Well, that was a complete waste of time

In many respects, I’d had today pencilled in as a decision day. I was scheduled to go down to the General, on Smythe, to meet with my surgeon, have some x-rays taken, and decide on a way forward for my left hip. I’d had it ‘resurfaced’ in 2005, and it has been, ever since the initial operation, really, been a cause for concern.

I arrived at 9 for a 9:15 appointment, rushed through the x-rays and into the waiting room, and within 5 minutes, was being seen by trainee rheumatologists, with their barrage of low-ball questions: “What is the issue?” “How many hips do you have?” What is the capital of Mexico?”

In the end, I didn’t get to see the surgeon. I saw his ‘fellow’, who wasn’t the same ‘fellow’ I had seen the previous two times. It was a brief meeting, and despite being pleasant and knowledgeable, he left me with a feeling of frustration. We are back in a “wait and see” pattern.

“Give it another 21 months,” he said, “then come back and see me.”

Being a natural coward, this isn’t unwelcome news: the last thing I really want is an operation. But as I walk around like a crab with an erection, it’s hard not to feel that I am the victim of more health cuts. There may have been fewer people milling around the X-ray Department, but there were also fewer staff.

Home, annoyed, and tried to work. Mrs Ottawacker was sympathetic, but really, what can she say? It might well be back to Europe for me at some stage, depending on how this pans out.

PM – Ottawacker Jr calls from school – a place he deigned to attend this morning as he is no longer contagious – and had managed to hyperextend his knee. His words. Mrs Ottawacker went to pick him up and I iced it for him. Within two minutes, he was fine. Maybe he gets his hypochondria from me.