Matter of Routine

I have settled into the routine. Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening I get dropped off at 6pm for a 4 hour session of dialysis. At a time which varies but is usually between 10:30pm and 11:30pm I get picked up and go home to sleep. Those of you who are mathematically minded will notice …

‘Done and Dusted‘

I have just returned to my room having had my first four hour dialysis in my new fistula. This fistula fitted on the 13th Jan performed really well for 9 weeks. The whole process was very smooth. The annoying thing is that for almost five hours (I’ll explain the extra hour later) I had To …

It was all going so smoothly and then…

I have got into a routine. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I head off to MKUH at about 5:30pm for dialysis. Generally I am on from about 6:30pm until 10:30pm. The exception is Monday where generally I am on fom 7:00pm to 11:00pm. During my 4 hours dialysis I will listen to music or watch …

Reaping the Benefits

I am beginning to see the benefits of regular dialysis. With the Tesier Line Fitted and the pain subsiding the dialysis sessions have gone well. I have yet to do a 4 hour session- yesterday’s session was shorter as they had had issues with other patients which meant I started an hour later. It wasn’t …

Back To Work

The Alexa speaker alarm goes off. It is 5:45am, in my usual workday routine I will listen to the radio (UCB1) whilst coming round and jump into the shower by 6:45am. Downstairs to eat breakfast and make lunch whilst listening to Radio 4, before leaving the house at 7:30am. It takes 25 mins to drive …

Barrier

My year long sick leave is over. I have been signed back for to work. This has meant an end to ESA (Employment Support Allowance) and a move to JSA (Job Seekers Allowance). This is something I want to be on for as short a time as possible. Being on benefits is a bit soul …

One Year

A year ago I was living in Mwanza. In fact, though I did not know it at the time, this day (April 1st) would be my last full day in Tanzania. A year ago tomorrow we would be heading off for a holiday in Kenya. However, Easter is a moveable feast and as such has …

Where I’m At

Time ticks on and there has been little to say in recent weeks. Both my wife and I remain off work on sick leave, following her heart attack and my slow recovery from the stem cell transplant. We both are recovering well and have started to do a little more as we gear up for …

New Norm

The ring of the alarm. 7 am Morning comes too soon. On a good night I've been up twice. But sometimes thrice. Early hours ablutions. Within minutes they are up. Wife an daughter. Showers, hairdryers, dressed, breakfast out. The hustle and bustle of a typical morning followed by Silence. The house is quiet. Maybe another …

Strange September

For years I have hated the first week of September- the return to work after the long summer break. The sudden imposition of schedules and meetings on what was free space. It always started with INSET days. Staff Training Days ahead of the pupils return. Necessary but for those who prefer to be at the …

Rebuilding

Having been overseas for three years and having no intention of returning to Britain, it has been quite a shock to the system to be back here. Now, as we adjust to the reality, we are in the process of rebuilding our UK lives. Anita has secured her old job in Milton Keynes (in fact …

Full Circle!

We have returned. After three years we are back in MK. It seems like a lifetime and yet it seems like yesterday. We never imagined we would be back here on any permanent basis but here we are. God has a sense of humour.Anita starts work on Tuesday back at her old place of work …

Day of Rest

In the English vernacular" I'm knackered". After three days out of the last four days on the road I'm exhausted. A sign of my illness no doubt as well as the variable sleep patterns over the weekend. I had enough energy to walk to the doctor for my weekly INR this morning  where my blood …

Ghosts

In 1984 I needed a summer job. I'd left school and wanted to earn some cash before I went to Nottingham University.  I ended up getting a job as a Domestic Assistant (Cleaner) at the newly built wing of Lincoln County Hospital. My role along with a team of other young people was to clean …

Sands of Time

It seems hard to believe that I have been back in the U.K. for two months. I arrived on the day they called an election, which has now passed. I arrived just after Easter and now the summer Hilidays are fast approaching. Today at my school in Tanzania they will hold Prize Night that end …