Hi, Hello and Good Day......

I may have been noticeable by my absence from blogging and twittering for a couple of weeks, 26th Sept to be precise!  As you know from my previous offerings, illness per say, is not something that afflicts me but during the last couple of weeks I have been suffering terribly from the most debilitating headaches, vomiting, dizziness and tiredness.

As usual and with typical stupid male hubris I curled up in the foetal position with a basin for the vomit and a large box of Anadin for the headaches and dizziness, these normally kill any pain I am in, however for the last couple of weeks, nothing would shift this.  So off I went to the doctors and from there; after being asked by the doctor if I could afford to go for private treatment as she wouldn't be able to get me an appointment for at least 4 or 5 weeks, I was sent to Accident and Emergency with a letter!

I spent almost seven hours there, the first two waiting to be assessed including having blood samples taken.  Once that had occurred I waited about another hour  and was then taken to a treatment room where a doctor checked BP, Temperature, Vision, etc. and then I was taken along for a CT scan.  After that I was taken to a ward to go through all the tests and questions that I had just had in the initial treatment room by a doctor on the ward.

After another hour the consultant arrived to review the answers to the questions, look at the scan and then inform me of their findings.

It turns out that although my BP was slightly elevated, it wasn't elevated enough to give them any cause for concern or to otherwise point to what was causing the headaches, vomiting or dizziness.  The CT scan was taken as they felt that the symptoms I was describing could be an indicator of bleeding on the brain (!) but a scan can show up to 98% clear leaving a 2% doubt and the only way to clear the doubt is by the carrying out a lumbar puncture!

Seven hours and regardless of the pain and discomfort I had been experiencing, and to the fact that I wasn't able to concentrate - and so therefore had not taken my Kindle with me to read - my stupidity kicked in again and on the belief that this had been going on for a couple of weeks and with no medical training, I assumed that if I had been bleeding on the brain with all the portents of doom that phrase brings, then it probably would have done for me before then, dumb I know, but hey that's me and men in general I suppose......  I elected to forego that particular  pleasure!

So it has been 10 days since the hospital and I have still been suffering only very slightly with the headache but not enough to make me take any more pills and the odd bout of dizziness and I am beginning to be able to concentrate again.

Unrelated, I think, I hope, to the headaches and vomiting, is the old eyes.  They seem to be straining a bit as I read and work, but this is since and after the headaches developed and I think I need an eye test again so I will be making an appointment at the opticians for that soon.

I picked up A Game of Proof by Tim Vicary on Tuesday and am really enjoying it thus far.  Bitter Harvest the latest from Michael R Hicks and the latest signed hardback in the 'Kydd' series from Julian Stockwin, Betrayal , have been added to the reading list  and I am really looking forward to getting back to some good reading in these books and the other 30 odd books in the TBR list.  Will let you know how I get on with these as I get through them.

So, I'm hoping that this is me going to be rejoining the Blogging and Tweeting world and getting back to re-engaging with all of you and in begging your indulgence for my recent absence.......