Discuss biopsy - next week

I contacted the surgeon's secretary, to confirm that the biopsy has been completed. I now have an appointment for next Wednesday. The surgeon, Mr Murphy, will not be available, but I can see Mr Kumar or Mr West. Mr West has been involved with my case for a while.

So may be I will be a bit more clear about what was removed and what further treatment, if any, I will require.

A musical interlude

(Something found on the internet.)

By the way, I have updated the link to the Lion Sleeps Tonight animation, to a better version. See "By way of light relief".

Thanks for your cards

Thanks for all the lovely cards I have received.



































Actually they use electronic ear thermometers these days. Some nurses seem to think it necessary to push it hard into the ear, while nurses with a more gentle approach got just the answers.

A short walk

I went for a walk of what must have been at least half a kilometre. I came back exhausted and had a good nap.

The pain is getting a bit worse. Not from the wound, which seems to be healing well, but in the leg where the surgeon had to extracate the nerves from the tumour. I assume it's part of the healing process, but it sometimes feels like I have been whacked on the leg with a cricket bat.

The website below is my report on what Lan and I went to see.

Click the above image for the story.

Visit to the Dressings Clinic

I visited the Dressing Clinic at Christie Hospital today. The biopsy report was not in so I didn't learn much.

The dressings were cleaned and replaced, though much of the wound has healed enough to be left exposed.

The one thing I learnt was that after the wound has fully healed and swelling contracted, I may have another operation to shape the transplant. If it still bulges, they may remove some of the tissue under the skin to give me a more natural shape. That will need a couple of weeks or so for me to recover from.

I am now waiting for an appointment to see the surgeon, once he has received the biopsy report. The report should clarify what the lump was and if further treatment is appropriate.

I wore a tracksuit to the hospital, which only slightly irritated the wound. It gives me an option for going for walks outside. However, it was quite tiring walking the length of the hospital, so I am still not up to walking far.

[We drove back home past the Red Lion Cheadle petrol station. I gather the 8-year old was on his way home from cancer treatment when the car-jacking happened.]

2 weeks on

It is now 2 weeks from my operation and almost one week since coming home. I am still on painkillers, but just paracetamol and codeine as I was in hospital. I fell much the same as I did, except that I am more mobile around the house and it is a lot more pleasant being at home. THe advantages are: more personal space, Lan's cooking and more choice on TV.

The food was good at Nathan House, but like most institutional catering, it had a tendency to taste and smell the same. It also had a tendency to be too sugary for my diabetes and the task of choosing the menu 24 hours in advance meant I usually asked for too much.

My diabetes is under much better control now that I am home and enjoying Lan's cooking.

I am still wearing the Egyptian galabeya so as not to rub the wound, as a result I still haven't been outside the house. The wound itself is still as swollen as ever, I will see what the nurse and surgeon has to say tomorrow. Lan has pointed out that in taking a flap of skin from my abdomen, my navel has moved almost two inches to the right.

Rising bollards in action

I like this video on rising bollards in action: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/men/video/popup/519.html.

Bush visits search for MIAs in VN

The issue of MIAs in the Vietnam-American war lives on, which is incredible when you consider that the number of MIAs as a proportion of combatants or of casualities was small comparared to the Korean War and WWII. It's all due to unsubstantiated rumours about Vietnam secretly holding US prisoners, publicised by films such as Rambo.

I met a US officer whose job it was to track down MIAs (which effectively meant war graves), based in Cambodia. He knew it was ridiculous, but as long as there remain a large caucus of Vietnam veteran voters, US Governments have to show a comitment to searching.


Click the above image for the full story.

44 Scotland Street, McCall Smith

I have just finished this book.

[Click on the above image for the full story.]

Back home

I am back home.

Thanks for all the cards, emails and e-Greetings.

I suppose a quick re-cap is in order.

Monday 6th - went into hospital. The surgeon had said breezily, I would be fixed up to a scale, which would take care of my blood sugars. It was a pretty neat machine, which fed me sugars by saline and insulin - but required me to measure my blood sugars every hour throughout the night. It also meant a disturbed night for Lan who chose to stay overnight, to see me off in the morning.

Tuesday 7th - went off to surgery at 08:30. I was under a general anaesthetic so I knew nothing until that afternoon. I was aware it was not my room and that Lan and my parents were there. It seemed a lot of effort to acknowledge they were there, but I thought I had moved enough to show awareness. Apparently, all I did was flicker my eyes a bit. By evening I was more alert and could hear the drama in the adjacent bed. The poor woman was confused, was fighting to get out of bed and was calling for the police.

Wednesday 8th - I was visited by the surgeon. He explained that he had found the growth significantly bigger than when he had last seen. (That has been my concern for sometime.) He found the growth was going down my leg, so he had a job disentangling my nerve, rather than just cut through it. Having removed the growth, he felt it necessary to replace some skin and muscle, so he grafted what they call a 'flap' from my chest. So I have a scar up my chest, and an eye-shaped graft at the top of my leg. The graft is still a bit swollen from the surgery, so I cam into a hospital with a lump and have left with an even larger lump, but I presume I will regain a more natural shape.
As the surgery had been more than expected, I had been placed in in the High Dependency Unit for 24 hours. In the afternoon, I was moved to an NHS ward, because I was still considered to need better attention than could be given me on the private ward.

Thursday 9th - I moved back to the private ward. I got a lot of good attention. I think the difference is, the private ward had a lot of nurses, mostly students. The NHS ward had a highly over-worked senior nurse, tending to everyone on the ward, but highly experienced.

Friday-Tuesday, 10th-14th - not a great deal to report. It was a nice room, but the routine of meals and TV gets boring. Then twice a day, I would walk the length of the corridor to strengthen my legs. Various cards and e-greeting were a welcome diversion.

Wednesday, 15th - the surgeon declared the wound, 10 out of 10. (I don't know whether I earned those marks, or he was rewarding himself. So he told me I could go home. I go back to outpatients next Wednesday for the wound to be checked, with luck the biopsy will be ready by then and I will learn more about the lump.

Pre-Op visit

I went in this afternoon for a pre-op visit to discuss the procedure.

I am now told I should reckon on being in for 7 to 10 days, while fluids are drained from my glands. I will then have to wait for about 3 weeks after the operation before hearing the biopsy on the lump to confirm what is really wrong.

The staff were friendly, but the journey was a night mare. The lump is like an additional spare tyre and every wobble is painful. Each pothole bought more pain. Then when we got to the hospital I insisted on Lan getting a wheelchair. But hospital wheelchairs are not like any other kind of wheelchair. There impossible for the occupant to control, break or move. One is fully dependent on others. They are almost impossible to push, so you are dragged, backwards, swaying along a corridor. It made me nauseous.

So I am relieved to be back home for the moment. It took me a good hour to relax enough to feel human again.

I will try posting an updated lump graph. I'll try a different background colour, but I think the current one works as long as you click on it.