My Big Achievement This Year

 This year has been a bit crap, but if I've achieved anything it's this:

With the daily blood tests, the countless canulas in my hands and arms, the IV drip feeds and drugs, the antibiotics injections, the blood transfusions, the anaesthetics and the COVID, flu and pneumonia vaccines, it's safe to say that I've had more pricks in me this year than a third-rate Pornhub actress.

Renegades - Civil War Chapter Fifty-Three

The occupants of the planet Onara were surprised when a Federation shuttle started to land in the main port. One man was not surprised however. Although he had received no transmission Calvin Hudson knew who was flying the shuttle.

The door to the shuttle opened, and out stepped Thomas Riker. He looked as if he hadn’t eaten in days, and he was pleased to see Hudson again, although he wanted to see another.

“What are you doing here Tom?” Hudson asked.

“I guess you haven’t heard the news.” Riker replied. “The Lohengrin has defected. By now they should be at the Time of Legends. I didn’t want to go with them. I wanted to stay here. I have some information regarding President Servalan that could help us. I must tell Chakotay.”

I Wrote a Message.....

I wrote a message earlier, intending to send it to people who haven't bothered me for ages, just to let them know what's happened to me over the past few months.

Christmas Thanksgiving

As I haven't really got anything else to do this Christmas Eve I thought I'd give a few shout outs to some of those who have helped me along the way.

Let's begin with everyone at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. If you can't work out why I've put these guys first then you clearly haven't been paying attention over the past four months.

I Feel Like I've Let Him Down

I feel like I've let this guy down in the past few months.

Monty's been a bit under the weather with ear infections again, in October and again a couple of weeks ago. But because of my health problems I've had to ask Paul to take time off work to take him to the vet.

40 Years

I do this every year, but this year seems so much more different because it's 40 years ago today that Mum passed away.

Why does it seem different? With everything that's happened this year there were a couple of times where I thought I might be joining her, that I might see her again, the physical pain I was in was that bad.

If she'd lived she'd be 93 now, but there were times where I wished she was in that hospital with me, sitting in the chair next to my bed, holding my hand telling me everything will be alright, just like she always did during the first 12 years of my life.

Rest in peace Mum.

Morning Has Broken

I've grown to love this man's work over the past few years, especially this album, released just a few weeks before I was born.

Which is why I'm putting this here and now. Some may say the following is a bit morbid, but here goes:

Some good friends have passed this year, and my own long-term health problems have left me questioning my own mortality a few times, so if the worse happens I want this song played at my funeral.

Why? Quite simply because it's one of the most wonderful things I've ever heard, sung by one of the kindest and most beautiful souls I've ever learned about.

So if you're my family remember what I've said here. If you're my friend remind my family of my wishes.
And if I do pass before any of you make sure you're there to sing along.

You have your instructions.

Rest in Peace Cuffy

Just learned that my old friend Mark Cuff has passed away after a long illness.

The Story Behind The Song

Whenever I watch a Fleetwood Mac concert I always watch out for the way the guys look at each other when they perform certain songs, particularly Lyndsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

Can Somebody Snap Their Fingers and Make Me Well Again?

I have to admit I really didn't know what to write here at first. I've been out of hospital just over a week now. I'm feeling better, but I don't feel anywhere near how I felt before I first contacted my GP back in August and told her how ill I felt (and we all know how that went over the next couple of weeks.)
 
My back and side still hurt from where the chest drains were inserted, and it still feels weird not having to carrying around a plastic pot with me. I'm still having to walk around with a stick most of the time because I'm still quite unsteady on my feet.

The Hospital Blog

If you don’t follow me on social media and only follow me via this blog you’re probably wondering what’s happened to me. Well, yours truly finally got the treatment he needed when I was taken into hospital for treatment on what was originally diagnosed as a chest infection but which actually turned out to be pneumonia.

I spent two weeks in hospital undergoing various treatments, being poked and prodded, having various needles and tubes inserted into me. I posted a few updates on Facebook, but as many of you probably don’t follow me on Facebook a couple of the posts from there. I didn’t really write anything of length until about a week into my stay, by which time I’d undergone a second procedure to drain fluid from my chest and right lung.

Chest Infection Week Six

A health update for you:

Tomorrow will be the start of the sixth week of my chest infection. Yep, suck bloody weeks of this crap. I never thought the bloody thing would last this long, but it has.

I had a check-up at the surgery last Friday. The original intention when I made the appointment was to see if I could work with my sciatica. (Don't get me started on how I had to jump through hoops just to get that appointment.)

The sciatica immediately took a back seat when I told the guy how the chest infection just wasn't getting any better, how I had countless coughing fits every day, and how I'd thought I'd pulled a ton of muscles down my right hand side because of this.

A Pain in the Arse

I’m currently sitting at the desk, writing this on our main desktop PC. It’s something I haven’t done much of recently. My RSI-type shoulder and neck injury means that sitting here is quite uncomfortable, even more so with the new aches and pains that have come into my life in the last few weeks.

These past few weeks really have been a pain in the backside in more ways than one, but after today’s GP appointment I’m finally getting some answers, because after getting the big negative with the tests for cancer I’ve got a big positive for a case of sciatica.

Not Such a Handsome Beast

I used to think that heavy metal bands had some of the greatest album covers ever. The artwork on some of the albums by Rainbow, Dio, Metallica, Megadeth and their like is second to none.

Then I was "re-introduced" to this from the NWOBHM era while looking for songs for a Spotify playlist. The music's not bad, but this cover, once seen it you can't unsee it. It's considered one of the worst album covers of all time.

Still Miss You Lots Madam

With everything I've had to do today, I only noticed just now from the Facebook memories thing that today is the third anniversary of Frodo's passing.

Frodo was by far the most affectionate and caring cat I've ever known. We often called her the mother of our furry family, although you could say she was the mother of all of us here, human and animal.

She always made the effort to make sure that everyone was okay. Every day, when I got up, or when I came home, while whatever combination of dogs we had greeted me in their usual enthusiastic way, Frodo would sit at the opposite end of the sofa looking on, and after the dogs finished with their hugs and kisses Frodo would come over and site on my lap and greet me with a hug and nuzzle from her nose.

A Clusterfuck of a Day

Today has been a clusterfuck in more ways than one.

I awoke this morning in a great deal of pain, aching from my legs up to my chest, to a text message from the surgery saying that my MRI scan had been cancelled and that I needed to ring them to make an appointment to see the GP. What better time than now I thought. So I dialled their number. I was only the second caller in the queue, which was somewhat surprising given that time of the morning.

When I finally got through I was met with what could be termed as confrontational indifference. I explained my situation to the receptionist, explaining that I had received a text message, as well as recounting what had happened during my previous appointment with the GP a week ago, which included me telling her that one of the things I was told they were on the look-out for was the big C.

So I'm Having a Few Tests Done

I’ve been thinking a lot over the past twenty-four hours, thinking about how to word this, or if I should post this at all. But here goes anyway.

I’ve been feeling ill on and off for a while now. I can’t say for how long exactly because I simply can’t remember, but the story is that on some days I had a dicky tum, and on other days I didn’t and felt fine. After I felt unwell I just took an Immodium and went about my business.

Then I began to get a pain in the upper parts of my legs, and in my right hip in particular. At first I thought it might be related to the RSI-like injury I had with my neck, shoulders and arms. The pain wasn’t too bad, but then it began to spread to the point that the entire area between my upper legs and lower back began to hurt. This included a certain functional part of my body.

Alas, It's Not That Funny Anymore

Over the past few months I’ve caught a couple of old episodes of “Alas Smith and Jones”, the 80’s comedy series brought to us by those “Not the 9 O’Clock News” legends Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones.

I loved these two back in the day, and the younger me was a massive fan of this show back then, so I jumped at the chance to re-live some happy childhood memories when one episode was shown on BBC Four, and another one recently on BBC Two. Sadly, I was quite disappointed.

Don't Let Daddy Kiss Me

When you think of Motorhead and their hard-rocking, hard-living frontman Lemmy you immediately think of songs like Ace of Spades, Born to Raise Hell, Iron Fist, Overkill and the like, songs that make you want to bang your head and raise your fist in triumph. You rarely think about Lemmy and Motorhead having a social conscience and singing about sensitive subjects. That is until you hear them play “Don’t Let Daddy Kiss Me.”

Catching Dreams

About twenty years ago or so my brother Michael and his then-wife Denise brought me a dream catcher for Christmas. I wasn’t really into that sort of thing and I didn’t really know what to do with it until I found out that I was meant to hang it above my bed.

It stayed there for a few years, but over time it began to show signs of wear and tear until I eventually took it down and disposed of it. There didn’t seem much point in keeping something that looked a bit tatty in my room.