I didn't want to speak too soon!

I'm sure you've all been wondering ............

......... and yes I was going to tell you .............

BUT ..........

I didn't want to speak too soon ..........

I did that once before and I didn't want to make the same mistake again!

Anyway I'm jumping ahead ..........

Twelve days after I told you that mojo was missing I heard the wonderful Jennifer Saunders being interviewed by the equally wonderful Simon Mayo on his drive time show.

When she described how post breast cancer (and taking tamoxifen) she couldn't be arsed to do anything, nothing was right, and even when her husband took her on holiday it wasn't any good and he couldn't get anything right in her eyes etc etc. It eventually took a close friend to tell her she was suffering from depression. She now has pills which have sorted it out.

OH who was also listening ( he has the hots for Jennifer and once stalked her around Okehampton Waitrose!!) came over and just hugged me.

The penny had dropped for both of us.

I was suffering from depression ......... really? Me?

Yes really ........ the symptoms although worse than mine had just been described on national radio!

What to do?

Well as you know I don't do pills .... its bad enough having to take one a day, so I decided that I'd wait and see how I felt in the New Year ........ classic head in the sand!

The Ring of Bells at North Bovey was the only medication I needed...... as I posted at New Year a great weight was lifted from me at the stroke of midnight!

Mojo returned and since then cheese making has been a pleasure and other things are getting done!

Its now a month down the line and things are good so I think its safe to say normal service has resumed!

As a post script  .........

I know a lot of people are cynical (yes I've seen your expressions) about how I felt the weight lift from me when someone opened the door and the breeze came in on New Years Eve. However I have since read an article in the weekend papers where a TV presenter was contemplating ending it all by jumping from a balcony when out of the blue a breeze came and made him step back. At that moment he felt a huge weight lifted from him.

So I rest my case ..............

Local or general anaesthetic??????

Sooooooooo today was small operation day!


OH set the alarm for 0630hrs so that we could have tea in bed and then I could have breakfast before the cut off time of 0730hours.


We then walked the dogs and I changed the bulb in the yard light which blew two weeks ago as its not fair expecting J to do the animals in the pitch black. (getting up early has advantages...... jobs get done)


A cup of black tea (not too bad) and a bath followed.


We then set off for Tiverton .............. and no, you'll be disappointed to hear that for the first time since March we didn't leave ridiculously early!!!!!


OH's driving wasn't too bad ....... only single lanes so no squawking required apart from when we caught up with all the old farts (OH not included) and one stopped (whilst OH was going off on one about Jeremy Vine .... yes it was 11.30ish and he was wanking on, on the Ken Bruce show) and the old fart in front stopped just off a roundabout to let a woman with a pushchair to cross. I let out a few expletives and OH stopped just in time, slamming his hands down on the horn, as I slid down the seat into the footwell  he carried on ranting.


£2.40 for 24 hours parking ...... blimey I'll go there again ....... only joking, I'm now done with hospitals and am hoping to get my life long aversion to Drs. and Hospitals back.


I checked in ..... sounds like a hotel really and we went and sat in the lounge with eight other people.


Gradually everyone except me was called to see the consultant then the anaesthetist ....... I was trying to read my book but also thinking have they forgotten me .........


ta dah ....


'Sarah'


I stood up and so did the other one who'd already been called out twice ..... my turn!!! I became Sarah two!!


Mr Ferguson had a look, a prod and a poke and then got the black marker out and drew his arrows and things.


'I'll do it under local'


'That's what you said before but the hospital have told me its a general despite my telling them what you said!'


'The hospital don't listen to patients although they are usually right'


I then signed my life away. (consent)


'Unfortunately the locals are after the generals so I hope you've got a book in that bag'


'Oh yes!'


Just before 3pm I was called onto the ward and changed into a gown, put my dressing gown and slippers on!


A short walk down the corridor in my dressing gown and slippers and I was in theatre ( I still have the memories of the long corridors at RD&E with me shuffling in my dressing gown, sexy white DVT stockings and bright pink slippers!!!) Nothing like that here!


Within 10 minutes it was all over and I was back on the ward drinking coffee and eating a cheese and tomato sandwich.


So what exactly did you have done I hear you ask?


Yes ok...............


Actually whilst Mr.F was doing his stuff I was selling my cheese making courses to the theatre staff!!


So ....... he removed two sebaceous cysts from my lymph node scar which will be sent off for analysis and then stitched me up....................the stitches are dissolvable (erm like the previous ones which caused all the infection in the first place)


Apparently the anaesthetic will wear off after 4-6 hours ..... 45minutes to go. No pain so far! If its anything to go by after Mr. F did my Op in April I didn't have pain so fingerscrossed ......

My latest operation saga...............

By the way ....... I forgot to mention that I have  a pre-op date and a date for the op with Mr Ferguson at Tiverton,(for the flap of skin removal in my lymph node scar)


All straight forward then.........................


Nope!


Why is nothing ever simple in my life????


I was surprised that I had to go for a pre-op as I thought they were just for operations requiring a general anaesthetic but my knowledge of these things is limited!


Two days before Christmas I got the operation date through and all the information enclosed indicated that I was going to have a general anaesthetic.


No, no, no Mr Ferguson had definitely said it would be a local anaesthetic.




Sooooooooooooooo I phoned the day care unit at Tivvy and spoke to a lovely staff nurse who couldn't help me as all my notes are still at RD&E.



The answer was to phone Mr. Ferguson's secretary........

Yes all well and good but when I had cause to call her in April, left her a message, she didn't call me back and when OH called her she reckoned that she'd phoned but got no reply...................

So I phoned her ......got her voice mail and managed to leave my name and number before it cut me off as I launched into my message although it told me my message had been received and that I could now call another extension if I wished............. oh here we go again.


Now I get a bit anxious (I don't know why) about phoning people I don't know as in the above situation but as long as I strike while the iron is hot as it were then I'm fine.


Now I wasn't fine.


We heard nothing and because of Christmas and New Year I left it.


On Monday OH phoned Mr. F's secretary and got someone standing in for her, she gave him the name and number of a lady at Tiverton Hospital to phone. This person had a stand in too...........
She must have apologised for taking a while because I then heard OH say 'not a problem, Mr. F's secretary has someone standing in, you're standing in and I'm standing in for my wife!'


The result was that the letter that had been sent didn't stipulate what I was having done or what type of anaesthetic. So a letter would have to be sent back to RD&E to clarify the situation but as it stood I was to go for the pre-op unless I heard any different.


We didn't hear anything................


On Friday OH phoned Mr. F's secretary, the real one, not the stand in and she didn't know, he was in theatre all day so the long and short of it is I have to go for the pre-op on Tuesday, then starve myself on the following Thursday in case I am having it done under general anaesthetic.


What a bloody palaver!!!!!

What a lovely start to 2014

During their Darby and Joan phase back in November 2013 Darby was still a resident of the spare room and Joan was still making and taking tea to him first thing in the morning.

Darby 'I think we should go away for New Years Eve this year ......... to The Ring of Bells'

(oooohhhhh yeeeeessssss my favourite place)

Joan 'Of course we can't .... there won't be  anyone to look after the animals'

Darby 'J will'

Joan 'Have you asked her? She might be doing something'

Darby 'No, but I'm sure she will'

Joan 'I'm sure they'll be booked up anyway...........'

....... and so the reasons as to why they couldn't go kept coming out of Joans mouth!


Last night was New Years Eve and you will have found us walking the dogs, fannying around packing an overnight bag and writing instructions for J .........

At 15.40hrs we checked in at my favourite place and after dumping said overnight bag in the room we took up position on our favourite table in the window drinking wine ...................... well what did you expect??? Its us, its a hostelry and its the end of a crap year!!!

Actually we did only have the one and then retired to our room for tea and biscuits.

Once tarted up we went down to the bar to party......................

My very naughty friend M had phoned the landlord and paid for our first bottle of wine ......... what a lovely start.

As I turned out of the bar to go to the table I saw a couple who I recognised ...... we had met them  there back in May when we stayed for our wedding anniversary .......................... they were back over from Germany........... we got reacquainted ........ what a lovely start.

When we sat down for supper C and I were on the table opposite so we were able to spend the evening chatting .......... what a lovely start.

It was a set menu and I've known for weeks that the main course was Roast beef............... yup I haven't been able to face red meat for months but............... I decided that I wasn't going to ask for something else and that if the worst came to the worst I'd just have to apologise for leaving it.

.................. I didn't have to - it tasted amazing!


At midnight we drank pink champagne with C and I ............... Happy New Year 2014! .................. what a lovely start.

Now ................... I don't care what you think ............. most people think I'm eccentric and away with the fairies but after all the shit this year I think I'm entitled to be ................

On the strike of midnight someone opened the outside door and the lush cool air rushed in and I felt a huge weight lift from me and disappear ....................... I said she felt the same ........ kindred spirits maybe?? dunno ..... too much to drink? .... Not on her part that's for sure..........

I had hoped that the start of 2014 would feel different and that my mojo would come back but I hadn't expected it to happen straight away ..........

............. it really was like someone had waved a magic wand

So we stumbled into bed around 1am.......

And .................guess what??.....  bloody insomnia ruled!