Addenbrookes hospital

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Returning to Alive and Running. Heart firing on all cylinders (combustion engine metaphor)

Where was I? Atrial fibrillation started in June 2022 until I had cardioversion to shock my heart back into normal rhythm in November 2022. This was successful. Three months later I had a catheter ablation procedure which requires a line to be inserted into a vein or artery, in my case, in the groin, and manipulated until it reaches the heart. Cells responsible for the electrical misfiring are then destroyed and hopefully normal sinus rhythm returns. This was also successful and should be a more permanent solution to stopping a return of atrial fibrillation.

These procedures were straightforward and painless . My anxieties were on the high side these but, on the day,I felt much more relaxed and reassured. I’m very lucky to have Addenbrookes and the Royal Papworth hospitals on my doorstep.

With regard to running, it’s now much less effort compared to when I had AF. Previously I was doing up to 35k a week. now it’s more like 15-20k. I’m still wary of pushing myself and my Garmin is very useful in checking my heart rate. All in all I’m happy to be back running without problems.

The icing on the cake is that parkrun has returned to Milton Country park, formerly known as Cambridge parkrun, three weeks ago, following a three year pause. What a joy to meet up with old running friends. Everyone was visibly happy to be back and there was great atmosphere. Lots of people put a huge effort into organising its return to Milton Country park and I’m very grateful. Exactly why it stopped and how it came back remains a mystery to most people.

Tomorrow, May 6th, is showbiz time. King Charles 111 will have his Coronation and the nation will lose its collective marbles.The unthinking, manipulated masses will marinate themselves in fawning adulation and obsequiousness and the rich and powerful will fall over themselves to demonstrate new levels of sycophancy. This is a hideous spectacle I can’t miss. I’ll be watching on TV, shaking my head, tut tutting and struggling to take in the enormity and wrongfulness of the event. It is a supreme example of privilege, wealth, power and class. For all his laudable charity work and supposed outspokeness on specific matters, you’ll not see Charles doing shifts at a Food Bank or urging the return of the Sure Start Children’s Centres or decrying the cost of living in any meaningful way. He’s a relatively safe pair of hands who can deliver gravitas to speeches convincingly, receive respect and admiration, appear very rich but “hard working and devoted to duty,” and can maintain the whole edifice of a royal fantasy. It’s showbiz and celebrity culture aided and abetted by public money.

God save the King. God save us All

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Books, bookshops, a polytunnel, running, Tories scupper Humanity, an old door.

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The Oxfam bookshop in Durham, where we stayed, and a short train journey from Newcastle and the Great North Run. Second hand books on three floors. Lovely shop, huge selection of books but substantially more expensive than any other comparable shop.

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Oohh… look!  A load of orange Penguins and old Pelicans.

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I toyed with the idea of hiding in the shop overnight but decided against it. The sheer volume of all these pre-loved  books weighed heavily upon me. I didn’t want to risk overdosing on the written word.

Back to the running world. I’m doing a half marathon on the Wimpole Estate in 8 days and only started training for it 5 days ago. In those 5 days I’ve done two 10 mile runs without any problem and I’ll probably do another 10 or 11 mile run and a parkrun before the half. This should be adequate for me to get around the course without the pressure of going all out. It’s nicely undulating and mainly trail. The last time I ran it (2013) I came in at 1 hour 55 minutes. I anticipate 2 minutes longer this time.

I often run along the river Cam, which, depending on the time of the season, is littered with anglers. As a rule, they never acknowledge anyone passing and continue to stare vacantly into the water in the forlorn hope of catching a luckless fish. They are invariably alone and occasionally smoking. All appear to have a sense of humour bypass otherwise they would be continually laughing at the notion that fishing is a sport. Anyway, for the first time in 16 years of running by the river, one of the fishing people actually turned around, smiled and said hello. And then, to add to the sense of unreality, he made a comment expressing surprise that a group of young lads who just  passed us were not in school. I responded in kind and had to stop myself commenting that he wasn’t following accepted protocol governing angler/runner interaction. I ran on, light in heart, relishing our transgressive behaviour. If I see him again it’ll be my turn to take the initiative. I hope he hasn’t been cast out of the fishing world for unauthorised contact with a runner. Only joking (mildly).

Guy

My polytunnel is up and running! This is Guy who masterminded the construction. Green Minds, my fledgling therapeutic gardening project is progressing very, very slowly. The actual site is being developed by friend and charity trustee, Rebecca and myself but referrals to Green Minds have yet to materialise. The timescale for things to happen is a lot longer than I had anticipated. It will happen, I’m sure, and I’m very grateful for generous financial and plant donations from friends Elaine and Robert.

This Guardian piece on the “downfall” of Cambridge’s Addenbrookes hospital is worth reading for its perspective on so called “failing” hospitals.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/22/cqc-jeremy-hunt-nhs-hit-squad-addenbrookes-hospital

Strangely enough, here’s another Guardian article, this time on the baleful nature of drug pricing. Beyond dismal. Sort it out Jeremy!http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/23/uk-cancer-patients-being-denied-drugs-due-to-inflated-prices-say-expertsents-being-denied-drugs-due-to-inflated-prices-say-experts

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Finally, here’s a lovely old door, currently attached to Durham Cathedral. What’s behind it, God only knows!