More than just a bag lady

I had a bet on with my Grandad that I couldn't stay out of hospital for 6 months. If I did then he would give me £50 to have a night out with Hubby. At the time I thought that there was no chance of me ever managing 3 months with no inpatient stays let alone 6. But do you know what? I've done it. That's right. Six whole months without a nights sleep in a hospital. It seems too good to be true. This time last year I had been battling line infections that meant I missed the first few days of my holiday to the Isle of Wight. But I think that the alcohol that in inject into my Hickman line every morning when I disconnect from my feed is doing its job of keeping all the nasties out that cause the infections.  The sad thing is that my Grandad isn't with us any longer to celebrate with me. I know how chuffed he would have been at me keeping well and off the wards.  So Grandad, you owe me £50. And when my time comes to pass through the pearly gates, watch out! I'm coming to...

I went to visit the GP this week. But this was not my usual lovely, friendly GP that knows my history, understands my condition and appears to show genuine concern for not only my well being but that of my entire family. No. This was my first visit to a GP in Nottingham and to be honest, I'm not impressed.  I needed to get some medication that is normally on my repeat prescription. However, being a new patient the policy of the practice is that a doctor must see me before they will prescribe anything. Fine. I've not got a problem with that. Seems pretty sensible to me. What I have got a problem with is there not being any appointments available for 2 weeks. "Can you wait?" the receptionist asked. Er, no is the short answer. So I had to have an emergency appointment that day as that was the only way that I could see the doctor. Crazy.  The doctor that I saw asked for a brief background to my request for morphine. So I took a deep breath and began. The more I talked the...

Sorry I haven't blogged for the last couple of weeks.  Sadly my family has had to cope with the death of my Grandfather. I'm really struggling to even write this as words cannot explain how I've been feeling and the effects that this has had on my entire family.  Firstly, let me tell you a bit about my Grandad. In my eyes he was an amazing man. He had a huge influence on me growing up and although I knew he was old (he was 86) I childishly thought that he would live forever. You see he was this big, tall, strong man. He had been a miner for most of his life so he knew what hard work was. But he was also a very caring, gentle and loving man too. I spent lots of time with him as a child going blackberry picking, walking along the river, discovering secret paths in the woods, growing vegetables in his garden and going to the local market. We were always outdoors, always having an adventure of one kind or another. We did simple things, things that didn't cost anything but h...