More News

I am sorry that I have not been on line for a while.

I now seem to have a few medical issues under investigation that do not make sense.

I lost my voice completely as the second vocal cord froze and then also found it hard to breathe and swallow thanks to a condition called Stridor. One doctor immediately put this down to a new tumour, about which there has been no evidence, another simply did not know and a third suggested it could be due to the radiation scarring while a fourth suggested that it could, maybe have been due to an infection. Meanwhile none of them have any ideas on what to do except wait.

In the interim of course the patient (me) can't breathe, has difficulty swallowing, panics every time that he has a coughing fit where because the vocal cords can't close there is not enough pressure to be able to effectively sneeze or cough and so clear mucus and of course there is no way to call for help because you have to have a voice to be able to call the emergency number and explain you need an ambulance and for what and where to send it.

To add to my misery, I also seem to have a case of carpal tunnel syndrome or overuse syndrome which means that I am typing with only one hand - so even a voice synthesis is difficult.

Given the myths about the Hippocratic oath it is moot whether the phrase "At least do no harm" originated there or with Galen the Roman physician.

However it seems to me that whoever had this point in mind could well have been thinking that it is less than useful to make your patient sick with worry by entering into a group think process where based on past history there is immediate thought being given to new tumour let's all start from this premise and base our advice on this, never mind the fact that the tests are not clear and never mind the facts that the sorts of treatment we are talking about are not all that capable of being used over and over again and never mind what psychological issues it raises for the patient!

At present, as you may be able to tell I am not all that pleased with the medical and allied professions however I have to say that they are doing their best, but could perhaps do lot better by LISTENING to their patient and his description of the symptoms and the experiences of those symptoms over time as the history of what is being experienced is as relevant as what they have learned from their books and experience.

High praise to the speech therapist though who did teach me some tricks to use to swallow and who even gave me some thickening stuff that allows even water to be be turned to slime that can be swallowed, but is so disgusting that it's mere presence is enough to train the body to learn how to swallow, if for no other reason than fear and revulsion!

By taking some drugs that are non steroidal anti inflammatory medication, the pain from the overuse syndrome and arthritis is manageable. The new anti reflux medication keeps the resulting juices as acid neutral as possible and of course the medication to try and deal with my breathing difficulties actually works on some days, if not on others.

I am learning, with bad grace, to cope, I guess. Of course it is now Spring over here so that will no doubt mean more trials as pollens etc add to the mix of issues.

The good news is that I am still alive and able to have the occasional flash of humour about all this. I am beginning to see though why most comedians had a hard life. To survive you either have to find SOMETHING FUNNY or simply submit to the pain and misery of it all.

So thanks to all the comedians your experiences are all very helpful right now!