I’m having so many weird dreams. last night it involved a flight to Germany, a drive to Birmingham, train to House of Lords, foxes in the dark and meetings by phone about continence, standing in school play grounds.

Well in truth….

I met the extremely nice man who had asked me to lunch at our local very lovely pub. 

He was to show me the very clever device called UroShield. It attaches to the indwelling catheter on the outside and zaps all the biofilms stopping blockages and infections. I arrived at the arranged time and was ushered to the table by the owners Jane Michael of said pub whom actually I have known for years. They were strangely formal. A light bulb moment occurred as I sat down with my charming host.

‘Hah, Jane….do not fear…I am not having an affair …I am here on business….’ she and the team grinned relaxed then chatted away as we usually do catching up on children grandchildren and whatnot! Though quite what they all thought of the business of catheters I do not know. Business for me means learning about the tech and a free lunch. I’m not paid by any of these techs or pharmas. The conflicts would be horrendous.

Next up was a visit to Birmingham. To meet at last, face to face some of the patients and the research team for a study I am involved with called CPOP. We have set up a patient advisory group. Amazing stories. You may not be surprised to hear that these are true horror stories of women’s health. As for the academic leads, I was so looking forward to hearing from them, meeting them properly and chatting ….we are good at that.

Alas for reasons which I will explain …I could not go to Birmingham. I attempted to ring into the hybrid meeting as I drove from place to place. Hybrid meetings are a great covid invention but can be tricky when attendees ( me) disrupt things so spectacularly .

I had also this week, been invited to the House of Lords to meeting of the great and good in the continence world. I did not make that either. But had a series of calls pre and post that …most of which I conducted from either my car or the primary school playground. Goodness knows what the parents on WhatsApp gossiped about that day ! One call was on zoom video and included a view of the Committee Chair’s foxes at her back door…it’s a wildlife rescue something. As you do.

Then it was a trip to Germany to sort out my late father in law’s German side of his estate. Nope I did not go there either but Daniel went alone and of course he was so welcomed and looked after by his cousins and their families. 

As you may have guessed Daughter 1 did indeed get to be admitted for elective surgery. Hence I drove 200 miles or so my car tells me….looking after her children and indeed herself. As ever it is not my story to tell. But suffice to say she is alright and coping brilliantly with bilateral stents in too. You will understand my flashback moments as soon as stents etc are mentioned. Not least of all the flashback to 2009 …that ward those crying babies from the maternity end, that stifling atmosphere, that hospital….nightmares are made of this. One thing to add on that: …why on earth do pharmacy hold up the discharge process, every single time?

The hospital had run out of beds. They needed the women’s gyny ward for orthopaedics and ENT…yes way. They discharged the poor ladies and would have got the beds more quickly had they managed to get the necessary drugs dispensed. In the event using my prior knowledge…gained after many years experience ….Daughter 1 was taken home early evening by her husband. We did our handover of children and I went back to the hospital during the night once the pharmacy had managed to get a bag of stuff ready. It was a lovely drive in the dark. I spotted at least two foxes and had to slow right down to allow a considerably inebriated man to stagger over the narrow bridge into their village.

That then was the week that was. Oh one more mad thing I did…it had been suggested by my dear friend Sue that I might like to join a boxercise and run class. 

Now , Sue is a very dear friend. Boxercise, is a class I have been doing with Claire. We love it. Running…I used to run a lot…but my spine and broken feet have made it tricky. Not one to find an excuse I signed up and indeed at 6 am yes 6 am for goodness sake, I found myself jogging round the river here, throwing a few jabs and crosses in between. Sue is fit. I am not. I cannot chatter and run. She can. Our instructor all 4’ 9’ of her encouraged us round and indeed announced we had run 2 miles. When I say run, I mean jog walk chatter stagger. 

There we are then , 202 miles this week. …