HEALTH UPDATE: I Do Gym, That's Who I Am Now!

Again, this is nothing like what I'm doing at the gym!                  Photo by Ketut Subiyanto 

Following last week's enrolment Rachel and I have already been to the gym twice this week and are aiming to keep up with regular visits.

I have to confess that I rather like the power-assisted machines, the limited time on each, and the routine of doing the circuit in about half an hour.

With just two visits under my belt it's a bit early to say if it's having any effect, but as long as I follow the instructions I'm pretty sure I'm heading in the right direction.

As you 'only' get three minutes on each machine I did notice that my slowness - due to my gamy leg - in dismounting and disentangling myself from the foot straps etc  was creating a slight traffic jam for the people behind me (including Rachel). I'm going to have to work on that.

At the moment, because of the continual heatwaves, we're having to go to the gym first thing in the morning, meaning a very early start for us non-working types, but hopefully once this abnormal weather condition passes (to, no doubt, be replaced by a different abnormal weather condition) we'll start experimenting with different times of the day. As long as Rachel is working from home, the later time slots should be no problem. 

If there's something I didn't enjoy quite so much it's the fact that not only was the gym rather full, but the people there were chatting and bantering. And that's so not my thing. My brain gets so easily overwhelmed these days if I'm in a new situation.

Even though the machines are designed to help me with my exercises, I still need to concentrate to make sure I'm doing things right.

Eventually, I was hoping to be comfortable enough to exercise with my ear buds in and listen to podcasts but I won't be able to do that if people are wanting to "chat" to me.&

Thus, a good reason to find a quieter time of the day to do our circuits.

HEALTH UPDATE: Gym Life

We will be doing NONE of this at the gym               Image by Mohamed_hassan from Pixabay

With Biscuit Club on its summer break, Rachel and I used this time to join our local gym.

It's not your run-of-the-mill gym though, but an "active wellbeing studio".

This means we're going to be using a series of power-assisted machines each time we visit, on a half-hour circuit (roughly three minutes per machine).

It's not really about getting ripped, but rather - for me, anyway - safely loosening the stiffness in my back, and other joints. Various machines will also help me develop strength and stamina. 

I had a try on one of the machines and it felt so good on my spine. Like a glorious massage. Rachel said I looked very happy. I'm really looking forward to using these machines on a regular basis.

As part of the joining process we had a lengthy discussion about my medical issues (stroke, aneurysm, osteoarthritis etc), and then came back another day to do all the paperwork. So, we're all signed and paid up.

I also rather like it 'cos to my numpty brain it's very sci-fi, with apps and QR codes, and electronic wristbands to get us in to the building.

Rachel and I have just our induction session to go next week and then we can start popping in as and when we feel like it (providing we book a slot in advance).

HEALTH UPDATE: At Least My Liver Seems Okay

Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash

Good news this week. The results of my last blood test came through (primarily checking my liver function) and all were normal, with no sign of abnormalities, so that's something to celebrate for a change.

I actually didn't hear anything from my GP (which, in these situations, is a good thing), so checked via the wonderful NHS app on my phone that Rachel signed me up for. It's brilliant. Not only can my GP (and hospitals) contact me via the app, but I can check my notes and test results.

Hooray for the NHS!

After opting out of last week's class because of the continuing extreme weather, I went back to Biscuit Club this week only to discover that our next session is the last of this "term"!

I'd thought we'd be adding on a few more to make up for the ones cancelled at the height of the heatwave, but clearly not.

However, there's a new class starting later in the year, and we get priority dibs on those places, so I'll probably attend that. It should be cooler by then (climate change willing).

Over the summer, we were invited to pop along to the Angel Centre in Tonbridge to join in some of the weekly, pay-as-you-go, classes for the general public that our coach runs.

Even though there's no tea and biscuits with these, Rachel and I agreed that it might be worth me checking the classes out as it was only something like four quid a session.

HEALTH UPDATE: And So It Continues

Image by Conmongt from Pixabay

We're now in our second or third heatwave of the Summer. It's not fun. 

Not only can I not really focus on anything still, but I also feel lethargic and just want to vegetate.

For reasons, primarily the extreme heat, I've now only managed to attend two meetings of Biscuit Club in the last six or seven weeks.

A couple were cancelled and one was optional (and I didn't feel up to attending), but also there was the week where I had my steroid injections (which don't appear to have worked) and one where Rachel was overwhelmed with organising the annual awards day she puts on for the local media in the South-East of England.

I've tried to do some exercises, but the heat just tires me out.

Unfortunately, this has also meant I've had a couple of falls. While nothing was damaged beyond my dignity, it's a stark reminder of how I was a year ago and the fact that I had gone several months without any kind of collapse.

On a possibly positive note, I went back to the GP's this week for my latest blood test, to monitor my liver function, and my veins were much more visible than they usually are... which we atre attributing to the heat.

It was still incredibly painful, and I crushed Rachel's hand again as the nurse wiggled the needle around in my vein (well, that's what I think she was doing - I had my eyes screwed shut). But, apparently, she got two and a bit vials of my blood out.

Also, rather impressively, several days after my needle-encounter, I still haven't bruised around the penetration site, which is possibly a first.

Now, I just have to wait for the results and find out if I need to come back for more of this torture.

HEALTH UPDATE: Is This What My Future Holds?

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay

After all the general positivity in the wake of my steroid injections last week, I got a call from my GP's surgery this week saying I needed to come in for a repeat blood test.

You may recall I'd had a VERY painful blood extraction, a day or so after I had my spinal jabs. This, it turns out, was to test my lipids (which had improved, yayyyy) but also my liver function.

The latter showed signs of an increase in Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT). This could be due to an infection, some of my medication, a host of reasons. So, my GP - who never passes up the opportunity for a blood test - wants to double-check it next month.

Rachel stressed that it could be something as simple as the vast quantity of prescription medication I am taking and told me not to catastrophise. 

Of course, I did. Although, to be honest, not as much as I have done in the past. I think I'm just resigned to the fact that this is my future now.

To be honest, I might as well rely on healing crystals, reiki, or leeches, I (half) joked with Rachel.

Anyway, while I'm still waiting for the steroid injections to kick in and take the edge off my discomfort, I have another appointment with the phlebotomist to look forward to in a few weeks.

On a more positive note, ahead of the impending heat wave this week, Rachel, Alice and I made it to yesterday's Home Front event at Hever Castle, full of living history displays, period music and dancing, and 1940's re-enactors.

Bigger and better than the last time we attended the event, there were more tents, more people dressed up, generally more of everything. As usual Alice attracted a lot of interest with people wanting to know her breed and if it was okay for them (or their children) to pet her. She, of course, relished the attention.

The heat got to me a bit at first, but I downed a lot of water, took things slowly, stayed in the shade as much as I could, had some great ice cream, and we enjoyed a fantastic afternoon.

The dancers, as ever at such events, were phenomenal

The mandatory ice cream break

The mandatory shot of me with an American army jeep

Oh, and there was a Spitfire on the lawn

HEALTH UPDATE: On Pins and Needles

Casual, pre-injection mode, reading this week's 2000AD

After weeks - nay, months - of bitching, moaning, and dieting the stars finally aligned and I was able to get my long sought-after steroid injections in my back.

These will hopefully numb the pain for a while, allowing me to exercise more with (all being well) proper corrective results to beat the crippling inconvenience of osteoarthritis in my lumbar facet joints.

We arrived at the hospital at the crack of dawn, with a short side quest to drop Alice off with Rachel's parents, getting to the Chronic Pain Clinic at around 7.30am, just ahead of several other people.

After a short wait we were all allowed in and ushered to our individual rooms, where a couple of nurses, then the consultant, came in to check blood pressure and blood sugar, do some consent paperwork, and make sure we understood the nature of the impending procedure.

I'm happy to report that my blood sugar levels were a fraction of what they had been in January, when my previous visit had had to be aborted because my body wasn't ready for the proposed injections.

Although the consultant wasn't the one I had seen before, he was just as friendly and patient, taking his time to go through the procedure, the recuperation period, how soon we might see results (seven to 10 days) etc

I was the second person to be taken in to the operating room during this early shift, with a hospital gown in place of my t-shirt I was asked to lay down on the table and place my head in the padded hole.

Then, after a powerful numbing spray was lathered over my back, a series of six - almost painless - injections were made; three on each side of my spine.

Only one actually hurt - making my stroke-afflicted left leg twitch quite violently. But I had been expecting this as the identical injections I had almost a decade ago caused the same reaction.

And that was it.

I was wheeled back to my room, where Rachel was waiting. We were offered tea, biscuits, and a newspaper (it's not a true medical experience without biscuits), then a very short time later we were allowed to leave.

Complimentary biscuits indicate that it's all over

Evidence of four of the six injections in my back

This is what we really came for: tea, biscuits, and a newspaper

I'll be honest, I'm not exactly sure but I reckon we were in and out in around 90 minutes, maybe two hours.

Another positive health moment came later in the week with yet another International Normalised Ratio (INR) test of my the thickness of my blood.

My blood has finally calmed down now and is "back in target range" (it's now 2.3). Not only does this mean that I don't have to come back to my GP's surgery for a fortnight but, with immediate effect, we were also told to stop the daily blood thinner injections.

This was also a blessing for poor Rachel who was having to administer these nightly injections. She had said that since my recent diet it was harder to find fatty tissue on my tummy to easily stick the needles in (I took this to mean she now considers me "ripped" and gifted with a miraculous six-pack!).

But no more. At least for the moment, anyway.

However, I also had another blood test this week (testing lipids or something, I still can't recall) and that was a bit of a nightmare.

I hadn't slept more than a couple of hours the night before because I was so anxious, but the phlebotomist did a heroic job of - I believe, I had my eyes screwed shut - finding a willing vein, wiggling the needle about and drawing out the required blood.

I'd drunk over five pints of Barley Water that morning (as you're supposed to be well hydrated), which I think helped with the flow - although the nurse joked that my extracted blood was probably 50 per cent water!

All credit to her, there was very little bruising on my arm afterwards. I've had less painful blood tests that caused much more bruising.

My arm in the aftermath - the red marks were left when I removed the bandage later that morning

Kudos, also, to my long-suffering wife Rachel whose hand I nearly crushed in a combination of my trypanophobia (fear of needles) and inability to handle pain.

You can see the indentations my fingers made in Rachel's hand in the picture below, which was taken an hour or so after we left the doctor's surgery. 

Now I await the results of this test - and to see if the steroid injections have the desired effect.

Oh dear! I squeezed Rachel's hand rather hard while I was having my blood extracted

HEALTH UPDATE: Blah, Blah, Blah!

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

I never intended these "health updates" to be such a Debbie Downer. In fact, quite the opposite. The original aim of this "occasional" (certainly never weekly) series was to catalogue my efforts at reclaiming some degree of normalcy in my life. I certainly never expected this never-ending cascade of random niggles to keep beating me down!

I returned for my regular International Normalised Ratio (INR) finger-prick blood test check-up this week - at the end of a run of daily blood thinner injections administered by my wonderful wife - only to discover that all that, and the latest tweaking of my medications, had only moved my score from 1.6 to 1.7.

The target range for my INR (a measure of the blood's thickness and capacity for clotting) is between two and three (which it had been for almost a year, until around the time I began my massive dietary overhaul to bring my blood sugars down).

The diet had begun because I was originally unable to have my steroid injections in my spine (to ease my osteoarthritis) because my sugar-level was too high.

However, a fluctuating INR could also prevent the injections - due next week - due to the danger of possible clotting.

I spoke to the Pain Clinic, where my injections are due to take place, and after consultations with the doctor, it was agreed that the injections could go ahead. However, an INR test - and probably a blood sugar test as well - will be conducted on the day before a final decision can be made.

Meanwhile, the duty doctor at my local surgery - where I have my INR blood tests - has given me a prescription for another week's worth of syringes for a further round of daily blood thinner injections.

Oh, what fun!

HEALTH UPDATE: The Bloody Mess Continues!

Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay

Another week, another finger-prick blood test to measure my INR (to gauge my blood's thickness).

Despite the nurse tinkering with my medication last week it's still at the same sub-par, outside of target range, level that it was last week.

So that means more minor adjustments to my medication and a return visit next week.

At the same time, I'm now having daily blood thinner injections (administered by Rachel, who's done this job for me before, many years ago) for the week, to see if they help matters. 

I could have had these jabs last week, but I managed to talk my GP out of them as I persuaded her this was just a blip, it had happened before (I had receipts), and it would sort itself out.

I've hated needles ever since my extended stay in hospital a couple of decades ago (after the aneurysm and stroke), when I was having frequent blood tests and the doctors and nurses in various wards discovered I had tiny, elusive veins that weren't keen to give up their goodness.

This would lead to multiple attempts to stick me with needles and lots of yelping and tears (sometimes even from our hardworking and underpaid stars of the National Health Service). 

So last week, my GP and I agreed a week's grace on the tummy jabs because I was cockily convinced my INR would normalise and everything would be okay.

It clearly isn't and this whole fandango is also getting dangerously close to my hospital appointment next month for the steroid injections into my spine (to ease my osteoarthritis pain).

However, I strongly suspect that if my blood isn't clotting right, those injections will have to be postponed... again!

And, while we were at the doctor's surgery getting my INR measured, it turns that I had to book myself in for TWO other blood tests (currently now scheduled for post my back injections) with the phlebotomist, for reasons I can't even remember at the moment.

On top of that an on-and-off pain in my side that I've had for over a year has become a permanent fixture this week and I've been experiencing some pretty unpleasant toilet issues.

So, I think you can see why I'm feeling a bit depressed at the moment. 

And Biscuit Club was cancelled because of the heat.

HEALTH UPDATE: Bloody Blood, Blood, Blood!

Photo by Anna Shvets

After last week's high score on my INR (International normalised ratio) finger-prick blood test, I breezed into this week's with a smile on my face, inwardly convinced that the radical change in my medication would have put things back on track.

Turns out this week I was below my target range! Although not by anywhere near as much as last week's had been over. Anyway, this necessitated another big change in my daily blood clotting medication, and a return appointment for next week.

Let's hope things can be gotten under control as I'm still concerned about how could affect my planned steroid injections for my osteoarthritis next month. 

But that wasn't my only medical examination this week. I also had my rescheduled eye exam - the one with eye drops and bright lights.

This more powerful procedure than my previous one a couple of weeks ago is called "slit lamp biomicroscopy surveillance". It allowed the medical expert conducting the test to look inside my eyeballs and give me an instant analysis of their condition. Rather than having to wait weeks, as with the earlier test.

Turns out my eyes are okay for a person of my advancing years. I believe there was a slight trace of cataract formation, but I was assured that was normal. And I know, with modern technology, if it does become an issue it can be easily treated.

I also have very small pupils, apparently, which I guess goes with my tiny, evasive, veins that phlebotomists, nurses, and doctors always have fun with when trying to draw blood.

So, that was good. The only drawback with that test was it took me the rest of the day, and a good night's sleep, for my eyes to recover from the eye drops and the extra-bright, invasive, lights that I had to stare, unblinking, into.

HEALTH UPDATE: If It's Not One Thing, It's Another

Image by Alfred Derks from Pixabay

The first - and best - thing that happened this week was rescheduling my steroid injections. This had been the primary motivator of my drastic diet changes and it paid off.

I rang the hospital, spoke to a lovely woman in the Pain Clinic, and told her my new blood sugar count.

She offered me the choice of going on a waiting list for the doctor I had seen previously or an early morning appointment at the start of next month with a different doctor.

What the phrase Pain Clinic always
conjures up in my twisted mind

I really wanted to stay with the doctor I knew (fear of change and all that), but I also wanted to get this matter resolved ASAP.

So, quite heroically I thought, I opted for the Pain Clinic appointment in June.

Hopefully, these shots into my lumbar facet joints will ease the extreme pain in my back so I can do more vigorous exercises to help keep the discomfort at bay for the long-term.

I should also point out that I made the call to the hospital using my mobile phone - like a real 21st Century person.

The night before I'd woken at about 3am in a panic about not having a landline for the foreseeable future and used my phone to log into my mobile account (which I'd never actually looked at before)... and found I had "free minutes" every month.

Yes, I knew about these mythical things, but always thought there was a catch. There isn't. A minute is a minute.

That's put me at ease about both my appointment at the hospital and using my phone in lieu of the landline.

However, that state of contentment didn't last too long as I was getting texts from the NHS eye clinic about my test the other week - but I couldn't open them, either directly on my phone or through the NHS app.

Then I got a severe-sounding message that said I needed to go for a new test at a different hospital... and I overreacted. To put it mildly.

Picture from Pixabay

Fearing the worst (i.e. I was going blind), I catastrophised straight from calm to Def Con Freak Out.

I called Rachel and she managed to talk me back down, then went off to get in touch with the hospital I was being directed to. 

[The extra embarrassing aspect of this was that I talking to Rachel via a video link and so her entire office could see - and hear - my rather lengthy emotional breakdown.]

It turns out the pictures of the interior of my eye that had been taken the other day weren't good enough and therefore I was being sent to a hospital unit with better equipment. 

Rachel was also told that the "portal" the eye service used to communicate with patients wasn't the same as the general NHS one that I was used to using, and could be a bit "temperamental".

As Rachel calmly explained all this to me, I could feel my mental dials turning down to a normal level again. 

I, honestly, don't know what I would do without my wonderful wife.

Annoyingly, my INR was up again (even higher than last week) which means the weekly check-ups will continue for a while.

And I'm concerned that, if it doesn't sink back down into my target range (through subtle changes in the amount of daily medication I take for it), that might also screw up my spinal injections!

I was specifically asked about INR when I rescheduled my jabs - and told I might need to be tested before the procedure could go ahead.

The fun never ends.

HEALTH UPDATE: Highs, Lows, and Everything In Between

Picture by Ahmet Bozkus

There are some days when I really miss the typewriters and corded telephones of my formative years.

Somehow, I have found myself in a dispute with TalkTalk - our phone and Internet providers - after they accidentally cut off our landline.

This is the culmination of almost a year's worth of exchanges with them about changes they were talking about making to our line.

I was reassured numerous times that I wouldn't have to do anything, our line wouldn't be cut off and, anyway, they couldn't do it without our express permission.

Then, the other day, they cut us off.

A TalkTalk-appointed engineer came out, checked our set-up, and proclaimed that the fault was not at our end.

However, when I went back to TalkTalk the random person I ended up in a conversation with contradicted everything I'd previously been told - including by the engineer - and said we did have to do some rejigging of the set-up ourselves.

The conversation did not go well.

But, ultimately, this is very first world problems and small potatoes compared to the real hardships that several of my friends are currently going through.

So, after the initial fury and moaning to Rachel, I'm kinda letting it slide for the moment. 

Although it is frustrating not being able to call people on the landline (yes, I know that's very 20th Century, but I'm an old geezer and, even now, don't really understand a lot about mobile phones).

In more positive news, when it came to receiving the first of my recent medical test results this week, even the nurse was impressed.

This was for my blood sugars. My target score is 48 (I think this is HbA1c aka glycated haemoglobin) and my previous result had been a shocking 60 (my worst ever, according to a previous nurse).

However, after three months of dieting I've brought my score down to 49.

Now, I've just got to keep going.

Unfortunately, a few days later I went for my regular INR (blood thickness) test and after months of stability, my score was now above my target range... meaning I'm back to weekly tests for a while.

The only reason the nurse and I could come up with for this change was, in fact, the impact of my new diet! 

Swings and roundabouts, eh?

HEALTH UPDATE: Biscuit Club Is Back On The Menu

Image by stevepb from Pixabay

While real life continues to entertain me with alternates to my established "tree safaris", this week has seen several key health-related events that will hopefully show that I'm heading in the right direction.

I've had another (painful) blood test - checking my blood sugar levels - and will get the results, all being well, at the end of next week.

As well as that, I went for my annual eye health check (stinging eye drops and bright lights fired into your eyeballs at point blank range) on Friday, the results of which should take two or three weeks to appear.

However, this week also saw the first meeting of the third iteration of Biscuit Club. The first was my initial NHS run class which lasted about three months, then there was the epic nine-month class which finished just a few weeks ago.

And now this one, run on behalf of the borough council, seems very similar to my previous course, but only runs for 12 weeks. It even happens not just in the same building as the last Biscuit Club but the same room.

There are around a dozen people in this class, and I'd estimate that I'm the second youngest. 

This first week was mainly about an extended warm-up and cool-down, as well as a couple of simple "tests" to serve as a baseline for our assessment at the end of the 12 weeks to see if we've improved. 

But most importantly the hour-long session ended with tea and biscuits. Not that I had any tea (as I don't drink caffeine these days) and I shouldn't really have had any biscuits (because of my diet) but that three-pack of Jammie Dodgers was calling out to me!!!

HEALTH UPDATE: Long Live Biscuit Club!

Photo by Centre for Ageing Better on Unsplash

No "tree safari" this weekend as Rachel was away for most of it, on a well-deserved spa break with some of her old university pals.

Then when she returned today she had to plunge headfirst into working on an important report for a client that she was given on Friday and needed to be done by this evening.

However, some good news on the fitness front for me. Remember I said a few weeks back that Biscuit Club had come to an end and I was looking for a replacement?

Well, I've finally managed to secure a place on a new - very similar - free, 12-week course being run by the borough council... at the same venue as previous Biscuit Club!

This kicks off at the end of the month.

Rachel and I do wonder though, as this is a local council-run course (presumably paid for out of our council tax), perhaps it won't end with free tea and biscuits! Will it even be a new Biscuit Club???

Having now established contact with the not-for-profit trust that runs these events on the council's behalf, I'm pretty sure I'm now finally set for a long-term exercise regime.

I learned that this new postural stability class is run by the same lady that already runs the council's weekly exercise classes at the Angel Centre, in Tonbridge (for those of us with mobility or fitness issues).

So once I've finished the free, three-month, course I hope to be able to easily switch to one of the paid classes at the sports centre.

HEALTH UPDATE: Biscuit Club Is Over!

I got a certificate for completing my Postural Stability Course (aka Biscuit Club)

After nine months of weekly classes (barring Christmas and weeks when our trainer was unavailable), Biscuit Club is over.

It's rather sad, really.

While I am proud of my 100 per cent attendance record, I'm going to miss our weekly get-togethers, my two inspiring fellow participants, our primary coach Caroline, and her two volunteer assistants, Barbara and Sheila.

Those months of increasingly arduous exercise have seen me turning up, early on, in a wheelchair and then - over the weeks - regain the ability to walk "normally".

I'm also definitely more stable on my feet; it was my frequent falling over that sent me on this course in the first place.

The osteoarthritis diagnosis came later and, let's be honest, I couldn't have been in a better position to face that issue head-on.

Without this course, Rachel and I are adamant I'd still be in the wheelchair... with all the additional complications to everyday life that that would have brought with it.

For our final session this week, we had a truncated exercise class, then everyone gathered for tea, cake, and biscuits and a good old chinwag. Although I'm now on a diet (also part of this new fitness regime) I allowed myself a "cheat day" with a couple of chocolate biscuits and a small slice of lovely chocolate cake.

In the short time I've been on this "no snack" diet (what is it, six weeks? Seven weeks? I've stopped counting now), I've lost over a stone in weight and it was remarked upon in the class that my appearance has noticeably changed. I confess my t-shirts are feeling slightly baggier and my shorts aren't as tight these days, either.

I'm now in the process of trying to get myself enrolled on an exercise course that the borough council runs at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge, but my initial emails and phone messages were ignored (which was rather frustrating) and so now I've tried filling in an online form that will hopefully open the door for me.

There's also the possibility that the charity which ran Biscuit Club might have another course beginning soon or even that Caroline will have a window in her hectic schedule to start a new pilates class that I could sign up for.

In the meantime, I must remember to do regular exercises on my own and - now that our run of weekend events is over for the moment - get back to my weekly "tree safari" walks with Rachel and Alice.

HEALTH UPDATE: Germ Ping-Pong

Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

About a month and a half ago, Rachel returned from a trip to London bearing the nascent germs of a heavy cold, which - in the following week or so - she then passed on to me.

This wiped me out for a couple of weeks, even though I still made it to Biscuit Club (I had to keep up my one hundred percent attendance record, after all).

Then the other day I appeared to have returned the germs to Rachel as she fell victim to a horrendous cough that, earlier this week, she kindly handed back to me.

And this was a nasty cough. I was pretty much bedridden for a couple of days, having lost almost an entire night's sleep, and - while it has been easing this weekend - has still been playing merry havoc with my fragile body.

Constant wracking of my chest and throat has caused extreme aches and pains in weakened muscles still suffering from my sundry other infirmities. This has not been fun. 

Hence, the paucity of posts on the blog in the last few days - and possibly into next week - as I'm not really in the right frame of mind for constructing critiques or framing my thoughts into coherent mini-essays. The simple act of focussing on anything for any period of time is hard when you're constantly being interrupted by coughing fits that shake you to your core.

Hopefully, this will pass soon and 'normal' service can resume. 

HEALTH UPDATE: One Small Step For Man

Balancing on one leg is still not easy!

Although this wasn't the last week of Biscuit Club, it was time for our final assessment.

Individually, the three members of our exercise class were put through a short series of challenges, to measure our walking speed, sit-to-stand capability, balance, confidence etc

These were then compared to earlier assessments (when we started, three months in, and six months in) and I'm delighted to report that - even though my single-leg balance still isn't great - I've made improvements across the board.

Rachel - who stayed for the class - shot, and edited, a short video of me being assessed, which you can watch on YouTube Shorts here.

As I've been on my new "no snack" diet for a couple of months - and several people, who see me regularly, have commented about me visibly losing weight - Rachel found my weight from when I was weighed at the doctor's at the start of the year and then I weighed myself on our bathroom scales.

And I seem to have shed seven kilos - about a stone!

I have to confess, I don't feel lighter, but I have noticed my t-shirts are looser, so perhaps it is working.

Hopefully, this also means my blood sugar levels are dropping and I'll be fit enough to have the steroid injections in my back to help me cope with my osteoarthritis.

Part of this extra fitness push has also been our weekly "tree safari" walks, but those have rather taken a backseat of late due to Cavalier and Geek Mania (both of which involved a lot of walking anyway).

However, this weekend, Rachel, her parents, and I went out for a meal to celebrate Rachel's mum's birthday and last night I, once again, found myself on the bathroom floor, feeling really poorly and in great pain.

I'm sure it wasn't the food per se, but my body reacting to a major backslide (a "cheat day") in my new, healthier diet. Thanks, stomach!

I feel a lot better today, but still totally washed out. 

HEALTH UPDATE: Better Living Through Chemistry

Valentine's Day at Barden Lake, Haysden Country Park, Tonbridge

This week has seen the end of my recent flurry of medical appointments. For seven days I had been taking my own blood pressure at home (in the morning and evening) and while it varied, it appeared to average out to be quite normal and within the range it should be in the wake of of my aneurysm.

I was recording this as I had an appointment with what I thought was a hypertension nurse, but it turned out to be a clinical pharmacist whose remit went beyond just checking my blood pressure to ensuring I was on the right medications as well.

She was very pleased with my blood pressure, and the news about my radical dietary adjustments.

I've now been prescribed a new drug - the name of which neither Rachel nor I can remember - to replace one medication which was clashing with another that I had recently been prescribed. We're still waiting for this new medicine to come through "the system".

Then a couple of days later I returned for my final appointment of this month's batch of GP surgery visits: to have my INR (International Normalised Ratio, a standardised measurement of how long it takes blood to clot) checked after a three month gap.

My target for this is a score between two and three, and mine registered as 2.5, so I couldn't be more spot on. This means no more checks for another three months.

Clearly my level of blood thinners is working perfectly and my new diet hasn't affected things negatively.

As Rachel is still recovering from a surgical injection in her knee (to tackle her arthritis) and was under the weather anyway from a bad cold, we decided to take our therapeutic walk at the nearby Haysden Country Park yesterday rather than going further afield.

Saturday saw a welcome break in the rainy weather. The sun was actually out! This meant there were lots of dog-walking families taking advantage of this temporary respite in the British weather, which - in turn - meant a lot of sniffs for Alice and loving attention for her from other humans.

We did a full circuit around Barden Lake (my first in about nine months), taking pictures of the trees and the lake's wonderfully still waters for my growing "tree safari" portfolio, and ending up at the outdoor café where Rachel and I both indulged in diet-busting sausages (slavered in tomato ketchup) in a crusty bap. It was divine!

Haysden Country Park, Tonbridge

HEALTH UPDATE: We Take The Kingdom!

Seven Sisters: The largest living tree in the British Isles

After last week's wash-out, we were able to get out for another healthy walk and tree safari this weekend, visiting Kingdom in Penshurst, a 13-acre woodland created in the wake of 1987's Great Storm.

I can't believe I've lived around here all my life (and covered the aftermath of The Great Storm as a cub reporter for the local press) and this is the first I've heard of the place.

It turned out to be rather impressive, and popular with fellow dog walkers on a Sunday lunchtime, probably because the recent persistent rain held off all day.

Kingdom is home to The Seven Sisters Chestnut, which, has six trunks (two forking) growing in a close circle that creates a girth of more than 50 feet. It's so large that you can now get married inside the heart of the tree, where a "roof" has been installed to meet the legal requirements of the wedding ceremony (that it has be conducted in a covered space).

There's a nice looping track through the surrounding trees, which we managed most of (I was walking for over half-an-hour this week).

It led us past the outdoor sauna and spa (which was smoking nicely, wafting a lovely aroma into the air) and opened up to some gorgeous vistas across the Kent countryside. 

Oooh, random Georgian mansion in the middle of nowhere... so Bridgerton

I managed to get some more tree pictures for my portfolio, but, unfortunately (for me) there were a few too many signs of modernity and man's influence (e.g. wire and plastic fencing of various types) to get that proper Shire vibe that I'm trying to collate with my pictures.

The trail loop then guided Rachel, Alice, and I back to Kingdom's delightful, elevated café where we decided to have brunch.

Given that I was awoken at 6am by our smoke alarm going off (the batteries were dead... it wasn't a fire) and then I was rather traumatised by the live coverage of poor Lindsey Vonn's career-ending crash during the women's downhill ski competition at the Olympics  (you could hear her screaming out in pain, the commentator was crying, it was not Lindsey's hoped-for fairy-tale return to the sport), I have to admit that I feel better for the brisk walk, fresh air and protein-packed "hearty all-day breakfast".

And we were home in time to see Chelsea beat Spurs two-nil in the Women's Super League.

So, that was good!

HEALTH UPDATE: It's A Wash Out!

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

This week's planned walk (and tree safari) was washed out by the good ol' British weather. We were getting ready to leave but the rain started to bucket down and (according to Alexa) was here to stay for several hours.

I don't mind being caught in the rain while I'm out, but voluntarily leaving the house when the rain is this heavy just seems daft.

And to be honest, this weekend my guts have been misbehaving in ways so disgusting that I don't want to share. Rachel, kindly, attributes it to my body adjusting to my new diet.

It's probably safer that I stay in today (close to the toilet). I'm not a bear after all!

This shock to the system comes at the end of a particularly rough week. My regular nerve/muscle pains - largely in my chest and arms - were back early on and it was the worse I've endured for a very long time.

This was the closest I've come to crying off Biscuit Club, but I soldiered on and went anyway. However, this year's first scheduled meeting of Monopoly Club did have to be cancelled as I was in no state for a riotous evening of capitalist-driven board game fun and frolics.

I also couldn't escape the inevitable pain-induced black cloud that washed over me, and I found myself unenthused by anything I really should have been doing, instead collapsing in front of the television, bingeing nihilistic documentaries about outlaw biker gangs on the History Channel.

Thankfully, both the pain and the depression passed within about 36 hours and I was much more upbeat by the time of this week's medical appointment: to get the results of my recent blood test and learn the state of my blood sugar count.

The news, unsurprisingly, wasn't great - yet the nurse was wonderfully positive and upbeat. Between her and Rachel's input, I came away feeling this problem might not be as insurmountable as I'd initially feared.

As the nurse put it: my diet had been so bad that it was very easy to see where to make changes.

Yet, changes have consequences... as my body has been demonstrating today and yesterday.

HEALTH UPDATE: When Faced With A Rocky Situation, Just Climb It!

One of the latest additions to my portfolio of trees

Following the depressing turn of events the other week - in relation to my health - I promptly booked a number of appointments at my local GP's to tackle the problems head on. 

The first of these involved a series of examinations and tests with a practice nurse, who managed to extract enough blood (at the second attempt) from my tiny, evasive veins, that could be sent off for blood sugar analysis (and, I guess, other things). Height and weight were also measured and my feet were checked to ensure they had a healthy pulse (they did).

My pasty arm bearing the bruises of a difficult blood withdrawal

Next week, I've my second appointment - with a different nurse - who will give me the results of the blood tests and talk me through the options for reducing my blood sugar.

I, in turn, can tell her about my new (currently going strong) "snack free" diet and increased exercise regime (on top of my regular Biscuit Club exercise class... which is, sadly, coming to an end in a few weeks).

After last weekend's jaunt to Ashdown Forest, this week Rachel took Alice and I somewhere a bit closer to home for our walk.

At Clare's suggestion, we drove to Tunbridge Wells and took a short ramble over the rain-soaked Common. This included my first return visit to Wellington Rocks for over two decades.

Not only were there many other dog walkers there (which excited Rachel and I more than it did Alice), but Alice also seemed to really enjoy scrambling up the sandstone rocks (with me, carefully, following her) and it was another opportunity for me to snap some pictures of interesting trees to add to my portfolio (my latest hobby).

We managed to squeeze in this visit during a break in the near-constant torrential rain of recently weeks, but the Wellington Rocks and Tunbridge Wells Common are definitely somewhere we'll come back to when the weather isn't quite so grim.

While I only managed about 20 minutes at Ashdown Forest, this week I almost clocked up half-an-hour.

It's baby steps, of course, because I haven't really walked outside like this for around seven months (thanks to the osteoarthritis in my back causing my legs to fail), but every great journey starts with a single step. Or something similarly motivational.

I certainly won't be joining The Cult of Parkrun anytime soon (or ever), but going for a walk with a purpose (e.g. photographing interesting tress and landscapes) is definitely motivating me to pursue this avenue for supplementary exercise.

Rock Climbing: Alice and I on Wellington Rocks, Tunbridge Wells