For Hospital Use Only

Sorry about radio silence from me – I have been in hospital since just before Easter. I was admitted via A&E with angina.


The angina attacks came totally out of the blue – all on one day and without warning. I had no idea whatsoever that I had a heart condition.

God has given me a Yellow card. For too long I have been working too hard, playing too hard and not exercising enough (apparently watching sport doesn’t count).

My main artery to the heart (the LAD) has a blockage. I’m currently stable – thanks to drugs (ooohhhh…..candy!!!) – but need bypass surgery.

I have been allowed home temporarily while awaiting the heart surgery – I’m going to have a relatively new procedure, a bypass using robotic techniques to be done by Mr Roberto Casula, the pioneer of this operation in the UK, and I feel very privileged to have the UK’s expert on this technique doing my operation – and on the NHS! What a fantastic institution.

My operation was originally scheduled for this week but has now been deferred until mid-June as there are some patients more urgent than me that need to be done first – which is fair enough. So this means I get to watch Big Brother live on TV over the next few weeks – along with the delightful birdsong that replaces the dialogue - but will miss crucial World Cup matches and the Stella Artois tennis. God also has a sense of humour.

I shall be off work for the foreseeable future – probably until late Summer / early Autumn.

I did consider blogging the diary I kept during my hospital stay, detailing all my tests, injections, my fellow patients etc. – but changed my mind – a bit gruesome, especially the fellow patients stuff.

But - PJA from Mordor took a photo of a spectacular bruise on my arm from a Fragmin injection (it’s not meant to be given in the arm). It’s a bruise that Thrace would be proud of.

Have you still got the piccie PJA? What say you – shall we publish it?