Month 6 of the Trial

Not long after I returned from my big holiday, it was time for my Month 6 Assessment. I seemed to be on a mission that morning. I caught the train before the one I needed to and arrived at the Clinical Research Centre ahead of schedule. It was still half-an-hour after my appointment time before I went through. They seemed to be somewhat disorganised and less co-ordinated than usual. Yet another new nurse had taken over my care.

The consultant in charge flew in. He did a quick check of my skin, heart, felt my stomach, glands, whatever and listened to my lungs while I breathed in and out. Have I had any adverse effects, any new symptoms? No. Then we’ll continue the study. Then he flew out again.

Instead of going for my motorway vein when she took my blood, Ann went for a smaller one that seemed deeper. It protested, and she ended up in the motorway anyway. From my viewpoint that was much better and hurt much less.

I got myself in a right muddle with the maths test and kept losing track of the numbers. The pegs in the nine-hole peg test went flying across the room, although that was the doctor’s fault, not mine. I might be right-handed, but as usual my left hand was much steadier. Or should that be tremors less? In fact it was four seconds faster, which I’m sure was a bigger difference than last time.

And I’m sure he stabbed me harder than usual with the pin prick test. I yelled “Ouch!” a lot. Bizarrely, the places where I yelled “Ouch!” were the same places where I could feel nothing when the vibrating tuning fork was placed there.

My diary was photocopied and my remaining drug returned and exchanged for the next three month’s batch. I was all done. Or was I?

The next day, I received an email from the Clinical Research Centre. We forgot to do the 25ft timed walk test. Can you come back?