Been a busy week what with hearing about my uncle today.
On Tuesday I was relaxing in my room when my dad appeared in front of me wearing his jacket (I've informally become the sibling stocking around to help out with my parents - an 84 yo mother with Parkinson's and an 85 yo father who thinks he's 50). My father never walks into a room, he just materialises, mainly because he hasn't got a clue about small talk, even to the extent of failing to say hello.
He stood there for a moment until I looked at him enquiringly. Broad NI accent: "I'm away to A&E, you'll have to take the dog to the vet." I'm used to my father, but even for him this stretched incredulity. I stared for a minute whilst this processed
"What, why?"
"I've got a pain in my heart and I rang the doctor and they said to get to A&Evans take an ambulance but I'll get the bus, and don't tell your mum or she'll just worry".
This is my father all over. Staggering lack of understanding of how anyone other than himself operates.
Of course I told him I'd take him, which is what he was really saying. Why he can't just ask I don't know.
Anyway, A&E is heaving and we wait for hours. Eventually he sees a triage nurse and I go in with him (as a translator obviously). She asks him about the pain and when it started and he tells her he got a pain in his heart and up his left arm two weeks ago and has had it occasionally ever since. I was quite flabbergasted. After all, this is the man who was clearly limping on Monday and when I asked him what was wrong claimed he wasn't limping.
Anyway, there doesn't seem to be anything major; he had stents about 16 years ago and has a regular checkup with a cardiologist so this is being brought forward.
As for myself, I found a lump in an area you don't want to find a lump the other day. I've been to the doctor and he thinks it's probably harmless but I'm getting it checked out. I have trained myself not to catastrophise things these days, so it's no more than a mild concern. But the concern is there of course.