I appreciate that neither Miss C's nor my conditions will make headline news like a certain elderly Greek's but never the less:
Tuesday went to Broad Green Hosp, Scallypool, to have the wound left by the recent operation to remove the Difib examined and to discuss with the consultant the possible replacement options. Mucho fecking about and the clinic was running two hours late. Results are wound is healing well but the "pouch" in the chest muscle is filled with blood that is causing much discomfort. This, I am told, will slowly subside as the body reabsorbs the blood but it may take some weeks/months. Meanwhile a replacement will be considered once the Bladder Cancer people have finished their fun and games...... So keep taking the painkillers, take moderate exercise, stop smoking and think very hard if I actually want the mental problems that may go with having a device re-implanted or whether I would prefer to take my chances without one.
Tough call really. Mentally I am in a better place than I have been for the past 14 years since the first device went in and although it has done its job and delivered shocks from time to time none of them have been deemed to be "appropriate" (i.e. Life Saving). % chances of death without an ICD and given my known heart problems have been assessed at between 2 and 4 percent per annum (renewing or resetting each year that I survive). This of course assumes that nothing else goes wrong (hence the exercise, no smoking etc).
Having a new device fitted, assuming they can find a place to put it as the old site is now "contaminated", could and probably will lead to a return of the mental issues such as agoraphobia, panic attacks etc and a lifetime of anti-depressants (i.e. a rerun of the past 14 years). Looking back over the past ten years the only times I have left the house have been a couple of times to see Nick, once to meet up with Miss C, a few visits to see Lil Bruvver and something like 100+ visits to GP and/or hospitals (often with blue lights flashing). This I feel needs some serious thought and family debate.
Wednesday to Glan Clwyd Hosp for Bladder Cancer operation. Previous op had not been a total success and I have been assigned to another consultant. Prepped and ready for general anaesthetic by 9am ... finally into theatre at 2pm. Then they decided not to "put me under" but to go into the bladder (via the obvious route) without anaesthesia to have a look and see just what they were going to be dealing with, this was accompanied by a promise that, should they find anything (Tumours etc) they would bring me back out of theatre, administer general anaesthetic and take me back in to remove whatever they needed to. Warned that this may include the need to "open me up" but only if they damaged the bladder wall and needed to repair it...... This was deemed to be an unlikely scenario but I had to be warned prior to signing the consent forms. Everyone very up-beat and jolly taking the line that it would be better not to give a G.A. if they got in and found nothing.
1 hour of a hoooooge catheter, complete with micro camera and associated tube to insert water + a laser gun to zap any tumours found being twisted this way and that whilst pictures are shown on 26inch monitor for the surgeon and me to watch what he found and did with it. I, for one, looked the other way after I had been shown the small clump of tumours..
At the end of an hour he pulled the whole lot out and said "Sorry old chap, can't reach behind the bloody things so we're going to have to give you a general and cut them out" ....... This was what I had thought (and in fact had originally been told) I was there for thus was expecting a 2/3 day stay in hosp which although not what anyone would want would be better during the school hols than after when there are parental duties to be attended to.
So they wheel me out of the operating theatre, straight past the anaesthesia room and into "Recovery" where I pondered what would happen next. 15 mins later surgeon and registrar appear to announce that they have pencilled me in for a future date to redo the whole thing under general anaesthetic and I can go home in 4 hours to await a letter giving me a new date.
So here I am with a strong case of "Leave the swelling but remove the pain" with yet more fvcking about to look forward to just when the Kids go back to school and Woodstock returns to work.
