Living With Gladys Full Time

😦

That probably sums up how Alistair feels today!

We had another long day at the Royal London under the expert care of our lovely registrar (truth not sarcasm).  The catheter was expertly whipped out at 9am and then we waited. We waited in style though and Alistair drove Miss Daisy round to the hip and trendy Broadway Market where we had breakfast and then mooched around the over priced but quite scrummy whole food shops!

So, time trickled on but alas, that was the only thing that trickled and even though all three of us had our fingers doubly crossed, Alistair’s pee tube seemed adamant that nothing should pass through it unless catheterised! The Big Boss was called for and the decision was made to go ahead with a Trans Urethral Resectioning of  Alistair’s over enlarged Prostate gland. This was not the news we wanted and to say that Alistair is disappointed is an understatement. We had our hopes pinned on todays outcome being positive and avoiding the metaphorical glint of the surgeons knife.

Still, as has been the case all the way along this sometimes fractious pathway living with cancer, Alistair will come to terms with what needs to be done and of course I will ensure that he is in excellent health going into the procedure so that his recovery will be swift and with as little damage  to the whole as possible.

Truthfully, what we are upset about is the whole healthcare model that is on offer in the UK, its so narrow. If we lived in Germany we would be asked ” do you want  chemotherapy or ozone therapy to treat  your cancer”! If we lived in Hungary we would be asked ” what herbs would you like to be treated with”! If we lived in Spain we would be able to legally buy cannabis oil to treat Alistair’s cancer! In this country we are given the choice of surgery, radiation or chemotherapy!  And that reminds me, I am still waiting from a response from Dave Cameron about why it is that we cannot legally use cannabis oil to treat illness in this country and yet if I was from any other European country I could legally bring it into the UK for personal medical use, hows that fair?

Alistair quite rightly says that if we were rich we could just go and buy all of these things, or live somewhere for as long as we needed the cannabis oil for. My ex husband would have said “thats the law of the jungle”.

I say its not good enough, you shouldn’t only be able to get these things if you have money. I reminded Alistair that we are able to afford more than many others (true, we had to do that small thing- sell our house- in order to do so but… ), but its simply not right that these choices are not open to us from our health care system.

The trouble is when the NHS gets its hands on things it can’t help but medicalise it and fuck it up, The London Homeopathic Hospital is a prime example. Now known as the London Hospital for Integrative Medicine and under the control of the Utterly Crap London Hospital there is very little that this hospital has in common with a truly homeopathic approach. The remedies seem to be more off the peg than tailored to individual needs and consultation times are condensed into NHS time slots rather than the appropriate duration that homeopaths are trained to offer.

Rather than whinging though, I think its time to get involved in trying to bring about change. Alistair and I do all we can to educate people about the difference the right foods choices can make to our health, so its time for us to widen that and probably join some pressure groups. Fear not, I will keep you posted on our endeavours, unless  of course, you see me on the telly being kettled by the police at a protest rally and if  that happens please Candace and Hannah  would you look after your dad until Im released on bail! (Im no stranger to bail but thats a story for another blog)!

So, we have about 7 weeks or so to wait for the Op and we will keep hopeful that this will be the thing that at long last allows Alistair to pee, in the meantime we will stay well, positive and focused on creating change.

I am thrilled though that family members and friends are making positive changes to reclaim their health and to prevent ill health by introducing   better nutrition and  going organic, great news and it brings to mind one of my favourite quotes: ” for things to change, first must I”