. What happens if you do, if your caught doing such a terrible thing? Do you get your wrists slapped or something?) It's obviously to prevent you having to touch it, to reduce the spread of germs, but it's just so unnecessary to have this sort of notice plastered all over things like bins. The bed Carol has is another, presumably, standard item. It's on wheels, so it can be pushed around the ward as well as off to different departments around the hospital, such as taking patients to the operating theatres. It has sections which can be moved up and down by means of motors within the construction of the bed, the head, central section and foot-end, and the entire bed can be raised and lowered, which makes it easier for the patient to get in and out of bed and to make the staff's life easier.

Then, why does the place have to be so warm? I realise that there are those who might need to be kept warm, particularly if they're unwell or elderly. But in the small side-ward that Carol is on it's just like a furnace, so Carol has the window open. Then, the windows can only be opened no more than a couple of inches. No doubt to prevent anyone attempting suicide by jumping out or there being an accident and someone falling out. Taking health and safety to crazy levels. I've mentioned the food that patients have to eat. Of a very low quality. Soup that is in no way like any soup I've ever had anywhere and just generally inedible. It's not the staffs fault, it's because they're on such a tight budget.

There are miles of corridors at Milton Keynes Hospital. I realise that you have to have corridors, to link the various departments together, but the whole layout of the place is a real mess. It's only on two floors (although I think there are a few buildings on more than two floors.) If someone had designed the place in just a couple of multi-storey blocks, there would have been no need for so many corridors. Not only that, but surely it would have been a far better use of the land it's built on. No end of little courtyards in between the various buildings, some of which have been made into really pleasant gardens, but to be honest, this is just a waste of space.

Another thing you have to contend with in a hospital ward, and not only can I attest to this with the current situation but whenever I've had to spend time in one. is the amount of noise. Now, would you not expect a hospital ward to be quiet? Probably like a library, where you are expected to be quiet, so people aren't disturbed, to aid concentration? So, in a ward, the patients can get over whatever they are there for, to recuperate from an operation or whatever? But, no, the ward I was in, and the one Carol has been in, was extremely noisy. There are people talking at full volume, usually visitors, nurses and other professionals, being noisy, pushing beds around, maintenance men hammering, sawing or whatever, and then all those alarms going off constantly. Carol had a machine next to her bed, a pump-thing, which was constantly making noises, a high-pitched alarm. What on earth is the point of an alarm, if no one takes any notice of it? A bit like car alarms which have a habit of going off in the street, sometimes outside our house. But no one seems to care, nobody responds to them. So what on earth is the point of them if nobody responds in any way?

999 Paramedics Call

Carol was  violently sick all Sunday afternoon. It calmed down for a couple of hours, but by 11.30 it was necessary to call 999. An ambulance arrived within 10 minutes and the paramedics did an assessment and it was decided that she should go to the emergency department at Milton Keynes hospital. I followed in our car and met up with Carol within the hospital. Fortunately it was relatively quiet and we spent around four hours as the nurses and doctors got things under control. It was decided that she should have to be observed and would need to remain in hospital and that the doctors and surgeons would meet up during today (Monday) to decide a pathway for her treatment. She was taken to Ward 20 where the nurse on Emergency handed over to the staff on Ward 20. I will be returning later this morning to be in attendance when the meeting is held to decide how Carol's treatment will be set up. I will post on here as things evolve.

Later

I've been in to see Carol this morning. She wasn't in a happy frame of mind, unfortunately. She's in a side-ward, so it's a good deal quieter than being in the main ward. Extremely busy. The nurses are very good at what they do as well as friendly, which makes things better. I've been to the Macmillan unit, which is on the floor below ward 20. I have had a brief chat with one of the counsellors there and have made an appointment for 8th November.

I had to come home as I needed to have something to eat. I went to Sainsbury's for a sandwich and had to buy a new mop as things need cleaning around the house. Fortunately it's sunny and mild, but last night, when I returned to the car to come home, there was some ice on the car's windscreen. It took a while to defrost. It's a good thing the new car as efficient heating and the windscreen has a heat strip to melt any ice. This morning I went to the hospital after 9 a.m. and parked as usual. On leaving later, I had to go to the ticket machine to pay, as you take a ticket from the machine when you enter the carpark and then put this ticket in the machine to pay on the way out and then use the ticket to get the barrier to lift when you leave. The machine would not accept my debit card, for whatever reason, and I couldn't read the digital display as the sun was too bright to make it clear to read. I asked a lady passer-by where the nearest pay machine might be as the one I'd tried wasn't cooperating and she said if I drove to the barrier and pressed a certain button I might be able to leave without having to pay if I said the machine was faulty. In driving to the barrier I found the barrier raised and I could leave with having to pay. This happened a few weeks ago when we were at the hospital so no doubt there was a technical problem with the ticket machine. Thankfully, because I saved at least £4.50.

Waiting

We're still waiting to hear from the hospital regarding Carol's treatment. We thought we'd hear on Thursday regarding the next step but there was absolutely nothing. Whenever the post comes or the phone rings it seemed it might be about something or other, but nothing. We decided to ring the specialist nurse who has been assigned to Carol and she said she'd ring around to see if she could discover what was going on or at least speed things up. She rang back, really quickly, thankfully, to say we were unlikely to hear anything until at least Wednesday or Thursday, because the cancer team met on those days. Also, they hadn't yet received the M.R.I. scan which was done the previous Friday. Just waiting for the relevant administration to be be done. It seems the N.H.S. is over-run by bureaucracy  If they were to get rid of half the paper-work it might run more efficiently. The same in education where there are to many targets and bits of paper to keep filling in. Crazy.

Sunshine, Sneezes and Grass Cutting

So, we're now into September. I suppose it's now downhill to Christmas. The shops will be brim-full of the usual tat that passes for 'Christmas' stock, all the junk you couldn't possibly want but seem impelled to purchase. It's such a pity that B.H.S. no longer exists as we always found it great fun to visit their Christmas shop because it used to be chock full of the exact tat I've just mentioned above, furry slippers with Father Christmas hats on, party packs of chewing gum and assorted mints in Guinness glasses. You name it, some idiot has thought of it and it's packaged and made available to the general public. So, which shop will take the mantle from those eager to buy this stuff?

Further thoughts on B.H.S. Why did it deteriorate so rapidly? When it was run by Conran's under the umbrella of Storehouse (or some other name) along with B and Q and Superdrug (which, incidentally, are still going strong as separate companies) but when Philip Green took it over did it become nothing but a disaster, the standard of the stuff they sold really poor quality? Further to that, what happened to the stock that was left when it went into administration? The same could be said of Woolworth's when they, too, went bust. What happened to the stock that they had left when it closed down? Is it in a  warehouse awaiting being sold on to some other business.

I've been sneezing for the past few days. Considering all our health issues over the past couple of months, the last thing I wanted to get would be a cold. I suppose it's no surprise, I probably picked it up from sitting in waiting rooms. I remember a couple of years ago when I went into hospital when I had a glitch with an angina attack which didn't stop, I came out of hospital and came down with a severe bout of noro virus. Just typical, you go into hospital with one thing and come out with another. Not nice and something we could well do without. Since then, I have noticed when we've been to hospital, how much effort is now made to keep the various places clean, there's always someone cleaning the floor or surfaces, how much effort they seem to make when they change the beds.

Well, anyway, as I say, I've been sneezing a lot the past couple of days. I haven't had a cold in a few years now. My general health has been good. I haven't had any severe angina attacks or anything heart-related for quite a while. If I do anything too strenuous I always manage to use a G.T.N. spray. For example, whenever we go swimming at Nuffield Health I have a few puffs before I get into the pool. Or, if we go out and go for a walk I often use the spray before we set of or at least take one with me. I have several spare in the box I have to keep my medication.

It's possible that the sneezing is because of the grass-cutting, but they can't be linked as it stopped before I cut the grass.

I've put it off for long enough. It's not a job I particularly relish, but there was no point in putting it off much longer. The weather was fine, so I just went and cut the grass. Anyway, it was long and if I ignored it for much longer the mower wouldn't make much of a job. Considering the machine has such a tiny plastic cutter, it's a wonder I managed to make much of an impression on the grass at all. It was slightly wet which didn't exactly help, but at least it's now done and should not need doing again for another couple of weeks. Mention as I have above about using a G.T.N. spray I usually use it before mowing the grass and stop several times as I'm mowing as I don't want to get an angina attack. Makes sense really. One reason to cut the grass is, that our beloved landlord will visit at some point within the next month, and probably the only comment he will make will be 'have you cut the grass?' Well, if he was to merely take a glance into the garden he would be able to see whether it was cut or not. He and his wife usually ring us during August to come and visit (having to give 24 hours notice) but, up until today, they haven't done so. Why, I begin to ask? Have they forgotten? Is it because they trust us to look after the house? Or is it they don't want to have to spend out on repairs to the place, one such repair desperate for something or other is the toilet cistern in the bathroom. It doesn't stop water flowing into the bowl after you flush the thing. And quite a few minor things that need doing.

Anyway, returning to my sneezing attacks. It seems to have passed. It didn't develop into a full-scale cold, thank goodness. Probably a sort of hay fever attack. Which, incidentally, isn't something I'm prone to.

Hospital Appointment For Carol

Carol had to go for a hospital appointment this morning. She went into the Academy as usual, but walked home at around 10.45. The actual appointment was 11.30. As the hospital is so close, there was really no point driving, because we'd only have to pay to use the hospital car park, and it would be quicker to walk, what with traffic. It's no more than a ten minute walk there, along the Redway behind our house and then straight through to the path that runs beside the road. The only problem was that it was threatening to rain, a miserable undecided sort of day on the weather-front, overcast and cold.

We had to walk around the front of the hospital complex, to the Maple Centre, which is near the entrance for Accident and Emergency. In through the front entrance and we were inside a typical N.H.S. unit. Why do they always have that air of depression, the same rather strong smell, clean, but unpleasant? Is it the cleaning material they use, or what is it? Over-clean, I think. Obsessively so. It's difficult to see immediately where you have to go. So many signs, go here, co there. Reception desk, do you sign in or not? I would have come with Carol anyway, but in the letter she had for the appointment, it said that she needed to bring someone with her as they would put drops in her eyes as part of the procedure and she wouldn't be safe to drive afterwards and, as a result, also have a pair of dark glasses as her eyes would be sensitive to bright light. At the reception desk Carol gives the woman behind the counter the letter she was sent and the information is put in the computer. Signed in and told to sit and wait. We go and sit in the Yellow Bay. A lot of old people sitting and waiting. It's even more depressing. Nobody talks. Nobody wants to give anyone eye contact. Which is ironic, when you think it's the eye clinic. Carol is here because she's recently been diagnosed as diabetic and they have to check your eyes to prevent eye problems which might result. The place is decorated white, cold, typically N.H.S., standard paintwork. Why can't it be done in more bright and colourful colours? Surely it wouldn't cost anymore. As people walk about the floor seems to move. It's got a strange sort of movement, as if the place is built on springs or something. Why is it like that? The Carol gets called to go in to her appointment. I make notes in my notebook I try to take with me everywhere. This is a good place to study characters, people's behaviours. A woman comes in with a baby in a stroller. I'm not actually sure what you call these things- stroller, buggy, baby-carrier. Anyway, a complicated machine with wheels, lots of levers and handles and the actual bit into which the baby is inserted, padded and comfortable, with straps and looking to me like a sort of coal scuttle. I think it disconnects so it can be put into a car, with the baby safe within it. Then a second lady arrives, and it turns out she is the sister of the other lady with a baby. Why are they here? Is it her appointment, or the babies? Difficult to know.

The Carol calls to me from another waiting area. Green Bay. She says, come in here and sit with me. She has to wait for 20 minutes for the drops she has had put in her eyes to take effect. Green Bay is even more depressing than Yellow Bay. I don't see how you differentiate between the coloured bays, but Carol says it's the door-frames, painted different colours. The green paint in Green Bay is rather insipid, not a proper green to my way of thinking. The place has posters all over the walls, rather too many for my liking. Don't do this, don't do that, information over-kill. They tell you that, if you use a mobile phone, to respect other patients privacy. As if you'd ever not. But I suppose some people have no idea about 'respect.' Probably use their mobile to take a 'selfie'. As if you'd want to in a hospital. There's free wifi, so presumably it's alright to use a mobile. I was always under the impression you weren't supposed to use your mobile at all in a hospital. Something about the radio signals they use interfering with the computers and other equipment. But there is no evidence that this is true.

It's so gloomy. Nobody wants to talk to you. People being lead about, rather like the blind leading the blind. More deep irony. We just want to have a laugh. Why are the people in here so miserable? I know, a hospital isn't a particularly laugh-out-loud sort of place, and especially a department like this.  But please, just lighten up. I think I'd go completely nuts if I couldn't have a laugh. So many old people, just looking miserable, is enough to drive you completely doo-lalley. There's not even a television to watch or a coffee machine. Nothing to while away the time.  A pile of ancient magazines, most more or less past their best before day, if they ever had one in the first place. Can't the N.H.S. employ a stand-up comedian to get people to at least SMILE? laughter- supposedly the best form of medicine. Then Carol gets called back into the room to have a chat with the clinician or whatever he's called about her eyes. They take photographs of her eyes, which is why they put the drops into her eyes so that your pupils dilate which makes taking the photographs easier. I had this done when I had my eyes tested the other week.

Which reminds me, also on an eye-related matter. I have been to SpecSavers, on Wednesday, in Milton Keynes Shopping Centre, to have the prescription I got when I had my eyes tested the other week, and I'm having two pairs of glasses made up, for £69 (a really good offer.) One pair will be for distance work (for example, driving, watching television etc.) and another pair for reading, using the computer etc, more close work.) These will be ready next Wednesday.

So, having been back in to chat with the clinician, she comes back out and we leave. It's a matter of finding your way out into the hospital campus and trying to decipher the various conflicting notices, some saying 'Exit' and 'Way Out.' It's bright sunshine when we get outside and Carol puts on the dark glasses she bought with her. We stroll back home through the hospital grounds and back into Eaglestone and along the Redway and home. 

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Appointment

I had a letter come out of the blue from the N.H.S. a few weeks ago to go for a screening for something called an abdominal aortic aneurysm, something I had never heard of before. Apparently men of my age (65) are supposed to be prone to this problem, which can, apparently, according to the leaflet which came with the letter, be very dangerous.  The aorta is the main blood vessel that supplies blood to your body. It runs from your heart down through your chest and abdomen. In some people, as they get older, the wall of the aorta can become weak. It can then start to expand and form an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The condition is most common in men aged 65 and over. Unfortunately the day the appointment was arranged I was feeling particularly unwell and didn't go. I got another letter about a week later asking me to arrange a new appointment by telephone so I rang and got the fresh appointment. I wasn't aware that Milton Keynes area was covered by Bedford Hospital N.H.S. Trust, in fact the hospital I was taken to when I had my heart attack in 2006. This is where I rang to make the appointment. I presume they had my name and address and details on their system from then and that would be why I got the letter. Anyway, the appointment is this morning at 10.40, at the Grove Surgery, which used to be our doctor's surgery before we moved to Ashfield Medical Centre.

I'm not entirely sure what this procedure entails, but I imagine it will be similar to the tests I had shortly after my heart attack. One was an angiogram which was done at Bedford Hospital and I had several others done at Papworth Hospital near Cambridge and then a few years later I had what was called a Stress Test done at Milton Keynes Hospital, so I imagine this screening will be similar.

Later.

I got to the Grove Surgery in good time. With about 20 minutes to spare. I always think it's best to be too early, because of parking the car. I was glad I did, because the surgery car park was chocker-block full, and so was the road leading to it and the carpark immediately behind the adjacent parade of shops. So I decided to try the carpark which is in front of the shops in Netherfield. I managed to find a convenient space, and, instead of sitting and waiting for a few minutes in the car before going to the surgery, I decided to walk straight there. The waiting room was very busy and I went to reception to say I was there, as you are supposed to do. Ashfield Medical Centre has a computerised system which you have to sign in to with your name, date of birth etc (although for the past several occasions it has been out of order.) I sat and waited for my name to be called. I was somewhat amused by the automatic door they had. A man went to leave and couldn't get the door to open. For whatever reason, the door wouldn't respond when he walked up to it. It must have got confused because you no doubt have to be in range of some sort of movement sensor that would pick up that you are there and then allow the door to open. You have to go through two doors, with a sort of porch in between. I expect this is to keep the heat in during cold weather. He managed to leave, and then several people walked past the door and it kept opening and closing even though people weren't going in or out.

My name was then called out by a young man, whom I could tell was going to do the screening as he was dressed in an N.H.S. uniform along with a lanyard with an identity card on it. I had to have such a card when I worked as a support worker for the N.H.S. I was led into a room and was surprised to find several other people were also there. It turned out the young man who had come to fetch me from the waiting room was a trainee and the other people in the room were observing how he worked. He informed me what the other people were there for, which didn't bother me. I am always pleased to be able to help anyone, particularly if they are training and it furthers their career as well as making sure that a particular procedure is done correctly. I had to lay on a couch and raised my shirt so he could put some gel on my stomach and lower abdomen and he then put the scanner senor on my abdomen. He moved the sensor up and down my stomach and lower abdomen and the lady who was observing kept telling him in which direction to move it and they were looking at a screen which showed my internal organs (I didn't look. I had a similar thing done as I have mentioned above, when they put something in my blood to make my heart beat faster and they could see how it was behaving on a similar screen. Similar to an ultrasound scan that is used to see a baby developing within the womb when a woman is pregnant.) He then said that my blood vessels were 'fine and healthy' and as far as he could see there was no reason for me to have an aneurysm and  I wouldn't need any further scans. At which point the procedure was finished. I sat up, although a little bit dizzy and lightheaded and the lady who was observing said that she would have to look at the scans to check for 'quality control' and if they weren't up to the correct standard I would have to return for another session. I just hope not. It wasn't an unpleasant experience for all that. Everything was extremely professional and well managed. Except, when I fot home, I found that I had the gel left on my stomach and some of it was on my shirt. I don't know exactly what it was, but no doubt something like KY Jelly!