As hospitals go.......

This one was pretty good today.

Annette drove me to Rake Lane Hospital in North Shields. This is where there is an Ultrasound Clinic where joint injections are done under ultrasound guidance.

The consultant's English was not great. I could understand him fairly well, but he did not understand me. Given that I have a relatively accent free voice I wonder how he copes with Geordies. All that did not matter. He has worked all his career in Granada but comes to the UK to do locums for stints of several months.

We saw Freddy on the screen. We saw the large bursa full of fluid and the rather moth eaten bones. The needle went in, fluid spurted out and was then aspirated. Then the steroid injection was given. It wasn't pleasant but nothing like as bad as having the dental surgery last year!

I am sore and feel a bit battered. The really bad pain has gone. It was due to the pressure in the joint and it is no wonder that pain killers did not work.

Tomorrow will give me more idea whether this has been a success and tomorrow I have to pack my suitcase. Fingers and toes all crossed.

Nothing much else to report but I gave the printer the go-ahead to print the walking festival programmes. Hooray!