More than just a bag lady

A couple of weeks ago I had my second ketamine infusion. I know you're probably thinking 'ketamine, isn't that the horse tranquilliser drug?' And yes, you'd be right. But what the headlines in the tabloids don't tell you is that it originally started out as an anesthetic for humans before its use in the vetinary industry. After the horse question I am usually then asked "is it safe?" And the answer is...I don't know.  So what do I know about it?  ▪️It's a class B drug that has a history of abuse due to its hallucinogenic qualities. ▪️It's used as an anesthetic as it causes a loss of feeling in the body and paralysis of the muscles.  ▪️Long term use can cause problems with the bladder that can result in it being removed.  ▪️All medicines have to be licensed before being given to patients and ketamine is licensed as an anaesthetic so technically isn't licensed for pain relief.  ▪️It's most often used as a painkiller in palliative (end...

On Thursday 11th February  we have seen Jeremy Hunt impose the new contract on junior doctors despite repeated protests by doctors and patients. While Mr Hunt has tried to portray Junior doctors as money grabbers reluctant to work weekends the truth is that over 53,000 doctors have struck over concerns to patient safety. (I must make sure that autocorrect doesn't replace the H with a C when I talk about Mr Hunt!) And for the record: I hate the term Junior Doctor,  it implies that these are not 'real' or 'qualified' doctors. That they're a 23 year old fresh out of medical school that's yet to earn their stripes. They are infact any doctor that has yet to reach the lofty height of consultant status. As someone who has been treated by lots  of junior doctors (now referred to as JD's to save me from having to keep typing it) and spent lots  of time in hospital I have seen first hand how hard they work. When I was an in patient the JD's would start work a...

WE HAVE MOVED!!! We are finally in our new house after 8 months of living with my parents. The stress of dealing with estate agents, banks and solicitors are over and we can start a new chapter in our life as a family. On moving day we didn't get into the house until 8pm despite legally owning it since 9.30am. The seller was using a transit van  to move out of a large 4 bedroom house and must have needed to do at least 10 runs, if not 15. We tried to be patient as we know that moving is a stressful and emotional time under ordinary circumstances but to be moving out as a widow must have been even harder. Her husband had died unexpectedly whilst we were in the process of buying the house so at one point we didn't know if the sale would go through. To be honest I kept expecting her to change her mind and want to stay and even when we had exchanged I still was convinced  she might pull out. So you can imagine my relief when I finally got hold of the keys.  Since moving in it...