Things are progressing quite fast with evicting Alien now. Last Friday I had my Pre-admission appointment which basically makes sure I'm well enough to have the operation. It took all morning, involved machinery with lots of wires, a fair bit of prodding and poking, and the usual taking of blood, etc. It also involved being asked a set of questions in triplicate. First a form I had to fill in with my medical history and take along to the appointment, then being quizzed about my medical history by one of the nurses, and finally by being quizzed about it again by a doctor. All in all it took all morning, but it was a busy time and I didn't really need the book I had been told to bring to read whilst waiting. It seems I passed all the tests ok, although the ECG showed that my heart is working harder than normal, they seemed a little concerned about this but didn't really say much so maybe I'm reading my own anxiety into it. I must admit I'm not really surprised as Alien is rather large now and makes doing anything other than sitting in front of a computer quite an effort. At the end of the morning I was told I would be contacted about what to do with regard to my blood disorder (my blood clots too easily and I have to take anticoagulants), I was then allowed to head off home. Before doing so I had a coffee in the small cafe in the hospital. This was a bit of a mistake as I got a skin reaction around my mouth, this has happened before when drinking coffee away from home. I strongly suspect the detergent used when washing up, or more likely in the dishwasher. I just hope the cafe doesn't use the same washing up facilities as the hospital uses for the wards, if it does I may need food parcels from home. I hoped I would have a medical free week this week, but on Tuesday I had a call from the hospital asking me to go back to Pre-admission to get all the stuff for my blood. This involved walking up to the hospital in the afternoon. Instead of the half hour it used to take I now need about an hour as I have slowed down so much. I was exhausted by the end of the day. Still, I only have to inject myself for two days which isn't too bad. The injections can sting a bit for a few minutes and one nurse I came across described them as being a bit like a bee sting. I must admit I don't remember them being that bad. I did get a nice case containing a sharps bin and leaflets even though I said I already had a sharps bin. I just hope they don't want the case back, it could be very useful for sketching! And I had to pay out £7.20 for the two injections so if I keep quiet maybe they won't ask for it back. It really is expensive being ill these days even with the NHS. I think this will be my last blog until after my operation so please don't expect to hear from me for a while. I will try to do a bit of sketching in the hospital, but I may not be up to it. If I achieve anything remotely decent I'll put it in a gallery at a later date. Well, I will let you all get back to painting now. Have fun and I'll write again when I am able to.