My Gammy Left Hand
I took this picture of my hand, as I rode to the airport.
My Gammy Left Hand
It doesn’t look too bad although it’s often rather cold.
I must remember to use it more, as I do neglect it a bit. But then the doctor told me that I was suffering from neglect syndrome.
Reach For A Lawyer
One thing that has always puzzled me about mass killings in the United States, is that no-one has used a lawyer to sue someone, who was loosely connected to the crime. The people, who made the guns and the bullets for a start. And what about his mother’s estate or his father, who moved out? They could also sue the school for not having a US Marine in every class room. The list could be endless to a creative lawyer.
After all McDonalds were successfully sued by someone who spilt a cup of hot coffee. I once did that to myself, so should I claim against the airline for serving me in error, when I have a gammy hand? As I spilt it all over that hand, perhaps the damage to the nerves caused my stroke. On the other hand, I would have lost the case, as I said sorry to the stewardess.
Boots Off Driving
I’ve often had strange problems wiuth the feeling in my feet throughout my life.
I can remember that years ago, I used to slip my shoes off and drive in bare feet. This would probably have been in the mid-1960s.
It’s strange but walking around Palma tonight, they felt exactly the same.
So I suppose I shouldn’t worry!
It does strike me though that my health is regressing to what it was like when I was in my late teens and early twenties.
How weird!
Is My Eyesight Getting Better?
Yesterday, I watched most of the football match at Leeds without my glasses.
Surely, my eyesight can’t be improving that much?
Getting The Temperature Right
It does seem, that the temperature affects me tremendously. My little meter from Maplin is showing a temperature of 18.6°C and a humidity of 47%. I have a few pains in my groin, left arm and where I had the tooth out, but compared to how I felt two months ago, it’s a lot better.
The weird thing last night was that my left arm and leg were very cold, despite being in a warm bed. I woke up to find that the humidity had increased by a few percentage points overnight
My gut is probably scoring 8/10, although my nose is running like a drain at times. If I go out with a couple of clean tissues, they are reduced to soggy lumps after a couple of hours.
It does strike me, that all this is so similar to my childhood, where I had long periods off school and constantly my mother was boiling cotton handkerchiefs on the gas stove in the kitchen. She also used to rip up old cotton sheets, so that I had enough to cope.
DNA Sequencing On The NHS
This is due to be announced soon and it’s already here on the Downing Street web-site.
Sadly, it’s too late for my wife and son, who died of cancer in 2007 2010 respectively.
My wife had a squamous cell carcinoma of the heart, which is so rare and deadly, that I don’t think any new technique would have helped. The doctors at Papworth Hospital, where she was treated had never seen such a vicious cancer. Short of a transplant or an unexpected miracle nothing could have saved her.
In my son’s case of pancreatic cancer, his lifestyle hadn’t helped and he might have stood a chance, if Trafford General Hospital where he was first treated in Manchester had picked it up earlier. As it is, they didn’t and Addenbrooke’s took their time too, as it was unexpected. Knowing what I know now, I would have got him to Cambridge earlier or taken him to Liverpool, where treatment of pancreatic cancer is a specialty.
So although the sequencing of cancer sufferers DNA will help in many cases, it wouldn’t have helped in their two cases, which were so tragic for my family.
What would have helped my son, would have been better diagnosis of his problem at an earlier date.
My wife went to the hospital fairly soon after she started running out of puff. She also led an exemplary life with regard to food, drink, not smoking and keeping very fit. Although that couldn’t be said for my son, who smoked heavily. And not just tobacco!
As an aside here, I am a coeliac.
This disease can be picked up by looking at the DNA. So if DNA sequencing becomes commonplace, looking for hereditary diseases like this may be a sensible and worthwhile use of the technique.
My December Blues
I’ve been pretty down the last couple of weeks with my nose running like a drain and my left hand and foot feeling extremely cold. Admittedly the weather hasn’t been good with very little sun. In fact the odd day of sunshine has cheered me up.
I’ve also improved myself a bit, by adjusting my heating so that it is on all day downstairs at say 20°C and letting the heat permeate upstairs to where my living room, kitchen and bedroom are. I then use the air-conditioning to keep the temperature at 20°C with as high a humidity as possible. Over the last few days, I’ve brought the temperature down a degree or two and now as I sit here typing it’s just 18°C with a humidity of 44%.
The biggest effect has been on my gut, to which I would give a rating of 8/10. It’s not been like that much in my memory.
So I looked back at this blog to 2011, 2010 and 2009 and in my memory to other years.
In 2011, I found this post from December13th. I was obviously feeling down, but thought it was a tooth. I had it out and life didn’t really get much better. So was I suffereing similar December Blues.
In 2010, I moved on December 16th Perhaps because of the excitement of moving I didn’t seem to be too low, but I had had a bad period in September.
2009 was the last year in which I had a December holiday. I went to Goa with an honourable lady and I felt very good.
2008 was pretty bad although I did have an excellent Christmas.
Obviously 2007 was awful as C had just died.
If I go back in time, I can remember two things.
C and I often had a weekend away in the autumn and a long holiday after Christmas. She liked to be on call at Christmas, as it is a busy time for family barristers.
I also remember a discussion with my doctor, who thought I could be suffering from Seasonal Affected Disorder. I’ve also been told by an eminent cardiologist, that everybody needs a week in the sun around the turn of the year.
So perhaps the cure is in my own hands.
I should find a warm place with sun for a few days.
Nursing Care In Hospital
It is being reported, that nurses are calling for more compassionate care in hospital.
I’m 65 and last year I collapsed and ended up in hospital. It was a teaching hospital and the doctor asked if I wouldn’t mind being used for interviewing practice by medical students.
It made a miserable time, almost enjoyable! Especially, as some students were attractive female ones.
Do other hospitals encourage their medical and nursing students to do this? It certainly, is a good way to get them up to speed in an important and perhaps neglected part of their training.
Medical Advances
With all the fuss about the Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy, it makes me wonder if C had a similar problem in a third pregnancy soon after our second son was born. She was feeling dreadful and was being sick every morning, which all made her feel she was pregnant. She was and then had an early miscarriage. She always put it down to the baby being female and that she couldn’t carry girls, but of course in the 1970s no-one knew any better. She then went on to have our third son.
I suppose today, she might had that third baby earlier, as medical science has moved on so much.
In the 1960s and 1970s, you seemed to meet a lot more couples, where there had been strings of miscarriages. One American couple, where I worked with the husband, had given up trying to have a second child, as they couldn’t afford the care in the United States. Then in England, the wife got pregnant again and by going into hospital for most of her pregnancy, she was able to have a healthy baby.
Clever Tricks Improve Breast Scans
I like this story from the BBC’s web site.
One of the keys to fighting cancer is good diagnosis and the article shows how being clever with scientific, engineering and mathematical tricks, X-rays can be improved.
We’ll see a lot more of this type of innovation in the next few years and it’ll help in all sorts of fields and not just medicine.
The Anonymous Widower 