Unpleasant experiences part 1

I don’t think I’ll ever be gay; especially after the unpleasant experience of having a Sigmoidoscope rammed up the place where the sun shineth not and wiggled around this morning. If this is some people’s idea of sex they’re welcome to it. More tests to come and a Colonoscopy scheduled for next Friday. I’ll say this for the hospitals – when they do get round to lumbering into action they shift very quickly indeed.

I’ve been reading the preparation sheets which would bring a smile to the face of Torquemada. The day before I’ve got to start purging my system with a very nasty cocktail of colonic clearance agents. That promises to keep me away from the keyboard and studying the bathrooms décor for long periods. Must leave a book or two up there and check my mp3 players content. It’s going to be a long 48 hours

Bless Angie, she’s my rock, my haven and my shield in these difficult time. If it all goes pear shaped I won’t forget to tell her she’s what's kept me sane. It can’t be too wonderful for her, but with her help and the surgeons I’ll be okay. There is a school of thought that states; what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That being the case; at this rate I’ll be able to bend iron bars around my psyche.

Illness tracking

Took today off sick as my bowels have been playing up. Constipation is followed by flatus and I find myself going back and forth to the toilet every twenty minutes or so. Almost like a hiccupping gastro colonic reflex. My knee needed a rest as well. All that walking is definitely taking its toll.

17:09 21/09/06
The sensation of pressure and discomfort in my lower right abdomen is now more or less continuous. I feel hot and sweaty every time I eat or drink. Sitting up is decidedly uncomfortable and I get referred discomfort (Not quite painful but almost so) in my lower right iliac fossa (Lower right abdomen, just inside the pelvis). Like a balloon swelling at one end when you push on the other. Very difficult to get comfortable.

18:40 21/09/06<
Had a light supper of a small portion of broccoli and potato bake earlier on which has helped to settle my digestion a little. My digestive system seems to be hyperactive and making more gurgling noises than a mad scientists chemistry set. Discomfort has eased slightly. I don’t know whether it’s the food or the lying down that has quieted matters down. Next Friday and my hospital appointment can't come soon enough for me. Will try a little yoghurt to see if that helps.

All I have of my father

My father died over twenty five years ago. Yesterday my mother gave me his medals. Nothing much, just three World War 2 campaign stars and a 1939-45 good conduct medal. The stuff most surviving servicemen came home with in the late 1940’s.

A legacy of Gibraltar and Malta Convoy escorts, Anzio, Palermo, Normandy (Juno Beach) and the Far East just at the end of hostilities, repatriating POW’s. He wasn’t a hero, just one of the cast of thousands that made it happen; working as a signalman and ‘bunting-tosser’ on Minesweepers and Tank Landing Craft. He was not a veteran of any great sea battles, or winner of a higher award like a DSO like my late Father in Law. Just one of the many young men of his era who volunteered for the Navy instead of waiting to be drafted.

I cleaned his medals and will cherish them.

Angie commented that this was a large gesture on my mothers part. This is true. My side of the clan are hardly what you might call demonstrative. Not closed in or anal, but extremely careful about what they say and do. Not for them the grandiloquent, expressive gestures of love or accentuated emotion, but the small, often offhand and understated gesture of trust that connects from the hand to the soul.

My status in my family just went up a notch.

I feel quite proud. Thank you mum.