vivdunstan

Waking late afternoon as continue to recover from my latest neurological illness flare. Heavy sleeping daily with the most bonkers protracted dreams! Still waiting for urgent gynaecology referral appointment. NHS Tayside has phenomenal wait for this particular clinic (*), though guidelines say they should see you in 2 weeks ... Meanwhile sleep.

* Current advertised waiting times are 35 weeks ...

Got to the end of my 4-a-day home blood pressure readings (was filling the complete form, and just had space left to do 2 final readings this morning). My average over the week-ish is coming in at 125/80. That'll do nicely.

I have a cerebrovascular disease, so keeping my blood pressure within safe levels is important. But my readings in the health centre are not reliable due to white coat syndrome. I am happy to check at home.

Doubly vaccinated, Covid and flu. Huge thanks to the NHS staff and volunteers at Douglas Community Centre in Dundee. Extremely efficient. I was by far the youngest person there 😜 My 12th Covid vaccine ...

Got this late afternoon in Dundee city centre. I am still offered these Covid vaccines twice yearly by the NHS, being severely immunosuppressed. Very quiet vaccine centre - no one waiting when I got there early. I suspect they have a lot of no shows in the current 75+ group. I was weeks earlier for my vaccine than I might have been, keen to get it before my Capercaillie music concert in 3 weeks.

Because I was seen so early we were able to get an early takeaway dinner from a fab fish and chip shop that is sadly shutting its Dundee branch after this weekend. Sat below the uni, overlooking the River Tay to Fife. Bright evening sunshine, and surrounded by optimistic but unsuccessful seagulls. Martin also spotted wild bunnies on the grass down the steps, so dashed down to photograph them.

Planning a very quiet weekend. I expect to be feverish and very sore overnight. More seriously I will probably have a 3 month long flare in my autoimmune brain disease, starting about a week from now. It’s very difficult. But I will be protected.

Bumped this up my viewing list, because the play is going off streaming through National Theatre at Home at the end of this month. It can be viewed before then by people like me who subscribe to the service (I was lucky to nab a reduced price offer before Christmas), or on a short-term rental view.

The play was staged in early 2024 and is a dramatisation of the life of Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan, who spearheaded the launch of the National Health Service in the UK in 1948. The play tells Bevan's life, looking back from his final days in hospital, as sedated he dreams back to his youth as a miner's son in Wales, early political life, his courtship of his wife, Westminster politics of WW2, and then the fight to found the NHS.

The staging is creative, being set largely in a hospital ward, but repurposing the props - including beds - as well as patients and staff to take on the various roles of people Nye encountered in his life. This staging took a little getting used to, and the play runs briskly along. But it certainly grabs the viewer's attention.

The central performance of Michael Sheen as Nye Bevan is riveting, and ably matched by Sharon Small as his Scottish wife and fellow Labour politician Jenny Lee. Their relationship feels vital to the play as a whole, but is surprisingly underdeveloped after their first striking meeting.

The foundation of the NHS happens near the end of the play, and feels surprisingly rushed, and a story only partly told. There is very effective staging of a group of doctors seen above, debating whether to join the new NHS. The toing and froing here between Bevan and the doctors is gripping. But then it's over, the NHS is founded, and the play finishes soon after.

An admirable theatre experience, though I think the play script could have balanced some aspects of the story better. However the performances are gripping, and the staging held my attention throughout. Recommended.

Second of three appointments completed for my new root canal + new crown. Huge thanks to my lovely NHS dentist. I know I'm really lucky to have him. In awe at his skill which makes scariest things trouble free - I can even fall asleep during them! Also always good craic (he's from Northern Ireland). He trained at Dundee University, taught by among others my previous dentist, who's from the same West Yorkshire town as my dad. Small world.

I now have a temporary crown in place, and can eat fairly normally, but will be extra careful on that side for the next fortnight. After the dental appointment we treated ourselves to breakfast in a local coffee shop, including a soft breakfast roll of scrambled eggs and sausages for me. Felt really indulgent. And fun.

Extremely grateful to my NHS dentist who saw me at short notice. Problem identified, and the tooth is going to be saved with a root canal. Appointments booked for the New Year and a temporary medicated filling in the meantime. Very relieved.

Pleased that my temperature has stabilised finally 6 days after my latest double vaccines. It's continued swinging for ages, though I was feeling much less fragile overall by Monday afternoon. My arms are still sore, but improving a lot too. Enormously grateful to have got my protection. Even as I expect a very nasty and prolonged post Covid vaccine auto immune neurological illness flare to start shortly 🙁 But got my protection!

Had my first NHS mammogram 4 weeks ago. Got the results letter in the post today. Nothing untoward found. They’ll call me back in 3 years or so. Those results came through quicker than I expected. It seems hardly any time since the day of the scan, in Carnoustie, on the opening day of the Senior Open golf championship. Still waiting to get a letter for my very overdue DEXA bone density scan. I haven’t had one since my last one 8 years ago, that confirmed I had full blown osteoporosis. But one NHS thing done and dusted!

Martin has only an extremely faint positive today. And is feeling good. Though overnight he had extreme disco/sparkly visual effects, and a throat like a dagger in it. But good today. I am still testing negative. Though I may yet catch it from him, and get iller. But we are doing good for now. He is going to be working on the computer in the study today, and working from home all week.

He was masked up almost all the time we were in St Andrews on Friday, including in queues for the Cheesy Toast Shack and Jannettas. Both queues were phenomenally busy, and there were some scary coughs among the queuers. The first queue was outdoors, but unbelievably busy. The second queue was a mix of outdoors and indoors. So my theory now is that Martin probably picked it up in one of the queues (he hadn't been out of our house for over a week before). Which I was not queuing in. So I may yet catch Covid from him. And would, if I test positive, decide whether to ask for Paxlovid antivirals (very few people can get Paxlovid in the UK, but being severely immunosuppressed I am eligible). But if we're lucky it won't come to that ...