Archive for the 'Rambling on…' Category

The end of the Thin Blue Line

Posted by on March 12th 2017 in Rambling on...
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Harrow Brook again. The supply of contaminant seemed to have stopped and a little overnight drizzle had diluted things a bit, but it was still noticeably blue. We walked upstream again from the Harrowbrook roundabout, taking pics until we came to the end of the accessible bank-side:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress being foiled, we back-tracked to the car and drove to a spot upstream where the brook enters the industrial estate.

There, next to the Ashby Canal, we found where the blue stuff was still trickling into the brook:

 

 

We traced the outflow to a ditch which was still bright blue, where the foot-bridge was adorned with a couple of "portable loo" panels:

 

 

 

 

A little further up we found where the blue stuff was entering the ditch... a pipe leading from the unit in the corner of the industrial estate:

 

 

Even further up, on the other side of the A47,  there was no blue:

 

 

Now, I'm not an expert on these matters, but they say that if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck...

so maybe this one is a toilet-duck?

Here's what's in the compound of that unit in the corner of the industrial estate:

 

 

No names, no pack-drill. Nothing is proven yet. The E.A. can call this one.

Thin Blue Line

Posted by on March 11th 2017 in Rambling on...
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The usually-clear Harrow Brook in Hinckley had turned an almost-opaque vivid blue this morning. I walked the bank upstream for about a mile but didn't find the source of the contamination. The voles, the ducks and even the rats were conspicuously absent.

It looks like some ne'er-do-well on the industrial estate had decided to dump something naughty in it. There's a slim chance that it might be a bona fide watercourse-tracing dye but I'm told that they usually use a green dye for that sort of thing.

After chatting to the local PCSO about it I reported it to the Environment Agency who said that they would send out a local response unit to investigate.

I'll be checking it again on Sunday, if it's still bad I'll get more pics, with a better camera, for the E.A.'s investigation.

 

 

All shook up

Posted by on February 17th 2017 in Rambling on..., Video (YouTube, Vimeo etc.)

When me and my Dad say goodbye to each other we generally shake hands, it's what we do now that he finds embracing too uncomfortable. It works for us.

During my regular visits to the hospital I usually run into a few of the patients who were fellow inmates a year back, we usually shake hands too, it's a sign not just of friendship but also of us having been through so much shite together. And also because hands are the best bet for contact points due to us all having to do the hygiene routine every time we visit - using the hand-gel dispensers is so ingrained that it's a tad like turning Buddhist prayer-wheels, you can't pass one by without having a go. The one exception is my good friend and fellow patient Nick, A.K.A. "Quaver Nick", he likes to do hugs. Mind you, he does bowl from the pavilion end...

But just lately the hand-shaking thing has gone to a new level. A couple of days ago the postman wanted to shake my hand after delivering a parcel, I thought it was unusual but I went with it. And last night at the posh Italian restaurant in town the head waiter went for the handshake when we arrived... and again on the way out... then the head chef wanted a go... by that time I was in full flow so the junior waiter standing by the door got one too.

What's going on? Has the world gone Über-polite while I've not been paying attention? Have I become an unwitting minor celebrity?

Or am I turning into...

 

Arse versus Elbow

Posted by on February 19th 2016 in Health, or lack thereof, Rambling on...
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Friday was spent in the Day Ward having bloods taken and tested, and having another bag of platelets put in. Neutrophil level still zilch.

Sent home.

When I had zero neutrophils during Cycle 1 it was mandatory that I be kept in because they needed to be monitoring me several times a day, the air was super-ultra-mega-filtered, and temperatures were tightly controlled. By "kept in", I mean in the ward. Going off-ward was a no-no while I had no "newts". Going outside was a danger akin to joining a leper colony. Home was an incredibly dangerous place to be, because of the risk of picking up bacterial, viral and/or fungal infections.

Now, with zero neutrophils during Cycle 2, I probably couldn't get admitted even if I contracted rabies and had been run over by a bus. Seems that I no longer need to be monitored around the clock, nor do I need super-ultra-mega-filtered air, nor controlled temperatures. Home has not changed, but Home is now good, together with the exact same risk of picking up the exact same bacterial, viral and/or fungal infections.

Seems that the required care regime has been edited to suit the circumstances and is suddenly much less directly related to the severity and consequences of the illness.

 

 

 

I do wish that they would start singing from the same hymn-sheet. One that has been agreed and approved by everyone in the loop. On Wednesday the doc said that he would admit me, but he was over-ruled by a specialist consultant and I was sent home with instructions to continue to attend Day Ward every day. This afternoon a different doc said that the daily visits to Day Ward would continue through the weekend and into next week, but she was over-ruled by a specialist consultant and I was sent home with a different plan - only attend Day Ward on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Oh, and I'll be getting another 2 cycles of chemo just for good measure. They way things are going they won't have me in for the chemo, they will send it by post and I'll have to pay the local plumber to administer it via an implanted radiator valve and some old garden hosepipe.

I'm trying to keep a lid on my temper whenever they change the plan, but I'm not known for my tolerance of such shenanigans.

Upping the ante

Posted by on February 17th 2016 in Rambling on...
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Monday was spent in the Day Ward having bloods taken and tested. Neutrophil level was clearly on the way down (0.28). Sent home.

Tuesday was spent in the Day Ward having bloods taken and tested. Neutrophil level was even further down (0.06). Sent home.

Today was spent in the Day Ward having bloods taken and tested, and having two bags of red put back in. Neutrophil level was way down (0.04), lower than when I was urgently admitted back in December. The doc said that he would admit me, but he was over-ruled by my specialist consultant. Sent home.

Thursday I have to attend the Day Ward yet again, having bloods taken and tested, and probably having a bag of platelets put in. Neutrophil level will probably be rock-bottom. No idea what the outcome will be.

Why no admission?

Well, there's a slight problem on the Haematology Ward...

 

 

 

 

Why the notices and restrictions?

H1N1 Swine Flu.

The ward has 21 beds (4 rooms of 4, and 5 singles). The last time I was given any official figures (Tuesday) there were still 15 patients in there, and 8 of them had confirmed H1N1.

Apparently the plan is to get those 15 safe in order to allow decontamination of the ward, so there is a lot of bed-moving and territory negotiation involving other wards. Looks like new/re-admitted Haematology patients will be going downstairs to Oncology. Where the Oncology patients will be going I don't know.

Until the plan has been executed, it's allegedly safer for me to be at home and to travel to and from the Day Ward every day. I'm not entirely convinced.

Meanwhile, every Day Ward appointment means that Chris has to blag another day off work to drive me and my kit hither and thither. Public transport is a no-no due to infection risk, despite me being the only occupant of the train carriage when I broke the rule on Monday.

Catch-up #3

Posted by on December 29th 2015 in Health, or lack thereof, Rambling on...
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When Santa asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, I said that I'd like some Turkish Delight and that would be enough.

Well, I got the Turkish Delight, but I wasn't expecting to be sitting in hospital scoffing it while being pumped full of chemo drugs on Christmas Eve.

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) Type FAB M2.

Bugger.
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