The Mundane medical thread

Mrs Simon has had a cold for a week that I’ve managed not to catch, so I’m assuming I’ve been bitten by a radioactive spider recently.

A year ago today I was in Chesterfied A+E being diagnosed with Bells Palsy. We marked the anniversary by returning as Mrs Rave was experiencing chest pains. Thankfully it just seems to be a small gall bladder infection that can be treated with penicillin. Last year I was in and out in 15 minutes. Today? 4 and a half hours. We passed some of the time wondering what the 3 people accompanied by 3 different pairs of coppers had been up to.

Last night I had spicy Indian food about 9/10 at night as I was working all day and starving when I came home. Not my brightest move. Worst sleep in a while and this includes a night of drinking. I haven't had a drop of alcohol for 2 weeks now and my sleep is still rubbish. I suspect it is the late night eating due to the amount of work that I have. 123 workouts in 6 days. Which is fucking ridiculous... But, new house, wifey in job frustation/transition and family visiting. Needs are what needs must...

Either way I am going to die.

Chicago: Worn to the bone.

Got a splinter under my nail while washing the deck on Monday. Couldn't see it but it hurt like fuck, so I put antiseptic and a bandaid on it. Tried digging it out yesterday, no joy so went back to antiseptic and a bandaid for another 24 hours. Had another go this morning and was finally able to expose the end and pull it out. It wasn't thick but the fucking thing was the full length of my nail.

What a horrid and taxing week. Mother gets rushed to the Emergency Room. Mother gets diagnosed with a complete bowel blockage. Then things get serious and she signs a DNR and I find out after the fact and ask her if she wants to live?. She says "Yes Of Course". I then say can we amend it to a certain time of resuscitation as nobody wants to be a vegetable. She still says no. She makes it through the night on a drug intervention as they decided against surgery. The next three days are trying to decide what to do as they don't know what is causing it and I am advocating that they look with an endoscopy as other tests (colonoscopy) would require general anesthetic which probably wouldn't be a good idea. Anyway, after me basically constantly badgering them to look when they seemed reticent to do so they settle on a gastric Graffin which is to drop a radioactive slug down her and follow it's progress. Well fucking great. Anyway, after all the drugs and the laxatives she passes water so the hospital decide she is okay to leave. The problem is that the scar tissue has been rattling around in her for years and it blocked the small colon and now all of sudden now that liquid is getting through it's gone? Take a fucking look! Nope.

They released her Sunday evening and said, "well if it happens again bring her right back". No shit Sherlock!

Last Night, what day is it? she ate her first real food for a week (other than a banana), which was bean soup as she has been on IV treatment since Wednesday. She still hasn't passed any solid food. Shit show? Well I would hope so! I am also trying to get a hold of the doctors to make sure that she can fly back to the U.K. next Wednesday as nobody seems to know if it's a good idea or not?

In the meantime my sister is trying to kill me by going out on the town like a maniac whilst I am splitting my time between the hospital, work and going on the town with her. The problem is that she didn't want to go home as she wants to dance at the Blues Clubs all night and I just want to keel over as I am so tired. She also has met every single one of my neighbours in the area as she is going around sketching everyone's houses. I come home Saturday to find loads of people I don't know in our front garden. Then they take me around to meet the other neighbours. At this point I am so tired I just want to die.

So not sure who is croaking first, me or Mum. If I were to put a few Bob down I would bet on this old horse here...

Chicago: Worn out.

Seems everyone I know has some of life threatening ailment. Old chum had a massive heart attack. Another much younger chap rushed in for immediate treatment for a heart problem. Out with friends last night talking about various surgeries. Colleague pops round today. Has prostate cancer.
These have all lead better lives than me. My time must be due!!! I can see you Charlie.......

I’ve lost a shocking amount of friends in the last few years. Three this year alone (two to cancer).

I’m having some cardiogram type stuff soon. The cardiologist said “Now, if I was straight out of college looking at this, I’d be asking you when it was you had a heart attack in the last few years.” Then went on to say it may just be a thing that isn’t that dangerous, just an anomaly (it was that way when I last had it checked and did stress tests nine years ago). One hell of an opener though.

Well you live in Florida so I am sure that isn't good for your health.

After going almost 2 weeks without proper sleep, my mum and sister have left to go home and are now safely landed in the U.K. For days I was trying to find out if it was okay for Mum to fly considering that the first trip has caused her to hemorrhage everywhere. The hospital and doctors were not willing to give me an answer due no doubt to liability. Which is shit.

So I couldn't keep her here and she went back and didn't die which was a result.

I, on the other hand have felt absolutely crap for the last 2 days and unable to eat and when after forcing myself to have something after over 36 hours of nothing found myself face down in the toilet at 1am doing an impression of the exorcist.

Being the utter masochist that I am, I decided to go to work and complain there rather than stay at home and complain. Yep, at least I am getting paid whilst feeling like I have the worst hangover in history. Yuck.

Not sure it's an age thing, but the last two weeks have really done me in and I have seen my future and I don't like it.

Chicago: Ashen.

100% agree. I believe people bring on their own sleep problems by over prioritizing things that either don't actually matter or that they can't do anything about. The whole macho "I can function on 4 hours of sleep and a steady supply of coffee" bullshit really needs to die. Sleep, diet and exercise are all equally important and people need to accord them equal priority.

FWIW, I've always been an expert sleeper and in the last decade or so I've focused a lot more on exercise, but it's really only in the last eight months that I've actually taken my diet seriously. Because the three things are so inextricably linked it's incredible the difference that doing all three well and consistently makes, and I've honestly never felt better in my life.

Obviously when I drop dead of a heart attack on the golf course tomorrow you have my full blessing to mock this post mercilessly.

Well this is fun. Liquid diarrhea since 6pm last night and no signs of stopping even with Imodium and activated charcoal. Whatever this is.. it’s not friendly.

Chicago: In the shit.

Fucksake Chicago, I'm having a few weeks off now so sort yourself out.