Monday, its COVID test day. So I am straight into the shower and in no time at all I am shoving a bristly stick down my tonsils and gagging like a pig with a strawberry stuck in its throat, followed by a ten seconds of nasal chimney sweeping before securing the stick in a tube with some Ribena like fluid in it. The vial goes into the plastic bag with its paper work in the outer bag. All has gone to instruction but I have a question. In the bag is a ball of cotton wool that the instructions clearly say has to be left in the bag and sent with the test vial. Why? I drive to the hospital and drop the COVID test into the collection box in reception and return home to the comfort of a bacon bagel. After that it was all down hill while I waited to have my pre surgery assessment by phone.
Amongst the things I did were order shower curtain retaining clips, feet for the bath duck board, check out the world ice hockey timetable of games, order my England ice hockey jersey, finish reading Helgoland, re-read Fa-Tsang’s Treatise on a Golden Lion and move the car so that the Tesco delivery had access. Lunch came and went and still no call from my Nuffield nurse. Eventually my call comes through and I spend half an hour going over my recent medical history and drug intake. Apparently the only things I need to take on the day is a clean dressing gown and a pair of slippers as they walk their people down to the theatre and it can be a bit chilly and revealing in a hospital gown. So there is an instant dilemma, do I take my heavy duty but very warm and cuddly gown or one of my more oriental and floaty ones? I am inclined to go for the warm and cuddly option even if it is bulky. Post interview I read some more and attend to some work emails. Tesco deliver so there is some squirreling away of goodies to be done. I prepare the evening meal, a chicken curry which gets to bubble away till the household stops working and is ready to eat. The evening is a bit of a downer as Brentford loose the first leg of their play off semi final. I return to reading and to writing the blog. Tomorrow I continue to isolate until my surgery with a couple of meetings to do and a virtual conference. I’m finding it difficult to motivate myself at the moment hence I have not trained today. Today feels a bitty day with little achieved and I feel the need to do better tomorrow.
