Thursday 22nd June 2017

Another outpatient appointment for Mum at Colchester General. I hate that hospital, it's where Dad died so we're reminded of that every time we go there.

We were both stunned to be told that, although "lumpy and bumpy", Mum's thyroid is functioning normally and is not overactive after all. They had told her on discharge from hospital in February that it was overactive and that she would probably be started on some medication to control it. While it's great to know that thyroid function is normal, this now takes us back to square one in determining why Mum has the shakes, a lot of pain and weakness in her joints, and finds it almost impossible to swallow ( among many other symptoms). Neurological and orthopaedic causes have already been ruled out while she was an inpatient, undergoing several scans and blood tests. Meanwhile, Mum continues on in great pain and difficulty with walking more than a few yards.

This pretty rose was caught on camera at Perrywood garden centre, after we'd had a break for a latte and a vanilla frappe.