Hello all. I have now bedded back into usual life after a few weeks off and, as everyone can identify, it feels like months ago.

Anyway the time came for me to go and get my next physical (some rather tickly poking and prodding from the professor) and another vial or two. Ah what’s a bottle of blood between friends anyway. The appointment results are quite important as they will allow me to see how fast this thing is going. Its linear so I need a few more results to work out how things will go.

There have been a fair few admin cocks ups from St Barts. No letter for my latest appointment. An email sent to my office manager about my diagnosis (pretty bad) and five weeks to arrange an appointment. With this in mind I hoped the visit would go well.

So my appointment was at 9:40 on the 27th. I turned up ten minutes early, as I tend to (people seem to split into three camps, early to all things, on time or late. I mostly rock the early, which is irritating to some people as if they are five minutes late I have been waiting 20. Still I digress).

I checked in, was weighed and then waited. Then waited. And then waited some more. After an forty minutes I went to reception and asked how long the wait was, because I hadn’t yet had coffee that morning. Apparently things were running on time. Suspicious I then went to check with the nurses. Standing by the chart, they told me some flannel about people needing varying times, but sure enough and looking at their chart I could see that they had accidentally gone over my name with a marker, when they crossed out the person above, so I was half crossed out. consequentially the two people following me had been seen. I pointed this out and they went to ‘check.’ on my chart. It wasn’t outside the doctors office so they assured me I would be next in.

Reassured I went back into the waiting room. I was sure I was going to be in soon so didn’t head off to grab a coffee. Another hour passed and it got to the point where no one who had been there when we had was still left. I went back to the nurses and had EXACTLY THE SAME CONVERSATION. This involved me pointing out I had been crossed out. 5 people had now gone after me and they then went to find my chart and said it wasn’t outside the office.

I then mentioned this had occurred before in a groundshog’s day way and they went off.

I went back to the waiting room. I then felt like if I wanted a coffee I might not have time.

Finally 40 minutes later I went into my appointment. It took 10 minutes. of which 5 were me complaining about the admin. The rest was a physical check up. No growth of spleen.

‘How do you feel?’ ‘Fine since I stopped running.’

That was about it. Then I was sent to see the nurse liaison who it quickly turned out I should have met when I was diagnosed. Instead of the cup of tea (not coffee I might add) conversation he was expecting I said I knew about the condition and was dealing with it fine (mostly). This is the difference five months of having something will make.

Then I went and gave blood, sent off my official complaint about their admin and finally had a cup of coffee.

Not that I’m addicted you understand, but the headache vanished as soon as I got some sweet sweet caffeine in my stomach..

I find out my results next week. We will see how much my white blood cell count has raised and then start to work out how long until I need my first bout of chemotherapy.