Cancer 90

It has been a while since my last blog, not because my life is not incredibly exciting, living from one breath to the next, but because I am trying to concentrate on writing my novel. I am back to rattling off the words. Plenty of stuff here about religion and politics in the mid-17th Century, and you should read the sex scenes. They are incredible (literally). I am happy to write about the reasons for killing a king, but writing about sex is impossible. “She offered her honor, he honored her offer, and all night long he was on her and off her.” Not original, but better than anything I could write, so I don’t write anything, just suggest it. Let the reader use their imagination.

I am in hospital again, and there is good and bad. The good is that my PICC line should be removed and, after 13 cycles, I am taking a rest from treatment until late January. Hurrah! That line has been in since June and it becoming a bit of a pain. The whole area is red and sore. It doesn’t help that I scratch it but don’t tell anybody I do that. It is rather obvious that I shouldn’t. The bad is that my fluorouracil failed to be pumped into my body so it is still sitting as a bubble inside the bottle. It relies on pressure to work, which seems a little primitive. Hopefully, it will be fine as this is an optional extra treatment. The other bad is the waiting time today. I came in for a 1530 appointment. They said everything was running late, an hour late; but it was when the tea and biscuits arrived in the waiting room that I began to worry. It is 1600 now and I have no idea when I will be dealt with.

Fortunately, dealing with the NHS on a regular basis is a bit like the army, you learn to wait. I have my computer (get back to the book, 2500 words today so far), and I am reading some of the tracts from the Levellers, the Putney Debates of 1647, a time we don’t learn about in school but we should, as that time is when the ideas of modern democracy were laid down for the first time (not in 5th Century Athens, remember the slaves). There are detailed accounts of the debates, which were chaired by Cromwell, and anyone was allowed the space to speak. Many ideas were discussed, universal suffrage (for men of course), free trade, removal of monarchy, human rights, habeas corpus, fair trials, fair taxation, and so on. If this early democracy had lasted the UK could have been at the forefront of civilisation.

Middle of the night.

My PICC line is removed, so I have a bare arm, albeit very red, with no tube sticking out, no dressing (well, a little temporary one) and no bandage – all for the first time since the middle of June. Having these bits sticking out of your arm may seem minor or trivial, and you do get used to it, but it does become a little wearing after time. I am looking forward to the next few weeks without it. All being well with my health a new one will be slipped in towards the end of January. Now I could do with getting rid of the stoma bag, but that is not going to happen.

By the way, I was dealt with in the hospital as I was writing this blog. I haven’t been there all night. I was home by 1730, in case you were worried. Another success story for the NHS in dealing with so many people so quickly and with a smile.