The health situation was all-dominant this past week, but things are moving in the right direction. As mentioned last week, I had an appointment with the chiropractor on Monday and talked him through what had unfolded the previous week. He undertook some lighter massage of my lower back and also the right side neck muscle area. He added some sports tape to my lower back muscles and left me with the instructions to carry on with my normal exercises and also the walks; the items that were linked to my issues. I proceeded on that path, although I did shorter walks. A follow-up session with him took place on Thursday, where he conducted deeper massage, acupuncture and a replacing of the sports tape. During that session, he checked my spine and left lower back muscles, both of which felt pretty normal to me (the pain on the side is very localised now - following his work over the past weeks). He commented that they felt normal to him also, explaining what he would expect to find, if there were issues going on. We are therefore focusing on the right lower back muscle area, alongside the right neck muscle.
In between that, I had a call from the GP surgery, who gave me an appointment on Wednesday afternoon. This was as a direct result of the Canterbury cancer unit sending the letter they said they would. Insane, to me, that one area of the NHS appears to be able to invoke basic actions from another, but I am pleased that they can. That appointment was okay, strained, initially unclear and I had to deal with, what I can only describe, as a condescending GP. There was a language barrier, but the outcome is that she will refer me to the Orthopaedic Surgeon, in connection with the slight bulge in the top of my spine. I have a trapped nerve, evident on the MRI, apparently, but my symptoms are slight. The GP does not think they will take much action, but I pushed for the referral so that I can discuss what can be done, directly with a specialist in that discipline.
The taping up and additional work done, has helped and there is a notable reduction in the sensation, plus I have not had a repeat of the lethargy that cropped up twice in the previous week. For the coming week, I will conduct the normal duration walks, as part of the experimentation to determine where best the chiropractor can work his magic.
Whilst all of that was unfolding, we managed some degree of normality through the week. Sandra and Alanna went to a concert at the O2 arena in London, which allowed Sandra a measure of relief and enjoyment, away from the stresses of late. I went to Dan’s and we had some time with the kids, as well as some more key consultancy work. Sandra and I had an evening meal out on Friday, with Andrea and Richard. We have not caught up with them face to face for a while, and due to the recent health challenges, had to miss out on Andrea's 60th birthday celebrations. That was a nice evening and a good catch up, for all of us.
The focus on the Fritz Witt motored ahead and Sandra and I took a 2-hour trip to the co-authors house. That was for some final photography of artefacts, alongside some scanning of material that has become available since we undertook the overall project. We also discussed the imagery to include in the final version, as we are at the limit of the page count. We can of course, go over that, but the difference in postage - especially to the overseas destinations, changes notably, once the item exceeds 2kg. Key choices to be made, but the overall aim is to include as much rarer imagery and items as possible, removing more common photos, to ensure we make this as interesting an insight as we can. We are both very happy with what it looks like at this stage, just some final polishing off, before we get this off to the printers - we’re still on course, but will see what the next 3 weeks brings (our deadline is at the end of that).
The journey there and back was fine, although we drove through a storm that was unfolding across the UK. I spent around 4.5 hours on my feet moving around and scanning, photographing and discussing the final version of the book. The impact of that was felt during the journey home and then when we got home and started to relax. I am less concerned about these aspects now, as we have more insight into what is causing them. Some exercises on Sunday morning helped to off-set the impact of Saturday.
Sunday gave us a chance to spend time with the grandkids, Dan, Karl and Rachel (Alanna was away for the weekend). The car situation has been rumbling on in the background, slowly. On Tuesday, I sent another email, chasing an update and timeframe, plus asking for a Subject Access Report. That appeared to invoke some activity, as by Friday, I had a reply to say the car is ready for pickup and all issues should be resolved now; will see what the coming week brings, after I have collected it.
Compared to the previous week, this one has seen multiple key aspects moving forwards, but none of them concluded yet. A better week, which gave us more insight and answers, as we continue the journey through understanding the pain drivers and their potential solutions.
Your various comments and contacts on the previous, not so good, week, were very welcomed and appreciated. It is very evident that many of you are genuinely invested in my health situation and it is as humbling as it is surprising, as it is very helpful; thank you, sincerely.
Regards
Peter