shock, surprise, shock, delight

I confess.  Getting up early this morning for Steve's hospital appointment at the Cancer Centre was a bit of a shock to the system.  However, we arrived in very good time and, to our surprise, there were plenty of parking spaces at the Churchill.  As there was no need to hunt for somewhere to park the car, Steve was the first person to book in at the radiology department, and only waited a short while before his chest X rays were taken. Consequently, we arrived at the Oncology Day Centre in good time for his assessment appointment.


That was when we had a shock. The receptionist looked puzzled when Steve gave his details, then informed us that today's appointment had been cancelled on 19 April because the consultant would not be available.  This was the first that we knew of it.....On reflection, the cancelled  clinic probably explained the surfeit of parking spaces outside. However, having wound ourselves up for this appointment, the prospect of having to arrange another and the extended wait to find out how Steve was doing, was not a pleasant thought.


Fortunately, one of the registrars was on duty and happy to carry out Steve's examination and assess his X-rays.  I'm delighted to say that the cancer is still stable, almost a year to the day he was diagnosed on 16 June 2009! The next appointment is not until early September so, all being well, we can look forward to another three months of enjoying life whilst he's still feeling good :-)  


The feeling of apprehension has lifted; stress levels have plummeted and we can look forward to being sociable over the summer.  How wonderful is that?