.......a thousand apologies.......

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days..............I've been in a dark place.

It started last Thursday when I had my ECG..........I had a high bp reading and was told not to go in to work but to go home and wait for a phone call. When the phone call came through words like anomalies, murmur and enlarged heart were used. An appointment to speak to a doctor face to face on Sept 24th was booked.

I didn't sleep much that night partly due to worry and partly due to ever increasing pain in my right knee.

I forced myself into work on Friday..but in reality I went through the day on auto-pilot. I went off to bed early but didn't really sleep much.

Saturday I was as rough as toast.......a heavy feeling in my left arm....a flutter in my chest....a thumping headache and bp climbing upwards faster than Apollo 11......I spent most of the day asleep. In the evening I drove the Daughter to a party..........and the clutch started slipping.............I could feel an expensive bill coming up. The Boss came home at 10.00....I went to bed at 10.15.

Sunday I didn't go fishing.............I got up at 6.00 to go..........but I still felt rough.......and to be honest I couldn't be bothered to make the effort........another day mainly napping......and a worried feeling when awake.

On Monday I again forced myself to get up...the car was undrivable...........but I called a taxi and went off to work......but mainly because I had an appointment with the young doctor about my knee...........I got a text asking me to bring my next blood test forward to 18th Sept.

A colleague kindly gave me a lift to my doctors appointment............the young doctor thanked me for making an online appointment and completing the section regarding what I wished to discuss..........she recapped the treatment so far...the mega strong painkillers and the steroid injection.......and then knelt down to have a good look at the knee...........she straightened it.....pulled it left....and right.....bent it....rotated it....stretched the leg as far as it would go lengthways.............I may have winced once or twice.....even let out a tiny whimper...and then delivered her verdict.................... a damaged/torn/ruptured ligament/tendon............No shit Sherlock..........that's exactly what I told the original doctor back in June!

And the she dropped the bomb shell..........in our Health Trust GPs can't refer patients for orthopedic scans....only ortho surgeons or Sports Physios can!
Then came the second bomb shell.......three months wait to see an ortho surgeon!........but then she told me the plan............she will refer me to the physio with a note stating that she thinks I need a scan...........the physio will check the knee and if s/he agrees will refer me for a scan...when the results come back s/he will refer me to the ortho surgeon if the scan shows anything............and this will reduce the waiting time enormously....................but............when I see the Physio I have to tell little white lie............I have to say that the pain appeared while I was doing sport....at the gym....or playing with Charlie in the garden..............

.....and then she explained that my blood test had been brought forward because the last test showed low potassium...........and this was probably the cause of the anomalies! Why the first doctor never mentioned low potassium God only knows.

I delivered the car to the garage today...the Boss drove me to work............the garage phoned to say the required part hadn't been delivered so the job won't be finished until tomorrow...........the Boss picked me up from work......home for an hour and a half.......then a taxi back to work for Open Evening for my annual slot....dissecting hearts and lungs for audiences of prospective parents.

Home......supper...knee absolute agony........co-codamol making me nauseous.......time for bed.

I'm still in the dark place..............but I can see a glimmer of light...............and I'm heading for it.

I will catch up with you all tomorrow......when my car is back....when I haven't been on the go from 6.00 a.m until 8.45 p.m............when I'll be closer to the light.

Das vidanya moy padruga