My last piece was about the start of the testing and the unsayable mysteries of the decannulation room. Today we talk about the results. After a day of unexpected waits and delays I finally had a phone call at 18:00 from my excellent doctor at the Royal Marsden to tell me that the MRI, CTContinue reading “they become again”
Category Archives: Autobiographical
The Decannulation Room
Today I had the start of my first six monthly review to see how my cancer treatment is progressing. I say start as I will not know the answer for another fortnight. Today was about tests I had three appointments booked in at the Royal Marsden today – the first at 10am was bloods, theContinue reading “The Decannulation Room”
Life’s a Gas
The saga of British Gas and smart meters continues. A chara This feels rather like going to confession, “Forgive me, British Gas, as it has been 3 months since my last complaint.” My issue is very simple, the smart meters you installed no longer work and you want to replace them. This is an excellentContinue reading “Life’s a Gas”
February 2025 Ringtone
It’s been a heckin’ year but at last here’s a new ringtone. One for all you slug blasters out there 😉
We used to be people. We’re epochs.
A very quick update on the train journey. I am just back from my first three monthly check in following the months of chemotherapy. I am happy to say that for the first stop on my train journey I am clear. The next check will be in three months time. I still have the sideContinue reading “We used to be people. We’re epochs.”
The first thing that you learn…
This is a very quick update about the train ride. I am actually dictating this into my MacBook Air as I still have side-effects from chemotherapy which make typing tricky. Hence the attempt to try and talk to the machine. For a South London Irish ursine speech recognition is very much a roll of theContinue reading “The first thing that you learn…”
Cúig
The fifth cycle begins. The rituals remain the same – the three week cycle, the ceremony of taking bloods and measuring the body 3 or 4 days before the infusion, the infusion itself where the patient overworked staff struggle to find a working vein beneath my pallid Irish flesh as my body reacts like aContinue reading “Cúig”
Yearning for the estuary
I am back home. Tired, so very tired, yet much better. Much improved. My blood pressure is excellent as are my heart, my lungs, my kidneys, my liver and quite probably my sausages. I cannot speak highly enough about the Royal Marsden. The staff there are the very best. And Lamps is a very goodContinue reading “Yearning for the estuary”
Derailed
The train trundles onwards until suddenly, shockingly, it doesn’t. My second cycle of chemotherapy was cut unexpectedly short on account of me almost dying. Normally I avoid drama in these blog posts. Drama is messy, we shy away from it. Better to avoid mentioning difficult subjects, at most allude indirectly and in passing. But sometimesContinue reading “Derailed”
The Mystery of Bupa
I tried to contact @Bupa a week ago with a very simple question – “If an NHS hospital does not have a spare bed available is it possible to use BUPA to get a private one?” I have never experienced such a complete service failure in my life. I can only describe @bupa in metaphor.Continue reading “The Mystery of Bupa”
Mark O'Neill 