I have not updated my livejournal since the 18th July which is bad and also evil, I shall be better in 2008!

My life has been a bit insane because a dear friend of mine fell ill in June and in July was diagnosed with Lung Cancer (ironic since she didnt smoke, but did have breast cancer in the 80's). She had a really bad cancer and was dead on the 7th Dec. It was really sad and she was only 58 years old and was quite an inspiration in my life. Her funeral was on the 21st Dec and it was packed with so many people and she did so many different things in life! She was truly altruistic and in the past had taught and done all kinds of things and travelled everyplace in the world. She got very interested in complementary medicines and practiced in a lot of them and helped me over years. She started treating me in 1997 and mainly did homeopathy and reflexology. At her funeral there was Doctors and all sorts of people who knew her and she must have been so busy doing so much every week! I do feel she was a very important figure in my life and taught me many things about life that I will always keep with me.  She was incredibly open minded and would not judge anything without trying it first and always looked at different views on things and not just take one view. I feel sad she has gone, but life goes on and losing someone becomes less raw. I feel for her family :(

I seem to be losing more and more people I know or my family knows to cancer, its getting quite scary!

2007 was a bad year for me really I think and my health was a bit crappy during the summer.
I am hoping 2008 will be better and great for everyone! :)

Post in memory of Val Southorn RIP

Tags: friends, health
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Baby D - Let Me Be Your Fantasy

Hallo,
I have felt shitty healthwise recently and been suffering from really bad dizzy spells and nausea since Saturday. I have a lot of sympathy for people who constantly suffer from vertigo! I am starting to feel better but last weekend was a nightmare!

I hate it when you walk past someone and you over-hear a comment said about you accidentally and its upsetting, but if you wish never heard it! I was walking the dog with my father today in the local park and there was a group of guys, who weren't particularly great looking or slim and as I walked past I heard one say "he looks pregnant". Now obviously I could be being overly neurotic and paranoid but it must have been about me! stupid cunts! I was wearing an old t-shirt which maybe makes me look pregnant! At least he didn't ask when is the baby due? Like Rich texted me to cheer me up! and the dizziness and nausea is not morning sickness I tell you!

Its nice to know that to make sure no minors are harmed loads of livejournals have been suspended accidentally story - America seems to be trying to censor everything on the entire internet! I wonder in 5 years or sooner if people will be fighting to be able to write anything online! Thank god the children are safe I tell you!

Tags: america, censorship, fucked up people, health, ignorance, late night posting
Current Mood: crushed

hey divas

• My father went to the hospital on Saturday as the previous post I wrote right here and its slightly bizarre when you go to your local hospital and find its been totally demolished almost and rebuilt all a new! it has underground parking and is all smart and new! He apparently has Bursitis of the knee! What is it you ask? Apparently we have 'Bursa's' around our joints like knees/hips and elbows which are little pockets/cushions of fluid and are to cushion those places. Unfortunately if you irritate or inflame one of them its really painful! You can do it in a car accident or if you put a lot of stress/weight constantly on them (eg if you rest on your elbows all the time) but my dad was just a one off unfortunate incident! He was kneeling down getting stuff out of a cupboard in my bedroom and did it! He was getting camping stuff for my brother who is currently camping in Newquay! The treatment is ice and loads of ibuprofen type drugs! Its amazing the new things you find out about your body all the time!



• My father said after going to the hospital that he has Blairitis and I asked if that was a syndrome or feeling sick of Tony Blair in power!



• After my previous post here about we (The UK) are going to end up being the only country left supporting America in the Iraq war whilst everyone sensibly leaves. Today it was on the news that now Japan is pulling its troops out! story here. Whilst I love Japan for that, I hate their policy on Whaling and trying to persuade countries to allow Whale hunting again ugh! Its not the same as culling Deer. You don't put loads of spears in Deer until they bleed slowly to death. I don't think we kill any animal as badly as that :(



• Is it wrong to think more football players are sexy on the Swedish side than the English? Will I be clubbed to death by flag waving English gangs? I blame Karin (hej darling!) The Swedish players are so hunky! In the last football world cup I first realised my love of Frank Lampard and there is some other hunky English players but some of those Swedish and I will always have my love of Freddie Ljungberg and Marcus Allback! I think I am turning straight if you ignore the fact I just look at the players and not really the 'playing'. I have actually sent text messages to people debating football issues! Tomorrow the world spins off its access and we crash screaming into the sun.



• Happy Birthday to the sexy and always fabulous Sarah! One of my oldest net friends and the first person I ever talked to from New Jersey!

Tags: birthday greetings, england, family, football, health, iraq
Current Mood: chipper

I shall do another post later on! *gasp* (that's to everyone, not just the Brits).

After the news today that the National Health Service is £512 million now in deficit (news story) - if you go to the BBC News homepage you can enter your post code and it will tell you about the NHS financial state of affairs in your area. Its also at here if they move the postcode search off the front page.

My local NHS financial info is here and I was shocked to find that in my local area, we are in surplus (e.g. in the green)! I was sure my area was massively in debt!

I do wonder if there is a point where you keep throwing money at something and its all being eaten up by bureaucracy! Why is no money trickling down to the places that need it!

That is my political health post of the week lol

Tags: health, politics, uk
Current Mood: surprised
Current Music: Scissor Sisters - ELECTROBIX

I really needed to do a general check up with my Doctor (GP) because they were blackmailing me and not giving me any new prescriptions until I had a check up. This all sounds really easy but in fact it is not!

Doctors are free in the UK on the National Health Service (NHS) but in our area (and I am sure they are doing it in other areas) everything is all about statistics and recording of waiting times and patients etc. This is what you have to do now to see a Doctor. You can either get an appointment in the next 48 hours or book one 4/6 weeks in advance! There is no middle ground. This is so they don't have loads of appointments all booked up and the statistics won't show loads of people waiting years to see a Dr! So I wanted an appointment on Monday. So at 8:30am when the surgery opens you phone up and try to get an appointment. Of course a million people also phone at this time and the surgery now has call queuing, but you have to dial for 20mins to get into the queue! This is for a normal appointment for nothing really specific and not for an emergency!

At 9:30am they stop taking appointments. You cannot make any appointments for the rest of the day now unless its for like 6 weeks in advance! (which are mostly repeat appointments). If you phone then you get a message saying you have an emergency please hold the line or go away! Before this new idea it was so annoying when you used to phone up and the next appointment was 3 weeks away! There is an NHS guideline that everyone should be able to get to see a Doctor in 48 hours! and now they really can! You just have a breakdown going insane trying to get an appointment!

I managed to get an appointment at 9:40am on Monday with a Dr I had never seen before and he was middle aged but quite cute, sweet and smiling! When I got to the surgery I went to check in and they write on the computer when patients check in so they can get waiting time statistics (you are lucky if you have to spend less than 30 mins waiting once you arrive). The receptionist told me "oh no - Daniel John has already checked in?" I thought what the fuck and thought my evil doppelgänger/ twin had already checked in. The receptionist strangely looked around the waiting room for "daniel john" and saw no one! I just went and sat down freaked out!

Saw the Dr who said I need to lose weight, there is nothing they could do for me etc etc. I am not sure if this is a really depressing thing or really motivational but he came out with some weird line like
"For someone in your condition, I think you have done as well for yourself as you possibly can and you are doing really well"

- it makes it sound so like I am dying of something terminal! In some ways that line feels me with despair, but also makes me feel good! I am not going insane!
I never get depressed with my illness or try not to think about it to deeply! I just gotta get over it and move on! I think I am nearly always happy go lucky cos I just don't think about things! If I thought about it deeply its all very sad and depressing but that is not going to change my situation now or help in anyway. I don't want any sympathy about it, I live with it!

At least he called me young! I saw someone on TV this week who said something like 'when they were young..... and now they were 27' my age! I felt middle aged!

I love the NHS and think it is a good thing but it is starting to fall apart! This is the evidence of I have seen of it falling apart....

- Doctors surgery's - economic numbers and statistics and results come before patient care. This is true everywhere in the UK! Its almost impossible to get an appointment without a fight unless its urgent!
- Dentists - masses leaving the NHS because its such a crap deal for them. Loads of people do not have a free dentist in their area and most dentistry costs a charge. Cheaper than going privately but still its not free on point of presence which was the original ideology of the NHS.
- Medicines - some people need very expensive medicines like Herceptin for women with breast cancer. Also so many people are on anti depressants which cost loads! I do not pay for mine and they cost £1 a tablet! I now take a low dose for panic and anxiety, some people are on huge doses!
- Most NHS departments are in huge debt and the staff are paid badly compared to private care!

I don't know what the answer is, but it is a service that is collapsing! I really don't want an American system where the poorest people are basically fucked! unemployed or on benefits or homeless in America? you are lucky to get treatment at a county hospital! and if you get a medical condition that needs constant treatment you are fucked! HIV or Cancer? there is no aid for you.

My Doctor's surgery has 8 doctors! 2 of them are part time and some are currently on maternity leave. My area is a bit urban area and they get a lot of people on their patient books. Why is there population suddenly so massive that the system cannot deal with it? There is not that many new births or immigration that would result in this!

The worst thing about all of this is that say someone thought they might have a sign of cancer or maybe a little pain in the heart. Its not urgent or an emergency! They wont bother fighting at 8:30 in the morning to get an appointment! I think there is gonna be deaths and major illness that could have been prevented, just because people cannot get an appointment!

I don't know what the answer is and its not my job to work it out, thank goodness! But the system is in serious danger and I am sure we are not the only country who have these problems!

Tags: health, medical
Current Mood: bouncy