Recent posts

Some thoughts on kindness in medicine I’ve recently received a proper steer about what to call the rare disease that has for the last few years so affected my health. It’s called BCGosis. Although BCG is usually well tolerated as part of the treatment for superficial bladder cancer, in about 1% of cases it can… Continue reading Kindness in medicine

“I never realised how much I wanted to live until I thought I was going to die,” artist Tracey Emin. Medical doctors could and should try to engage at a reasonably deep level with patients’ storylines or internal narratives about their health. Doing so should open up possibilities for practitioners and lead to better patient… Continue reading What we tell ourselves – and why doctors should listen

  Here we go again, this time into more uncharted territory.  The big difference is that this posting is made at a time when I finally know what on earth has gone wrong with my health over the past two and a half years! So it’s rather more personal than some other postings. It was… Continue reading Onwards and Upwards?

  Hospitals as if people mattered Hospitals cannot but be a bit scary because we know that these workshops for the human body are also a focus for human pain, fear, apprehension, scary sounding procedures, and the invasion of one’s body and personal space. We invented them because we needed some places where human skills… Continue reading Hospitals by Human Design, Not Default

  Caring for people at home Jo gets up at her usual early hour, listening out for her client then checking in to make sure he’s comfortable. After helping him to get cleaned up, washed, and dressed she then prepares his medications and makes sure that he’s taken the right pills at the right time… Continue reading Who cares? – caring for people at home

  Here we are, the concrete, brick and steel jumble that’s the latest iteration of our district hospital; twelve floors high in places. Now here’s the little forest of architects’ and builders’ self-trumpeting advertising hoardings as you approach. Here too the tarmac and metal railings that protect the consultants-only parking areas, and the slightly-more-distant parking… Continue reading Grass can sing but concrete mainly swears

Most people most of the time recover in some form from having an illness and are then regarded as `well’.  Some don’t and may come to be regarded as ‘invalids’ by others – and even by themselves!  Equally some people might only experience a partial recovery, or perhaps a full recovery from one condition or… Continue reading Moving from an illness state to a recovery state

I had a serious physical illness which, together with the treatments affected my nerves, nervous system, my brain and mind.   Obviously I’m not the only one. I found myself travelling in a rather nice train through northern Italy with delightful new friends, one of whom kindly offered to give me a good shave.  Unfortunately he… Continue reading Nerves, brain and mind

Leaving hospital: how was I going to get better? I still remember when I was let out of hospital.  As I was wheeled to the ambulance I revelled in the fresh air and feel of light rain.  I was then delighted as we drove through ordinary streets, past people walking on pavements.  We moved on… Continue reading From Sickness to Recovery?

Unfortunately, hospitals can make you unwell In these Covid times we’re seeing a lot more people than usual having to receive hospital treatment and care for a while, and in some cases for a long while. There are also likely to be an increasing number of patients discharged into the community with, often complicated, long… Continue reading Hospitals can make you ill

Making sense of hospital structures is no fun, especially when you have a complicated condition. I’ve had lots of Covid tests because, when I was particularly unwell and hospitalised during 2020, quite a lot of my problems seemed to be exhibited also by patients with Covid-19. But all my Covid test results were negative. On… Continue reading Complicated Conditions and Specialists’ Silos

  Timeline For possibly three years I was seriously ill without knowing why or how.  I only found out what has caused it in December 2021. Just to be clear. I was treated for cancer in 2018. I started to become unwell in other ways in 2019, but did not have a clear diagnosis, or… Continue reading What Happened (II)? Updated April 2022