Trains

My bedroom is at the back of my house and a mainline railway runs just past at the bottom of the garden (see image). Now I like the trains so I have not considered this a problem. However, I have not been sleeping well, even if I have not been waking up a great deal (expect to visit the bathroom once a night). I decided to sleep in the spare room which is at the front. Last night I had a really good night and was chipper all morning today. By home time (8pm) I had had enough: I am clearly not as young as I was.

Fathers' Day

First of all I note that Google and Wikipedia have Father's Day - but I wonder if it should be Fathers' Day. Who cares, these days, when spelling on the internet is so dreadful?

I got up at 0635, was at work by 0755 and home again at 1402. I had a friend for lunch (which I'd put in the slow cooker). We washed up - I cut the lawn, watched some TV and had a snooze as I still get very tired in the afternoons.

My eldest daughter had sent me a Fathers' Day card and a present from Amazon which arrived last week: I opened them last week too. At 1931 I had a text to say she hoped I had had a good day. She has been travelling back form Kefalonia today where she had been with friends. She has had a very hard time this year what with one thing and another.

I had hoped she might phone me; I do not feel I can phone her a she will be tired. My younger daughter still lives with her mother from whom I am separated. We do not talk.

I am 60 in November. I don't feel I am any darn use to anybody. Nobody seems to listen to my opinions. What's the point of life?

Not feeling myself

Don't mess with me!

I am out of sorts today. Lots of little things I suppose and a general lack of sleep. I've been going to bed late and I have to get up at 0630 to get to school by 0745 each day.

I am associated with a small society about 50 minutes drive away (I shall not say which one) and I edit a Journal and do other membership tasks 'remotely' by email. I also need to buy stamps, envelopes and labels to post out the Journal, which I pay for and claim back. I have received no payment after a month. Thus I have emailed the committee to say I shall not do any further work for the society until I am paid.

Perhaps I will feel better when I have written all my school reports.

Consultation and Insurance Claim

I went to Leicester Hospital for a follow up consultation today. Most of the skin graft has grown back over the area of my glans from which the original graft shrivelled up after a haematoma. I had some questions I wanted to ask and was expecting to be told I ought to have a further Dynamic Sentinel Node Biopsy investigation, as check.

As it turns out, my consultant was away giving a lecture somewhere so I saw a locum consultant. He was an extremely pleasant chap and told me what I nice tie I was wearing. Sadly he knew very little about my case and opened with "You've had an MRI". I explained that the MRI was days prior to my glansectomy. He checked that it looked OK and sent me on my way.

Next appointment is in September.

Also I have claimed on my Critical Health Insurance policy. There is not long for the policy to run so whatever I receive will be a small sum I expect. However, the consultant has not sent back the paperwork to the company so I phoned his secretary to find out why. Apparently my notes keep moving around the hospital and do not stay in one place long enough to allow the consultant time to complete the forms.

More progress and back to work

A few days ago I phoned the MacMillan Nurse (my point of contact with Leicester Hospital) to explain what was going on. She told me that this was quite common and that it would heal. I have a follow-up appointment on June 14th and it was not necessary to get me seen sooner than that. This put my mind at ease.

Since then, healing has gone much better and it is amazing how the body can regenerate itself. There is a way to go yet but I remain positive.

I went back to work on 25th May - a day before we broke up for half term. I didn't want to get back in the saddle on 4th June from 'cold'. Over half term I have written my Form 1 reports and sketched out lessons for a few weeks.

Once we get back I have several pupils taking music exams so I shall be busy catching up with them. Other peripatetic staff have taught them in my absence.

Progress and problems

As these blog posts are intended for anyone facing a glansectomy I felt it appropriate to show an image of the area of my leg from where the skin graft was taken. This was taken, at home, on the 17th May - my operation was on 1st. Thus I no longer had need of dressings, and healing was going well. The size of this is 4.5 cm x 9cm.

As I write on 28th May I have to say that I need to conatct the hospital tomorrow as the actual graft, which replaced my glans, has not been 100% successful. (My actual follow-up appointment is not for two weeks) I could see patches of darkened flesh when I left hospital and these eventually shrivelled up and peeled away. Underneath is a area covered with a yellow 'pus' like substance; it is not bleeding. I can see where the edge of the graft has taken but I do not think the flesh will grow back where it has come away. I am talking of an area the size of a 5p piece.

This is all rather annoying but was always possible. I just hope they don't have to repeat the whole operation. I will let you know.

Glansectomy Update

I had my operation on 1st May. I arrived at 0715 an heard I was on first. At 0905 I was wheeled down to theatre and by 0920 I was out of it. I came round at 1315 in recovery to be told that the operation had lasted 2 and a half hours: I had absorbed quite a lot of anaesthetic (I discovered) which was why I was so tired for several days, but I was certainly not 'zonked' as used to be the case 25 years ago if I was put out. It turns out that they had had a tea break in the middle of the operation because somebody had not turned up to do the frozen section and needed to get in a taxi to get from the Leicester Royal Infirmary to the General Hospital.

I was on bed rest for 24 hours after which I could get about a little but was not anxious to go very far. This improved. I was in not pain at all from the operation itself. The skin graft donor site has been sore until now, on an doff, but this is normal and healing had gone well.

I was allowed home on Friday 4th and I took things gently. The catheter was removed in Friday 11th for which I drove myself to Leicester. I have been for some short walks down to the shops but I am not ready to go back to work; luckily I am signed off until 28th.

For anyone facing a glansectomy I hope all this has been reassuring. I keep saying "so far, so good" as I have not had the histology results yet. I suppose I feel oddly 'lucky' to have had surgery in the same area before. Possibly going from normality to the lack of a glans might be a sudden bodily change needing more adjustment.

It is amazing how the body heals and how the surgeon can repair things which have gone wrong. I am looking forward to getting on with my life - once I have had a bath!

(Not checked for typos)