14/07/20 Xarelto prescription problem, and The (temporary) Bridge

Yesterday morning I set out to phone the GP surgery to sort out the problem with my Xarelto/Rivaroxaban - you may recall that last time I got only 10 instead of the 30 requested, and Monday morning was the last of those so I needed more for Tuesday 13th. The website also showed my routine other meds as "Amend" - whatever that means. Being Monday - always a busy day - I couldn't get through on the phone in the morning. By the time the dispensary was open for afternoon calls (14:00) the website had changed, all the "Amends" had gone, and everything was showing as OK. I did get through to the pharmacy after only another half-dozen attempts, and they said that the Xarelto was ready but they couldn't arrange a home delivery until Friday - so no option but to go and collect it myself. This involves hanging around outside the door until one of the reception staff (1) notices you're there and (2) has nothing else to do. It took a good fifteen minutes, by which time three other people had turned up to join the (well-distanced) queue.

Eventually I got my Xarelto (two more packs of ten) and my routine meds as well, ordered after the Pill Organisation Day last Sunday. I asked if they had Sue's things ready as well, but "Sorry, they're not done yet". So she'll' have to go through the same routine later in the week.

It was a bright warm afternoon with plenty of UV and a bit of a breeze, so being already more than halfway to the car park for Admiral's Park I headed that way for a walk. Anticipating that, I had Walter Walker in the car...

Probably the best walk I've had for a long time - all the way from the Tower Gardens car park to the Cafe (I didn't go in!) and once round the lake, then back along the riverside track rather than the main path. A few people around but easily avoided as with Harlow Town Park a day or two ago. The only tricky bit was crossing the river - the old bridge is being replaced and there's a diversion over a temporary bridge. Safe under the circumstances, I decided - plenty of room for two people to pass with me turning away and holding breath, and weather conditions all in favour of no virus transmission. Yes, a calculated risk I suppose, but in the words of Dr.Ch "sanity is important" and that long walk did me a power of good. Much better than slogging up and down the A1060 outside the house yet again.

While crossing that bridge on the way back, I met a friend of Sue's who had been round for tea in our garden a day or two ago. We had a quick conversation at a safe distance. When I got home I had to take a certain amount of justifiable stick from Sue about going over that bridge but I think the very small viral risk was well worth it for the benefits. These are all difficult decisions and sometimes you have to make them on the fly.

This turns out to be another post more about the virus than about my myeloma, which is supposed to be the main or only topic. But the virus affects what I can do for exercise and to maintain some sort of health, which is important for fighting the myeloma...

Here's the (extremely) little devil. As if myeloma wasn't enough, we have to deal with this thing as well. It's hard to disentangle the two.

and here's a healthy happy plasma cell: