Last time I told you that I was booked in to Plymouth Hospital for a bone marrow biopsy in June. I'm pleased to report that I've successfully survived the procedure which passed with minimum fuss.
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Happiness is a hospital parking spot
©Harveywetdog |
My trip to Plymouth wasn't without incident as it involved passing through the traffic blackspot that is Tavistock. I choose a day when the powers that be had decided to bring traffic in the area to a grinding halt which meant I was late for my blood test.
I was delighted to find a parking space in the hospital car park and I was also delighted that the parking space was big enough for the Discovery - well perhaps not quite long enough, those reversing sensors were really screaming at me! Even better as a Birch Day Care outpatient I did not have to pay for parking - good old NHS.
This was my first visit to the Birch Day Care Centre at Derriford and I was pleasantly surprised. It looked bigger than the Edward Jenner treatment room but obviously has the disadvantage that it doesn't bring consulting rooms and phlebotomists all together. Having said that one of the nurses expertly took my blood test so it doesn't need phlebotomists to be on hand.
I had a little time to kill between my blood test and my biopsy and was able to make good use of Costa Coffee near the car park. It's a while since I'd had a Costa so it was nice to be back, take out cup used to sit in and a return to the chocolate tiffin (which is now larger but thinner).
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The unhealthy option
©Harveywetdog |
After that it was back upstairs for the biopsy which was as bad an experience as I remember it to be from Gloucester. It's not that it's particularly painful (I turned down gas) but it is a bit of an indignity lying there with your buttocks exposed while someone trepans your marrow abundant pelvis. Unfortunately it took two goes as the first area didn't yield sufficient sample but somehow I survived.
One thing I liked was that as well as the doctor carrying out the procedure I was provided with a healthcare assistant to "hold my hand" and keep an eye on me to make sure I was managing the discomfort and to distract me from what was going on behind. We had a fascinating conversation, as I rambled on relentlessly covering a variety of topics in order to take my mind elsewhere.
As I said the doctor had to have two goes to find a suitable sample site, but within an hour I was sitting back down enjoying a cup of NHS tea and pocketing a packet of bourbons for the trip home.
Final note, as we went through the consent form the doctor assured me that the procedure was less risky than most of the procedures going on in the hospital on that day. I thought perhaps he should have said it's a whole lot less risky than driving to get there!
I headed home via the impressive Tamar Bridge (which is toll free East to West) but I can't say the drive up through Launceston was any better than going via Tavistock.
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Stuck in Tavistock
©Harveywetdog |
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©Harveywetdog/Author - David Robinson CEng FIET
David spent approaching 50 years in Her Majesty's Electricity Supply Industry before retiring
He was part of the highly successful design team on the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station Project before spending 25 years producing safety cases to keep our aging AGR fleet generating for the good of the nation
He is responsible for the Harveywetdog YouTube Channel which he maintains as an outlet for his creative talents
David has twice experienced blood cancer treatment but absolutely refuses to be a victim
All views are of course his own but might be influenced by the medication he's had to take
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