Wiped

I give thanks it's my birthday next week not this one as these double treatment Fridays can be very long and wearying, and grateful though I am for the wonderful way the NHS tries to keep me alive, it's a strain on the spirits as well as the body. I give thanks the fact I start the day with dialysis means I'm eligible for transport at the end of it but unfortunately no matter how much information they put in how ever many forms and systems the timing of neither kidney nor cancer therapy are exact sciences, and there can be so much waiting around I'm close to tears sometimes, especially when the booked taxi home has to be sent on its way without me and multiple muddles ensue.

I give thanks for non ward clerk staff trying to be helpful.  For the patients who have partners, family and friends to ferry them to and fro, it's heartwarming to see them being cared for and nurtured. For being picked up at the third attempt, two hours late and in deep gloom, but by a chap who is one of my favourites so I felt better by the time I arrived. For starting the ball rolling for a possible alternative way of arranging transport which might make things easier for me eventually..

I give thanks for taking a large packed lunch to last me through the hours, and for pre-prepared food in the fridge to heat up when I got back to my kitchen. For sometimes having internet access during the long hours and for finishing the gripping, dark and funny You. And last but not least I give thanks that today was the first afternoon session of my new cleaner, so that no household chores had to be done.