I've got a desk, which is very lovely and probably something everyone acquired in lockdown! Going through stuff to file in my new drawers I came across these snippets of rambling in a notebook.
2016
In November 2016 a lump appeared in my jaw line, it was bonfire night and when I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I noticed a swelling on the right side of my neck.
Initially I was alarmed but talked myself around, blaming the residual lingering cold I had. However when it was still there two weeks later my friends nudged me towards the GP.
The doctor had a feel and referred me for a scan - just in case.
I had a simple jelly roll scan at the Whittington Hospital, the guy doing it got very excited:
‘I know exactly what this is, but I've never seen one in real life - it is a plunging ranula, a mucoid cyst of the sublingual gland but it needs a deformed jaw muscle to drop through which gives it the plunging bull frog effect.’
[A rare benign acquired cystic lesion usually occurring on the floor of the mouth from minor salivary gland retention.]
Ewww!
Okay then, completely harmless, just looks weird, plus the bull-frog look was playing havoc with my jumper necklines.
2017
In early May 2017 I dutifully went for an appointment at The Eastman Dental Clinic near King's Cross. The consultant told me although they were quite rare, he had recently performed surgery on one and it really needed to come out, as it might become infected.
Karlos his assistant asked all sorts of questions about allergies and whether I'd had an anaesthetic before.
I emerged to a beautiful day, the sun was beaming down and Calthorpe Community Gardens opposite was just opening up. I popped across for a coffee. The nursery plants and pots around the café looked absolutely parched, I offered to water them and trailed the water hose around after me for a joyful half an hour.
After the summer was over I went back to The Whittington for a repeat neck scan before the plunging ranula was to be removed. The young lady doing the jelly roll scan said:
‘Oh you have another little lump, have you noticed that before, I'll take a quick sample, just in case.’
I was referred this time to UCLH, I knew deep inside it was not going to be good news. TheGR asked if I wanted him to come with me, yes, I said I do.
In a different hospital, with a different surgeon:
‘We have found...’ he starts.
‘...cancer’ I finish.
‘Yes, you knew?’ the surgeon responded.
‘FUCK’ shouts TheGR.
[Post removal of my thyroid gland I need to go back to hospital for radiation therapy, to mop up any rogue bad cells.]
Monday 11th December 2017
14th Floor UCLH |
WEM |