Getting The Needle

Hello Dear Readers!

“Tired, but not the kind of tired that sleep fixes.”

― Maureen Johnson, Let It Snow  

I'd Like To Thank the Acadamy

Before we get into today’s post I’d like to offer up a note of gratitude to you wonderful readers. The last two weeks has seen the number of readers sneak over 1000 for the respective posts. I know it’s a vanity but it really does mean a lot to know people are reading these poor scribblings so… Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 Busy Times
Aaaanyway, back to the matter at hand. It’s actually been quite a productive week since last we met. The house purchase continues apace (see House & Home). An appointment for a mortgage has been arranged. My chair is once again back on three wheels (see Three Wheels On My Wagon ). And a response has been received to the holiday complaint email I sent (see Hi-de-hi? Hi-de-NO!), with the result being a 50% refund!

All of that and a full working week to boot, and of course there are more busy times peeking over the horizon; making  it slightly unfortunate that  I’m quickly careering towards an appointment at the doctors.
  

NoWorries

Don’t worry dear readers, you haven’t quite got rid of your friendly neighbourhood seated person and, by now, no doubt (12 millionth) favourite blogger just yet. No, the impending appointment is utterly non urgent whilst at the same time being entirely essential. Allow me to explain.

As part of the unique way my body is put together I don’t just suffer from Spina Bifida (the disability I’ve had from birth,) but, thanks in part to a spot of stomach surgery I had as a younger man, I also have a secondary condition known as pernicious anaemia. Pernicious anaemia is an autoimmune disease in which parietal cell of the stomach responsible for secreting intrinsic factor are destroyed. Now, I know this sounds like some nasty, rare condition that might not be out of place in an episode of HouseMD (after the obligatory misdiagnoses and ruling out of Lupus), but it really just boils down to my body having trouble absorbing vitamin B12.

The Science Bit

This handy little vitamin is a key player in healthy energy release and brain and nervous system function. It is usually absorbed through food, especially red meat, eggs, and shellfish but in lucky people like myself the lack of the aforementioned parietal cells in the old breadbasket make this absorption incredibly inefficient and leads to yours truly experiencing feelings of constant fatigue, apathy, and irritability; as well as what is known as ‘brain fog’ a fuzziness of thought, lack of concentration, and reduction of memory span to that of a particularly forgetful goldfish.

However, all is not lost. Although the condition cannot be cured it can be treated. Once diagnosed a course of B12 injections can be administered on a three monthly basis which, while not taking away the symptoms completely, do lessen them to a degree that means the patient can function without it being quite as much of an uphill battle.

via GIPHY

All of which brings us back to that impending trip to the docs.  

Psycho Killer Qu'est Ce Que C'est

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve felt the weariness starting to creep in and the fog starting to settle on my poor addled brain. It doesn’t hit me all at once, but creeps up on me gradually like the implacable killer in a half decent horror film. That’s actually what pernicious means, I’ve discovered. A sort of gradual, creeping nastiness. It’s really very fitting.  

So off to the docs I shall trot, or at least unsteadily wheel, for an appointment that will take all of two minutes, but which will mean me taking about an hour out of my day to attend, although with my current job it fortunately no longer necessitates a full morning/afternoon off work. On my last visit the subject of this inconvenience was broached and the possibility of self-administering was raised, an option I think I’d welcome. It was even suggested that my erstwhile other half, Tina, might do the deed, although I’d obviously need to ensure I’d not annoyed her too much in the preceding days (weeks, months, etc.) before asking her to stab me in the arm with a needle. (It's possble she might miss.)

The Sting In The Tail

So, there we are. To cut a long and rambling story ever so slightly shorter, I should soon be having one extremely sting-y little jab which will get me  back to something like full strength, hopefully just in time to face the increasingly daunting amount of work needed for the new house.  Phew!

 Wish me luck!

Until next time…