First visit to the Earl Mountbatten Hospice in Newport today. The staff and volunteers are really kind. The Consultant who sees me takes a potted history, and has my notes in front of him.
It feels strange being in a place full of terminally ill people, and is quite hard for me to adjust to, but the treatment areas are so warm and welcoming; like most Hospices they do an amazing job.
The Consultant prescribes some more effective pain medication which he assures me is non-addictive, but he will keep in touch with me to monitor the side effects. He wants an Ultra sound on my tummy before they attempt to drain anything off. They need to see whether the swelling is tumour, fluid or a mixture of both.
I book another appointment and will wait for a letter about the Ultrasound. I made it clear that I didn’t want any treatment that would be unnecessarily intrusive. He understands. The consultant explains that they always try to fit the treatment to the quality of life of the patient. He tells us of one man who was a crossword addict. When he was put on a new pain medication the man complained that the Times crossword took him an hour instead of the usual half an hour. The Consultant changed the medicine accordingly and the man was happy as he felt he was back to his old self!
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