The Thamesmead Grump

The Thamesmead Grump 

and the "Mystery Virus"

It began on Friday afternoon. I started to feel unwell. You know the sort of thing, it's where you start to ache, you don't know what it is but you know there's something wrong. By Saturday morning, I felt like I had done a long training session down the gym after about a year's absence. Mrs Grump had been nagging me all day to go to A&E but the last thing you want to do when you are feeling ill is visit a hospital. By Saturday evening and with my temperature nudging 40°, I finally relented and let her drive me to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich.

A&E on a Saturday evening (aargh!). Expecting to find the place full of the usual drunks and od'd skagheads, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was not all that busy at all. I was quickly seen by the triage nurse who took very good care of me. It probably helped that I was alternatively fainting and throwing up so was not there just to get out of the cold.

She, and by this time, at least one other Doctor were fussing over me and convincing me that, if I was to die in the next few minutes, at least I would have plenty of company.

I was whisked off to an emergency ward where I was scanned, prodded and poked, then plugged into all the usual bleeping devices designed to make the patient feel as though someone is in charge and had enough blood and other fluids removed to stock a well attended vampire party.

Told that they were going to monitor me all night, my poor exhausted Wife went home for a few hours rest after being reassured that I wasn't about to expire any time soon. 

By around three o'clock on Sunday morning and with my temperature down to normal, they decided this was a good time to send me home. I really didn't want to wake my Wife up to come and collect me and with no money for a cab, the Hospital kindly arranged transport home. They even provided a snack - a chicken sandwich, piece of cake, an orange and a fruit drink. I wasn't well enough to eat it but it was a nice gesture.

Three hours later and with my temperature back up to nudging 40° again, I was back at the Hospital. This time they did all the same tests again just to make sure and as before, could not find any cause for my illness. Finally diagnosing me with a "mystery virus" they sent me home again.

It's Monday morning and I can't move. It's like my body belongs to someone else and I don't have the strength to lift a pen. This time I am poured into the car and ferried to the Doctor's surgery. A very nice Doctor who I haven't ever seen before did a thorough examination and wanted more blood from me (don't they always), but with no obvious cause for my condition what can she do? She agrees with the "mystery virus" diagnosis and sends me home.

Anyway, you will be pleased to know that since then I have been slowly recovering and am now nearly back to my usual bouncy (and grumpy) self. It still takes me some effort to get enough energy to do anything and this is the reason I have not been entertaining you with my usual regular helping of witty and interesting posts.

It's also a shame as I missed all the excitement of that referendum; I would have had a few things to say on that subject let me tell you. I will try to catch up.

What I would like to say is that the care I received at the weekend at the Hospital and subsequently at the local health centre couldn't have been better. If that smarmy, two faced Tory prat, Jeremy Hunt wants to talk about Doctors working at weekends, I would be happy to tell him a thing or two.

I would also like to say that most of the Doctors, Nurses and other carers at the Hospital and the health centre who took such good care of me were clearly not of British origin. I hate to think what our NHS would look like if all the semi-literate OUT OUT OUT morons got their own way and sent all the immigrants home.

In the mean time, I can tell you that I will be back soon with a selection of items to think about.

This will include:-

That referendum
Corruption in high places

Why walking round Thamesmead is like a jungle safari and....................

What is the connection between this picture and the decline and fall of the Roman Empire?