Motorways and hidden forest paths

I saw a different lead doctor this time instead of the usual one. He didn’t seem to be as rushed. Do you work?" he asked. "Not any more." "When did you stop? How long after diagnosis?" “I’m not sure. About 13 years I think”.  “You did well," he said. "Most people have to give up work within five or six years of diagnosis”. That should have made me feel proud, but somehow it didn’t. I was relieved that I had been able to work for as long as I had. But needing to give up work, whenever that is, is hard and the thought that I might have needed to stop even sooner was frightening. Just how many huge impacts can MS deliver?

 

Then there's the blood test. When it comes to extracting blood, in one arm I have a tiny vein that is like trying to find an overgrown path in a forest. In the other arm I have a motorway. Although Anna went for the right arm, instead of trying the motorway, she went for a slip road. Halfway through filling the last vile, it decided “I’ve had enough of this.” And refused to give up any more blood. It was stinging too and I was beginning to feel not good. I asked her to leave it for a while before trying again. When she came back to it an hour later, I suggested she try the motorway. It still stung though, more than it ever has before. “It’s because we only have green needles,” Anna said. “We don’t have any of the smaller blue ones. Everyone’s being complaining. We need to order some.” “Yes. Please do.”

When I got to Fenchurch Street on my way home, between speaking to the Customer Service desk to arrange assistance at Southend Central and scootering the 20 yards to the platform, they received news of a broken rail just outside West Ham and there were no trains between there and Fenchurch Street. Mmm… now what do I do? Do I wait for it to be repaired, however long that took, and get caught in the ensuing chaos that will be the soon to start rush hour, made worse with delayed and cancelled trains? What was the alternative? I couldn’t get the tube to Barking because there’s no step-free access at Tower Hill station. And I couldn’t get the DLR to West Ham because there’s no step-free access to the C2C line until February. Ah-ha! I could scooter to Liverpool Street Station, get the train from there to Southend Victoria. Thank heavens for two lines to Southend.

Next visit will mark one year since I began the trial...