BoariJ

Fizzy

Wow what a start to 2025.

In Canada, my sister- in-law had emergency surgery for burst appendix. Their public health system like NHS also struggling under pressure. But emergency dealt with – despite the lack of a bed.

In LA friends of ours had 20 minutes to evacuate due to fires. Their daughter,my goddaughter rang last night. Goodness what a nightmare. Listening to her the reality of the hell fires were so much closer. The recovery will be complicated. Not least due to insurers pulling out.

She is a vet. Why am I telling you that? Well she has just read my book. That’s what you do when you have 20 minutes to leave your home and grab essentials. ! She said in vet school they emphasised the need to avoid ureter damage in surgery. She says she has always been anxious about it but was reassured that it would not happen, by her colleagues. Having now read my book. She knows different.

Meanwhile one friend had cancer operation before Christmas and the biopsy results are not great. She is on rapid treatment cancer pathway. Stoic as ever. Brilliant NHS on the case immediately.

Not only but also another friend had waited so long for surgery she has had operation privately at considerable cost. Benign condition ignored by the NHS for far too long.

Dodgy scan for one of my children and again benign condition but how to get that sorted reassured and fixed. I actually just do not know.

My four times changed appointment with Pain Management Clinic in London eventually took place on Tuesday. Previously the CNS had said I needed to be listed for surgery for new battery and leads for my spinal implant. This appointment, I thought was to arrange that. But no, poor CNS had had to have the company reps in to verify the fact that

A. The device is 10 years old ie obsolete.

B. The patient says it’s not working.

C. They verified…it’s not working. Now to await yet another appointment with none other than the Baron. To arrange….surgery for replacement battery and leads. No shit Sherlock.

Then just to add to the fun I was late leaving London on Tuesday. I was trying to work out how to join a research call in Newcastle I happened upon a great idea. I should explain that train WiFi is too crap. Also somehow I had mislaid my earpods. As I got to St Pancras. I noticed the champagne bar was just about empty. What better place than that to join a call on loud speaker. The kind waiter was delighted. There they provide blankets, electric plugs, even tap water in crystal glasses. Sitting next to a Eurostar there I sat listening to and contributing to the call.

As for the jaw….It seems the lack of iron in one blood test 5 months ago is the cause of delay. Surgery now probably April. What are the chances that surgeryclashes with the spinal implant surgery….reckon we could do all at once?

Don’t tell anyone but

  1. Dipstick was on the call. He still doesn’t know how to mute his call and so the background noises of a busy operating theatre are loud and clear. He also indicated that his referrals to his clinic are 6 months. What a joke I’ve been waiting three years now for his clinic to reschedule the rescheduled clinic follow up post MRI. benign. Who cares.
  2. The waiter actually brought me a glass of…..champagne…I hid that behind my screen. Turned off the camera every so often to sip. Made sure I was on mute not only but also because of the sipping noise and the Whooshing of Eurostar.

Bonkers as I am…it was a great meeting a clinical trial so incredibly important and will have such massive success for the benefit of patients across the world. Let’s do it team.

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