Health Issues

 Thursday. 3.00 p.m. I have a cold. I haven't had one in years. In all the time I was with Carol, I didn't have one cold. I can't think where it has come from, presumably caught from someone at church or perhaps in Sainsbury's or the shopping centre. It's not heavy, but I keep sneezing and have a sore throat, and it's just unpleasant and makes sleeping at night difficult, because of a really unpleasant cough. I have sweets to suck and I've taken Paracetamol. I'll just have to put up with it until it clears up.

6.30 p.m. I have been for an appointment at Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. It was scheduled for 4.30, but I was still waiting at 4.50, so I asked the receptionist and was told that they were running late. I eventually got called to go to Room 16, which came up on the digital screen. I had assumed that I was going to have an appointment with a doctor, but when I walked through the door, I then discovered that I was seeing the pharmacist. I was to have my blood pressure taken.  The pharmacist lady did my blood pressure sitting down, but, after looking at the results, I had to stand up for the second test. It was shown that there was a difference in the readings between when I sat down and then stood up to have my blood pressure taken. It would have been blood pressure which was the cause of my collapsing on the floor and then being taken to hospital.

It was odd seeing my writing on the computer screen when the pharmacist had a look at the blood test results when I had to check it over a week.

As a result of the blood test results, I am going to have to wear a blood pressure cuff for 24 hours, and this will begin next Tuesday. It doesn't concern me, but it will be quite difficult to have to wear it in bed. Then I will have to go back to the Medical Centre to give the pharmacist the device so it can be checked to see what the results find and have an E.C.G. done, which will check my heart health.

Friday. 7.30 a.m. I have put my washing in the machine. It's supposed to start at 8 o'clock, but I can't be bothered waiting. Just get on with it and start the machine. No point waiting, I say!

It looks like another mild morning. Please, no rain or wind!

Saturday. 12.25 p.m. It's bright and sunny. I can say, for the first time this year, that I've gone out WITHOUT A JACKET ON!

This morning we had Men's Breakfast at the Oaktree Centre. I arrived at 8.40 and the smell of frying bacon as I approached the building. So, a superb cooked breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, sausage and tea. I rarely eat fried food, so it is a treat and great to not have to cook it myself.

Richard, who usually leads this event, wasn't in attendance, so someone else was leading.

Sunday. 1.15 p.m. I haven't been to church this morning and attempted to watch the service via Facebook. I say 'attempted', because of technical issues. I have a Portal, which sits on the top of my television set and has a camera and microphone in it. It should allow you to communicate using Facebook (it is a product of Meta, the company which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. At one time you could view video from Facebook on it, but for some reason, this feature has been removed. You can use Zoom on it and other apps, which was handy during the Covid pandemic, when we weren't supposed to meet 'face-to-face.' 

I started watching the service through my iPad, but part way through things went pear-shaped, I lost video and only had sound and then that went, by which time I gave up, unfortunately.

Covidivisation Takes It's Toll

Friday. 8.50 a.m. Covid doing its worst. The night was better than the night before. I have finished the packet of Paracetamol, and need to get more. 

10.40 a.m. I needed to know what the situation was regarding isolating because of my positive covid test yesterday. I went online to an N.H.S. site and found 5 days, which I am adhering to, but no real advice, so I thought I ought to speak to my medical centre. I rang, but waited ten minutes to speak and even then the lady didn't seem to know the answer, so I rang N.H.S. 111. I had to answer a load of questions, but because I have had two heart attacks, they recommended I speak to a doctor, so rang surgery again, but they said no doctor could speak to me, not even for a telephone consultation, but a paramedic could ring me later.

5.25 p.m. I needed paracetamol, but I couldn't go out, so I had the idea of putting a message, asking if any of my friends on Facebook could get me a couple of packets. My good friend, Margaret, who goes to Shenley Christian Fellowship, must have seen the message, and she rang me, although at that point I was asleep on my bed, I rang back, and she said she would go and get me some paracetamol, which she came to Dexter House to deliver. I took some, and they do relive some of the more unpleasant parts of the covid. Shivery, flu-like, pain in the back, sort of, kidney area. Just keep taking paracetamol every four hours. I have slept a great deal. 

Saturday. 1.15 a.m. I have been trying to sleep, but, considering I slept a great deal of yesterday, it's really not surprising. I was having a sort of dream, more likely part awake, about a play called Noises Off. Why that, I don't know, but anyway, I decided that, because I couldn't sleep, together with coughing and needing the loo (just one of those things, people!) I got up, but painful getting off the bed, discomfort in my lower back, but, after a bit of effort, I managed it.

6.00 a.m. I've taken Alfie out, had a shave and put out the rubbish. I have taken a further two paracetamol. I am feeling slightly better, no shivering and sweating, which was the main feature of covid yesterday. I will do another test on Monday, but it seems unlikely I will be able to go to Camphill on Tuesday.

11.15 a.m. Not a great deal to report, except I've taken another two paracetamol. Not feeling so hot and sweaty, but still not one hundred per cent.

5.45 p.m. I've spent the afternoon watching Laurel and Hardy films, from my DVD collection of all their films. I bought it a couple of years ago on Amazon. I had known years ago that there was a complete box set of their films, as I love their films. But at that time the set cost around £200. Then they were on offer at around £50 in the HMV shop in Milton Keynes, but the set was sold on Amazon for around £30. I have been drawn back to these films because of the 'silent comedy' video project we have been involved in at Camphill in the performing arts workshop. The films I watched this afternoon were: "Them Thar Hills" and it's 'sort of' sequel 'Tit For Tat" and "County Hospital." They may be near enough 90 years old, but they still make me laugh and compared to a good deal of modern 'comedy' need a great deal of beating.

Sunday. 5.35 a.m. I had an idea that this bout of covid was coming to an end. How wrong could I be? I woke this morning with more pain in my lower back and the cough again wreaking its havoc. I took about three times longer than normal to get dressed, so I could take Alfie out. Any idea that I would go to church this morning is totally out of the question, and my weekly Camphill session on Tuesday is even more unlikely. Although having said all that, I don't feel as bad as I did when this thing started on Thursday. So, it seems I'm just going to have to endure this thing for the long haul. No way is it going to end soon, but I wish it would.

8.50 a.m. As I write this, it's 'sort of' raining. I mean, drizzly rather than pouring rain. Something that Alfie won't like, although he wouldn't get much of a dousing.

Monday. 5.35 a.m. It was something of a surprise to discover it was raining fairly hard as I looked out of the kitchen window this morning. I thought I could go out without a coat, but on arriving at the bottom of the stairs and seeing rain through the double doors which lead into the garden, I had second thoughts and returned to the flat to get my bright yellow Regatta raincoat. Alfie was not much bothered by the rain when we eventually hit Strudwick Drive and we were soon back inside.

As regards my covid infection has continued, although I'm not as hot and sweaty, brain fog has left me sort of in a sort of, well, fog. It takes ages to think and get dressed about three times the usual, length of time.