This blog is as ever my downloading of medicalness. An update then below.

Bladder has gone utterly bonkers. The latest culture shows nothing which either means nothing or probably the vast amount of antibiotics I am inhaling are really working but didn’t know it.

Kidney review by Mr Nephrology. He rang an hour early. How is it patients must sit by their phones 24/7 not let life intervene and await any appointment at any time. It is really nonsensical. Anyhow he checked all the meds ( a lot ) the blood pressure readings ( a bit better). I made sure I told him I was still swimming, boxercising and Pilates ing. Good good. We need to keep an eye on all this he said . If the function dips under further and the drugs do not keep the BP lower, dialysis. FFS. Another appointment in 6 months. I cannot see that the readings are much different. Maybe he was thinking of another patient. Be ok.

Spinal operation is still scheduled for end of April. Such is the government panics to reduce waiting lists, not only do all the hospitals I am under send me daily messages asking if I still want to be on the waiting list, but also the CNS rang me to say the op was now not in NHS Queens Square, but would be at the private Wellington. The Baron and his team expect me there at 0700am . Yikes .. that actually induces nightmare thoughts. The Wellington, then BUPA actually paid for me, was where the original spinal operation took place. The leads snaking down my head as I peered over the balcony that day, to watch the cricket at Lord’s, must have scared the bowler shitless.

Knee. Absolutely buggered. But I cannot have an MRI, until the spinal battery has been renewed. Else the MRI machine and I will explode. sounds fun really.

NHS physio rang. Telephone appointment. Decided he’d have to see me. Did not even check my knee. Told me to do tiptoes a few times a day. He will see me again in 6 week. What?

I did not tell him I have now been seeing our private physio . Told physioprivate I need to swim, boxercise and Pilates. He has worked out how to get the exercise max in order to do that. Phew. Else I would absolutely explode.

Finally, the jaw. In an extraordinary quirk of fate, I had an off pitch consultation yesterday. To explain: I was a volunteer at the local Bedford Blues match. Rugby. The charity I was supporting via a friend, was/is the Parkinsons UK Bedford branch. Last week was Parkinsons awareness week. The players wore Parkinsons shirts. We volunteers wore P T-shirts. Balloons , banners, 360 voice gospel choir you name it it was there. Our leader , Sue, explained we should not shake our buckets but just smile and wave.

As patients everywhere will appreciate, the Parkinsons patients all roared with laughter. Why? As they explained: “we cannot stop shaking”! Rory Cellan Jones Paul Mayhew Archer and the rest of the movers and shakers, podcast team would appreciate that.

Anyhow, off we went , collecting as best we could, some shaking of course. Being a local I knew some spectators , actually quite a few, which worked to my advantage, guilted into emptying pockets, my acquaintances helped hugely.

I then bumped into my lovely neighbour. Retired Consultant from the hospital. We chatted. He told me he was on the hospitality table of his friend Mike. Ah I said. He’s my jaw surgeon max fax who referred me to Luton max fax. Said Mike wandered over. Aha. How’s you …etc. Who is doing your surgery? He actually used a long medical term for that. Dunno what that is.

I told him who. He pointed behind him, He’s here too, he’s on our hospitality table too. Over I wandered. Mr Jaw Breaker did not recognise me. Until. I opened my mouth! We laughed. We chatted. We talked it all through. I am apparently top of his list. His list, he says has more slots. He has he says, spoken to the Baron. The anaesthetist

, the pre-assessment team. It will happen vèry soon he said.

there we are….consultation pitch side of Bedford Blues.

Bedford Blues won 87 -19 HUGE an historic win.

Parkinsons Bedford, raised over £4000 …shakingly brilliant.