Life Blog -Consultation at Heartlands Hospital Birmingham

November 11, 2016 by ibeastie 4 Comments

Here is a photo of Bertie enjoying Planet Earth 2, put up for no other reason than he is irristible.

Another day another consultation but with each day and each consultation the stakes get higher, more and more rides on the outcome.

This latest consultation was at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham and it was to assess whether or not I am a suitable “candidate” for the trial. We left for the appointment in good time. We gave ourselves an embarrassingly large margin of safety in time terms for this meeting. We arrived 15 minutes late. I was stressed. My tummy ached.

They had a television on in the waiting room. “Homes under The Hammer” was on. It was normality and it really calmed me down. I was quickly called to be weighed. It’s not good. I’m not a feather weight but I have lost a lot of weight. We were called in.

The lady introduced herself and a colleague who was sitting in on the consultation as a student. A lot of questions were asked. She soon decided that she thought I was very suitable for the trial and she outlined the treatment. 

Three treatments are on offer, the one being trialled being given to 50% of people the other two to the other half. It is a randomized trial. A lot of testing will be done prior to starting the treatment. CT scan, ECG, bloods and lots more. Many trips to Heartlands will be involved so we will have to fine tune this journey. I go back on Monday for some tests and to return my signed consent which they insisted I think on, rather than just sign straight away. 

The wait for this consultation was emotionally draining but now once more I am working within a plan and this has really lifted me up. 

Already I am noticing the important things in life. Mrs P has had another haircut from her stylist Mark. He is a God amongst hair stylists. Chrissie looks simply fabulous – ten years younger than her age – match this to her simple desire to please and I’m back counting my blessings. I’m not some poor unfortunate guy with the Big C, no I am Ady or Beastie, Mr Beastie, Beastmaster or Worth and I am a lucky, lucky man with a caring loving wife, who quite simply would do what it takes to keep me riding by her side in our chariot!