Struck!

I noticed "something odd" about the way my right hand was working a few days before I found myself en route for a Saturday night shift at work and my hand just wouldn't work properly. I hid it for the most part but was  worried about it. It didn't go away like it did the first time and persisted through Sunday. I decided to go to the doctor the following day despite the fact the symptoms had passed. I also noticed a recurrence of a cyst under my left nipple that had been an issue a couple of years ago, before I was dismissed by the hospital ALMOST as if I was wasting their time- sitting in the Breast Clinic amongst all those worried women was not an experience I was keen to repeat!

I was called to the hospital a couple of days later: having two such episodes in a week turns out to be a serious matter. I expected to be in and out in an hour or so, in the event: I arrived at 10:00 and left at 17:45. I had no alternative but to inform my masters especially as I had to return the next day at 08:30 for another brain scan.

I spent several days over the next weeks in and out of hospital for the mini stroke as it turned out to be and the recurring tit cyst (!) which turned out to be not cancer- which was a surprise because they had neglected to mention that cancer was what they were looking at. The Breast consultant is a git! He was the same one I saw before and treated me as if I was stupid to ask questions that irritated him to have to answer. The last time I saw him I had an hour's wait for a three minute "consultation".

There was much dark humour in my time in the stroke ward. I was increasingly frantic about how the time off would affect my job despite all their talk about "your health comes first" I did not trust them and was at pains to explain that the treatment I was receiving was precautionary and preventative because of the minor incident that had occurred and 'scarring' observed on my brain. The best moment was when the stroke doctor asked me if I was under particular stress lately- I burst out laughing. It was then that I began to think that maybe my attempts to accommodate the whims of my masters was actually killing me. It was a definite factor in my decision not to stay.

The worst part of the aftermath was taking the pills: I had one to take 4 times a day on an empty stomach and one 3 times a day with food as well as four to take at night including a soluble Asprin. I don't eat that regularly- I often eat at lunch and have a snack when I get home and I was rushing to make up for lost time at work so I failed miserably taking these pills as instructed. It is odd how having to take a bunch of pills every day really makes me feel ill. To cap it all, the stroke doc told me to cut out my main recreational vice (of the herbal variety). I was/am gutted and not sleeping well as a result.