Finishing the year with a scare

Not the sort of news that I wanted to get.

I’ve just had a ‘phone call from Julian - his partner has been rushed into hospital with Pneumonia, and is seriously ill. That's not the worst part - Quentin has got non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and has only just recovered from a course of chemo.

We'd been planning our normal New Year bash - i.e. out to dinner, go and make idiots of ourselves on the dance floor of our favourite club, and then pile into our normal Balti-hut for breakfast.

That was the plan. But this news has really gone and scuppered everything, and Julian feels that he's let me and the rest of the gang down. OK - I can't speak for the rest of the group that I knock around with, but Jules is a victim of this rotten bug that has put Quentin in hospital.

As far as I'm concerned, my New Year can be re-arranged - all I want is Quentin fit and well - not to mention putting Ricky Martin to shame with the swivelling hips on the dance floor!

Time to call this quits - I said that I would go to the hospital with Jules.

No idea when I'll get chance to put finger to keyboard again, so I'll try my best to keep notes on the ups and downs...

Back when time allows.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Another hospital visit and more physio? You bet.

There are times when I wonder why I bother going to see the saw-bones at Warwick hospital.

Why? Because I feel that I’m being fobbed off every damned time I see him. This time, it’s a case of go to the physio, and I’ll see you in three months time for another jab in the shoulder joint.

Thanks a bunch. I still don’t know what the problem with my shoulder is – what I do know is that I’m getting fed up with the lack of progress (not to mention the lack of information.)

Add into this, I will now have to spend even more time at a hospital I don’t feel comfortable going to, and more to the point, I feel like I’m wasting time – both the physio’s time and mine.

Guess I should call this quits – I need to get bits and pieces sorted out…

Back later.

Karen
Learning to fly, but I don’t have wings

Repeating a scare?

Ever had a feeling of déjà vu? Well, my best friend had that horrible feeling today.

How do I know? Simple. He sent me the following e-mail:

Sorry Kaz

Something’s come up I gotta go
My Mum’s been taken back into hospital this morning I’ll contact you later when I can ok and I’ll let you know what’s going on

Not the sort of e-mail I wanted to receive, and I will admit to wondering how he was… or at least I did until I spoke to him whilst I was on my lunch break.

I sent him a message saying that I was on lunch and that if he wanted to talk, then I was around.

No sooner had I sent the message, I got reply saying that he wanted to talk… He’d been unable to see his Mum in the hospital but had spoken to his Dad who said that this problem seemed to have started last Thursday night.

My friend was (and still is) less than impressed but agreed with me when I said that his Mum was in the best place if (God forbid) anything did happen.

As I type this, I will admit that my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, as I know only too well the pain that losing a parent can cause.

Ah well, guess I should call this quits – I’ve got work to do – not that I’ve got any interest at the moment…

Back when I get the chance.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don’t have wings

Distant rumblings

I’m not a happy little tigger. My insurance company has refused to issue a statement of no-claims, as they said that their system wouldn’t allow them to issue it until such time as the policy had expired.

Thanks a bunch. That means that I can’t insure my car with another insurance company, as they won’t release the statement. Thankfully, the new insurer has said that if I provide them with my policy number, and a contact name, then they can get the confirmation over the ‘phone, and can get the ball rolling for me.

Add into the mixture that I’m in a tremendous amount of pain (and the bloody pain killers aren’t working) and you get one pissed off tigger.

Nevertheless, there is one bright spot – I’ve been able to get my hospital appointment moved from the 23rd of November to the 12th of October.

I pointed out that the consultant had asked to see me in September and that the November appointment was far from convenient. So, amazingly, I was offered an appointment the beginning of October, but that was smack bang in the middle of my holiday.

But that doesn't help me with the pain, so I guess that it means that I shoud go and see my GP to see what they can do to help, as I'm getting really fed up.

Suppose I should get on with some w*rk, but I'm suffering from TNFI...

Back when I get the chance.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Where do I turn now???

That's how I'm feeling at this moment in time. My shoulder has gotten to the stage where I'm finding it difficult to drive into work, let alone do a longer trip - such as Hemel Hempstead, and it's really getting me down, not to mention upsetting my best mate.

I know it sounds like I'm complaining - and this time I am. I'm getting fed up with being palmed off by the sawbones with yet another cortisone jab (which makes my arm swell up - not to mention makes me feel like crap for a couple of days.) Add into the mixture the mere fact that in the past 14 days, I've had to have my shoulder re-aligned by the physio, and you begin to get the picture.

Why am I ranting today? Simple. I've had to call Warwick Hospital to see why my appointment has been changed from 07/09/06 to 23/11/06, and I've yet to get a satisfactory answer.

All I've been told is that the system generated the letter, and yet I know damned well that the system will only generate a new appointment if someone goes in and makes a physical change to the appointment.

And I'd like to know on what gounds such a change has been made, because at the end of the day, I'm the poor bugger that's having to put with the results of the so called system.

Time to call this quits - I'm supposed to be working, not blogging.

Back when I get the chance.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

"I'd do better if I went to see my bloody VET!"

Needless to say, after the events of yesterday, I am less than happy with the treatment I've been recieving. Ok - I admit that I probably shouldn't be so damned stubborn about having my shoulder operated on, but I get the feeling that the sawbones doesn't have the foggiest what the hell is wrong with my shoulder, or what the best way to treat it it.

I should have guessed that things were going to go wrong, when I got to the hospital yesterday morning, only to be told that the appointment had been cancelled and I was due to attend the clinic on 20/06/06.

The mere fact that I'd not had a 'phone call or a letter went down like a ton of lead bricks, but the receptionist's attitude I couldn't fault. She was disgusted with the service, and said that she would get my notes for me, and make sure that I was seen during the clinic at the time I was supposed to have attended in the first place.

So, it was a case of sit down, and try to avoid the dreaded "numb bum" syndrome. I was called through to the clinic, and a very polite young medical student started taking notes about me and the shoulder problem. It would have been better for him if he'd bothered to read my notes properly, instead of just skimming over them, and missing most of the details.

The first thing that I noticed was the fact that he'd got my age wrong, then asked when I'd had the shoulder operated on. Score 0 points to the student. Once that was sorted, the senior registrar then deemed to see me.

Ok - he was pleasant enough, but when I realised that he was going to jab my shoulder, I wasn't too happy, but agreed to have the jab... That was when the fun started, and I seem to recall feeling really faint, then trying to stand up once the jab had been done, and everything then went black.

I came to, lying on my side on the examining couch, with the clinic's staff nurse looking very concerned. She asked if I had driven to the hospital (I wasn't that dumb - I had a feeling that I might go flat on my chops!)

I then said that I was supposed to go into work after the appointment, which was immediately vetoed, and I was only allowed to call the office provided that she was standing nearby, in case I decided to go and pass out again.

Once I'd made the call, I staggered back to the clinic, and spent the next hour or so, trying to convice the staff nurse that I was fit enought to leave, and that I wasn't dumb enough to try and go into work...

So, it was a case of get home,only to find that the letter from the outpatients appointment services had been delivered! That infuriated me and I was just in the right mood to call them. I spoke to a smarmy female, who gave me no explaination or apology, and said that she would cancel the appointment for 20/06/06, but would leave the one that I had just made for 07/09/06.

After I'd done that, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep - but I wasn't on my own, as the two furry fiends decided that I needed company, and curled up on the bed with me.

Don't get me wrong, I was grateful of their company, but I got a nip from the Pont, simply because I moved him from one side of the bed to the other - I didn't really want to have to climb over the cat if I was going to head to the bathroom to throw up!

Guess I should think about loging on to the system, so I can do some work...

Back when I get the chance...

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Back to the sawbones... and still no joy.

As I type this, I am in agony, so it's going to be a very brief post.

Suffice to say that I've been back to the sawbones, had yet another cortisone shot in the joint, and have gone sick as I passed out.

Back tomorrow - I'm starting to feel really sick again...

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Worrying for a friend...

Well, my daft hog riding friend is safely back in the UK, but he seems to have draw an unlucky straw...

His Mum hasn't been too well recently, and I will admit to wondering what was wrong, until I got the following message from him:

Sorry I ain't been in touch - my Mum's not well again and back to hospital. Speak soon...

As soon as I read that, my heart sank, and I sent him a message to say that I was thinking of him, and hoped that his Mum was ok...

The reply that I got nearly caused me to burst into tears...

Just read your message - it's made me cry. It should be me that is thanking you for being my friend - I have never had a friend like you ever, and I never ever want to lose you. God bless you and thanks for the strength x

But the message I got this evening really scared me. I got a message from him, asking me to call him as soon as I could - I did so, and the news was not something I wanted to hear. His Mum had suffered a heart attack, and he was racing down the M1 to get to the hospital in north London, where she had been taken to.

I will admit it was a brief conversation, as he wanted to keep his 'phone free so that his Dad could call him if need be, and I asked him to let me know that he was at the hospital safe, and if he could, just let me know how his Mum was...

He sent me a quick message to say that he was at the hospital ok, and I will admit to not being able to sleep until I heard my 'phone chirp. I'd got a message from my friend.

It turned out that his Mum was going to have bypass surgery, and that it had been somewhat touch and go, but that she was in the best place that she could be.

Ok - I admit that at this moment in time, there's not a lot I can do, but if I can provide a shoulder to lean on, it should (I hope) make things a little easier for him to bear...

Through these fields of destruction
Baptism of fire
I've witnessed all your suffering
As the battles raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms

Time to call this quits - I need to be seen to be doing some work - not blogging!

Back later if I get the chance...

Karen
Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

When a world turns upside down...

And it's not mine this time. It's Julian's. His parter has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and he called me whilst I was on my lunchbreak, having just recieved the news.

The poor guy is devastated, and to be honest, it's knocked me for six as well, as his partner has always been really fit and healthy - or so I thought. Just goes to prove that appearances can be decieving.

But, at the end of the day, all I can do is be at the end of a 'phone and escape to see them at the weekend to make sure that they're ok, and try and make the pair of them laugh...

Time to call this quits - I need to get this call on my mobile.

Back when I get the chance....

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Soreness and stiches

Mum came home on Friday afternoon, and was quite well considering the operation was only in the morning...

Admittedly, she didn't feel like eating very much, but I was just glad to have her back home, and I know that the furry fiends were glad to have her back as well...

She seems ok in herself, and has said that the sawbones came to see her before she was discharged, and told her that the operation had gone quite well, and that the wound was very deep.

Not surprising really, when you consider that the screw had made it's break for freedom through the bone in her right leg, and then migrated outwards and upwards through the muscle layers, and the only thing keeping it in place was her skin!

Ok - I know that sounds revolting, but it's the best way to describe what happened...

Time to call this quits - I need to get some sleep tonight, as I'm back into the office tomorrow - worst luck.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Fingers crossed...

Well, I'm sitting at my computer again, this time waiting to for the hospital to call me and say that Mum's ready to come home.

We got to the hospital at 07:00 this morning, and I'll say one thing - I can see why people pick up infections - the ward wasn't terribly clean, and I was more than a little reluctant to leave Mum there!

Don't get me wrong - I've got nothing but praise for the nurses and the sawbones - who actually listened to what that patient said.

He gave Mum two options - one involved having bone chipped away from the head of the broken screw so that the whole thing could be removed, or the option that Mum has chosen - which was to have the broken piece removed and leave the other bit in place, as it wasn't causing her any problems.

So, I left the hospital at about 08:45, and headed for home, and started playing on the computer - ok - I started to write an Access database to help me at work, but that quickly lost its appeal and I've been alternating between playing Divine Divinity (I've still not finished the game yet - I keep getting wiped out by the end bad guy!) as well as attempting to update the blog.

I've got a feeling that this might have to go on hold for a while, as Mum's not going to be too steady on her feet - ok - I'll rephrase that. She's going to need me around to make sure that she's ok, and that the dressings are ok...

Time to call this quits - I need to go and get the 'phone in case the hospital call me...

Back when I get the chance.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Biting the bullet

I’m more than a little fed up at the moment, simply because I’m irritated by the lack of support that I seem to be getting from certain members of my department. However, as I decided to make my feelings known I get the feeling that I’m going to be hauled over hot coals for my comments yesterday.

To be honest, I just don’t care, as I’ve got enough on my plate as it is – I’ve got to go back to the doctor next Friday for blood tests, as the nurse wasn’t happy with my blood pressure, and the fact that if one of the cats sneeze, I bruise.

Add into that mixture that I’m really worried about my mate, and you get a stressed out tigger. The poor bugger is fast approaching breaking point, and has said that the sooner he gets out of the company he’s working for, the happier he’s going to be. I know that I shouldn’t worry about him, but hearing him so down really upsets me.

Ah well, suppose I should get on with some work, but my heart’s not really in it at all…

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don’t have wings

Getting ready to escape…

As I type this, I don’t mind admitting that I’m nervous. Why I have no idea, but I guess that it’s just me being slightly apprehensive – simply because I’m heading south to spend a few days with my daft hog riding friend and his family.

Thankfully, he’s been a real darling and sent me directions, so all I have to do is read them and follow them to the point where we’re supposed to meet up...

Aside from that, I gave Mum her birthday present last night, and I half expected her to lynch me as she realised what I’d bought her as soon as she saw the bag it was in (no – I didn’t wrap it up – I just about had time to draw breath on Wednesday, let alone get the peace and quiet to wrap the present up!)

What I’d bought her was a piece of studio glass – from the Okra glass factory. It was a one off piece made for B W Thornton in Stratford, and as soon as I saw it, I fell for it.

Ok – I knew that I would end up going there for Mum’s present, but I had no idea what to get her, and was totally open minded about what I got – the only limit being that I was unwilling to pay more that £200 for whatever I decided to get her.

Admittedly, £200 sounds an awful lot, but given that Dad and I had bought one piece for £350 (which is truly spectacular), I felt that it was a reasonable level to set. In the end, the piece was very reasonable - £60!

Mum was over the moon, and said that it was just the sort of thing that she would have bought, and that she knew as soon as she saw the bag what it was likely to be… I just neglected to tell her that I’d taken yesterday morning off to get it for her!

I also had to go back to Warwick hospital yesterday... I was due to see the sawbones about my shoulder (which is no better - more in a bit) and also got my ribs checked over. The ribs have healed, and I've been given the all clear to start riding again, as long as I wear my body armour!

However, the shoulder is still giving me serious grief, and I don't think I've done myself any favours by refusing the cortisone jab that the sawbones wanted to do yesterday.

The only reason that I refused was because I'm heading south today, and I have no intention of going to see a good friend when I'm in pain with my shoulder and suffering from the after effects of the cortisone jab. So, it's off to the hospital on July 6th to get the jab in the shoulder.

Until then, I'm going to have to grin and bear it, and hope that I'm not too bad tempered after the drive this afternoon...

Guess I should call this entry quits – I’m supposed to be working, not blogging!

Back when I get the chance.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Tears, frustration and irritation

Today has not been a good day for me. It started off when I had a row with one of the girls in the office, as I refused to go to the quiz night next month. Why? Simply because it will be two years to the date that my Dad died – and I have FAR more important things to do, other than watching the members of my department making complete fools of themselves with their lack of knowledge on world events.

To compound a rotten day in the office you can add into the equation the mere fact that I’m still in pain because of my trip to the chiropractor (who’s still trying to finish putting my vertebrae back into their correct positions), and you get an unhappy tigger.

The final straw that broke the tigger’s back was when the alarm went off for no apparent reason. Which is why I’m sitting at my computer at 00:23 updating my blog – thank god I’m off today, otherwise I would be completely wiped out.

Mum knows that I’m off in the afternoon, but she doesn’t know that I’ve booked the morning off so that I can go and get her birthday present – and I haven’t got the foggiest idea what to get her!

Time to call this quits – I need to get some sleep if I can…

Back when I get the chance.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Good news from the front

Well, my friend is back from the hospital, and has been told that he snores. Ok – not breaking news as such, but they (the hospital) have said that he may need a small operation, which may or may not cure his hearing problem.

He won’t know what the verdict is until he goes back to the hospital in six months time, but until then, he can’t really do very much apart from put up with it.

Suppose I’d better call this quits – we’re short staffed due to some meeting or other, and I’m suffering from a severe case of TNFI…

Back later if I get the chance.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don’t have wings

Knackered, and glad it’s Friday

I slept like a log last night, but I’m still tired. I guess it’s as a result of going to see the chiropractor, who managed to put several of my vertebrae back into position, after I was kicked by Flame.

Ok – I admit that the body armour took most of the impact, but there was still damage done. Thankfully, my chiropractor has been able to sort most of it out, but I still have to go back to see him on Tuesday night to finish the job off.

Aside from that, I’m worried about my daft friend, who has to go to the hospital today, to see what can be done about the ringing in his ears. The poor guy has been suffering with this for quite a while, and he’s finally gotten fed up enough to get his GP to do something about this for him.

Guess I should call this quits – I’m supposed to be working, but to be honest, I can think of quite a few places that I would rather be, other than here!

Back later, if I get the chance.

Karen.

Learning to fly, but I don’t have wings.

You're off for how long???

Well, my friend has been to see his GP, and has been signed off for three weeks! The poor guy didn't sound too good, and said that he felt like he was getting no support from the company that he works for, as they seem to be giving the impression that he's pulling a fast one.

If it had been anyone other than him, I would have been inclined to agree, but I know him well enough to know that he struggles into work - even when I tell him that he's not fit enough to be in.

But, I get the feeling that he's going to need a daft ear to bend, and I'll do my best to help him.

Guess that I should call this quits - I've got to sort the furry fiends out before I crawl into my pit...

Back tomorrow.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

Worrying about a friend...

Getting a message like this at 07:15 in the morning is not a good sign...

Good morning Kaz, just to say that I am going back to the hospital.
I can't move much this morning, so I'm leaving now and not going in.
Will let you know what's going on later. Take good care..

Poor sod. I will admit to being worried about him until I called him at lunchtime. He'd finally escaped from the hospital, and had been told that he'd either sprained his back or shifted a disc.

The bit that did make me wonder was the mere fact that the hospital told him that he had to go to his GP if he wanted a sick note, as they were unable to sign him off.

That struck me as a little peculiar, but as he lives in a different region to me, it could be that his local NHS trust has a different policy to the one here - the consultant in A & E tried to sign me me off when I went to see him with broken ribs!

Time to call this quits - I want to veg out..

Back tomorrow.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings

In a world of pain…

I’m beginning to wonder if I should be in… I slipped in the kitchen last night, and fell and landed against the edge of the sink… Ok – not normally a big problem, but I landed on the side that had the cracked ribs…

I called my friend and we spoke for a while, until he persuaded me to go to the hospital to get myself checked out… I will admit, I felt guilty about asking Mum to take me to the A&E department, but when she saw the state I was in, I got earache for not telling her earlier!

I got home at 00:45, and could just about see straight enough to send my friend a message to let him know that I was ok, but I will admit to being spaced out of my brain cell (I’d had a pethadine jab) – I felt like I was floating! (Now I know how Fred must feel on catnip!)

I sent him an e-mail to say I was in the office, and he replied, telling me that I shouldn’t be in…

…hope you are ok but the drugs must have done your head in. What are you doing in work you silly girl? Just make sure that whoever needs to know knows about your situation.

 It’s nearly time for me to take some more painkillers – and I don’t know when I’ll be back to updating this, as my ribs are hurting the whole time I’m sitting at the computer…

Back when I get relatively pain-free…

Karen
Learning to fly, but I don’t have wings

In the office, and in pain...

My shoulder's killing me, and I'm beginning to wish that I hadn't decided to drive today. Thankfully, Mum's insured on the car, so if my shoulder is as painful when I finish at 17:00, I'll drive down to see Mum, and then ask her to drive home.

What doesn't help me, is when I get smart ass comments about me going horse riding. I wouldn't object in the slightest if I had been riding,but the closest I've been to a horse was going to see Flame this morning, and giving her a treat - a couple of apples that I'd picked up at Sainsbury's on Sunday.

But, the thing that's worrying me is Saturday. I'm supposed to be going to Cosford with my daft hog riding friend. Ok - I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it's about an 80 mile drive - most of it motorway.

But, I guess the way to deal with it is dose myself up with painkillers before I go and meet my friend, and try my best to hide the fact that my shoulder is killing me.

Failing that, I'm just going to have to grin and bear it, and admit that my shoulder is giving me a great deal of trouble, and take the consequences head on.

Guess I should call this entry quits - I need to get some bits and pieces sorted out.

Back when I get the chance.

Karen

Learning to fly, but I don't have wings