I Get An Appointment

 I Get An Appointment 

Two days after my unsuccessful trip to A&E, on 28 March I celebrated my birthday - three quarters of a century! 75! Who would have thought the years could fly so fast! I've already published a short piece about the lovely birthday I had, and how so many people got in touch either by phone, or by mail and e-mail; Wendy decorated a beautiful cake for me, and my birthday celebrations went on for 48 hours. 

For a short while, the "troublesome cough" gave me a little respite, which was also a blessing; but over the next week, the problem got progressively worse, with the cough waking me up 3 or more times a night. Each time it woke me up, I had to get up and sing and try to clear it enough so that I could settle down again for a little more sleep, but some nights I managed only 3 hours' shuteye. Obviously the fluid needed to be drained as fast as possible, so I made enquiries about which hospital could do it most quickly for me.  

The timing was complicated by the Easter holidays, but I found that our brilliant local private hospital, where I have been many times before, does indeed perform drainage of pleural effusion under ultrasound, and they were able to make an appointment for me on 13 April, when the procedure would take place. All the arrangements went like clockwork; I would go in as a day case, but before that, I had an appointment on 9 April for blood tests, and another on 10 April, for swabs to be taken, to make sure I was free of the virus. 

I knew the effusion problem was getting worse all the time, and I was in for a rocky and uncomfortable few days until 13 April. I was also very nervous about the procedure, but it had to be done, and I was very relieved to have a date when it could be sorted out.