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| Chinese student in St George's churchyard |
Nope! Before you ask, I haven't got an aneurysm so this blog will continue to trundle along in its customary fashion.
What happens inside a human body is mostly mysterious to me. Out of sight - out of mind. I know there are slippery things in there like kidneys and bowels and nerves like thin electric wires and little pipes that carry blood. Actually, one of them is not so little. The aorta is like The Channel Tunnel carrying blood from the heart down to the stomach and all other stations south. It's as thick as a chipolata sausage.
For the past five or six years every man in England has received a special sixty fifth birthday present courtesy of our wonderful National Health Service. Not a gold watch or a Hull City season pass but an invitation to be scanned specifically for aortic aneurysms.
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| War Memorial in Barker's Pool and The Town Hall |
My appointment was at 2.30pm this afternoon. Rather than drive into the city centre or catch a bus, I decided to walk. It was such a magnificent autumn day and I wanted to snap some photographs along the way.
First down to Endcliffe Park and up to Fulwood Road. Then along to Broomhill and into Weston Park, past The University of Sheffield where students were swarming - staring at their smartphones like zombies as they ghosted by. Across Brook Hill roundabout and then onwards to Rockingham Street and down to the medical centre for my appointment.
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| Endcliffe Park Cafe |
I arrived five minutes early and waited just one minute before a male nurse led me to his room for the scan. He said I had an unusually short aorta which was an unexpected blow to my self-esteem! He also said that my aorta looked very healthy with no sign of any aneurystic swelling whatsoever.
It was a relief to hear that. Some guys with big or even medium-sized aneurysms are called back for surgery but Julian - the male nurse - gave me a green light and said that research proved that it is now highly unlikely that I will ever develop an aortic aneurysm. No doubt God Almighty has planned a different way for me to go - one day - hopefully in the distant future.
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| Gull diving in Endcliffe Park |
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| Pete McKee mural on the side of Fagan's pub |
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| "Women of Steel" statue - in memory of the women who worked in Sheffield's heavy industries in both world wars |
That is really cool that they screen for that in England. But why do they only screen men? Is that really true? My sister-in-law died of an aortic aneurysm. She did have a whole lot of contributing factors which most people do not have. She was on her second kidney transplant and it was failing. She did get surgery but her body was so weakened by her other issues that she did not survive much longer. The family had to make the decision to take her off of life support and what I hate the most is that her last moments of awareness (which were before the surgery) were filled with such pain.
ReplyDeleteMen are far more likely to be affected by aortic aneurysms. That's why they are targeted by The National Health Service.
DeleteI'm pleased you received a positive result, Yorkie - receiving positive news is always welcome.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't understand the tone of sarcasm in your comment about the National Health System etc. That has left me slightly bewildered. I think it is a good thing that people are given reminders/alerts re their healthcare needs etc.
I wasn't aware of any "sarcasm". It was certainly not intended. I am the biggest supporter of the NHS you could ever wish to meet.
DeleteI apologise, Yorkie..for misinterpreting your words.
DeleteI accept your apology with good grace.
DeleteDo they check women for oncoming heart disease when they are 65? One of my pet peeves (and you, of all people, know that I have many) is that the heart studies are done almost exclusively on men.....even tho women are more likely to die of heart disease than men....and by a long shot!! Anyway, glad your tiny aorta is in good shape and likely will not be the reason of your demise 30 years from now.
ReplyDeleteCould you please tell me what kind of camera you use on our walks? I know you have spoken of it before, but I can't remember.
Hello again madam! Aortic aneurysms are easy and cheap to check for. Potential heart diseases are far more tricky to investigate and predict.
DeleteMy camera is very easy to use. Normally mine is just on the "automatic" setting:-
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX350 Smart Bridge Camera, HD 1080p, 20.4MP, 50x Optical Zoom, 200x Digital Zoom, 3” LCD Screen
I think this is an excellent addition to health services and I wish we had it here. My father and two of his brothers had aortic aneurysms. One uncle died from a burst aneurysm, another uncle had to have his repaired (with a 50/50 chance of living through it) and my father's was monitored and he died of other causes. I am glad you were given a clean bill of health in this respect.
ReplyDeleteMore than most people you can see the merit of this screening. Operations on aortas are notoriously tricky.
DeleteNo screening in this country. My Doc did hear a sound in my aorta that was different. I had a something or other scan which indicates some blockage.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to get it dealt with? It could be like that creature in "Alien"!
DeleteNice statue of the Women of Steel as photographed by the Man of Steel.
ReplyDeleteYou are a poet Mr C!
DeleteSince I'm now a state employee, I get a free mammogram once a year. In fact, the "Boobie Bus" (Mcleod Mobile Mammography) comes out to the school where I work so there's no real excuse not to take advantage. I just had my first one last month. Everything was normal which was a relief.
ReplyDeleteGregg has never gotten a free test for anything.
Jennifer, the "Boobie Bus" made my morning!
DeleteI would love to have a job on the "Boobie Bus".
DeleteHere, men and women are invited for different health checks from when they are 50. Men are asked to come in for a prostrate check and women for mammograms. I have been regularly having mammograms for years, as there have been several false alarms from when I was in my late 30s. If you belong to a "risk group", i.e. if there have been certain illnesses in your family line and/or in your own life, they kindly ask you if they may enter your data into a special cancer register; that way, you are invited even more frequently. It is all for free. We do pay a lot for health insurances, even the mandatory ones, but most of the actual services are for free.
ReplyDeleteI could have never afforded my eye operation if I'd had to pay for it myself.
Great news about your aorta! I don't quite understand how an aorta can be "unusually short", as I thought it will always have to cover the distance from heart to stomach and so on; so, unless a person's body has very odd proportions, that distance should just be that.
I was also puzzled by this remark. Perhaps the nurse was referring to the top part of my aorta - before branch lines head east and west to the kidneys.
DeleteCongratulations for passing your test! It is always a relief to have a positive result on such a test and even better that it did not cost you. I am quite surprised that only men are offered the test at no charge. It has been proven that women are just as likely (if not more so) to die from heart disease.
ReplyDeleteIt was only an aorta check - not the heart itself. Statistics prove that men are far more likely to die from aortic aneurysms.
DeleteHow fortunate we are to live in a time and place where screening and treatment is available to all.
ReplyDeleteScreening saved my life, for sure.
You make me feel very incompetent in the photo taking department. We had 12 goldfinches on our 3 feeders yesterday. Could I get a decent photo? No.
Glad all is well in the aortic department.
I am intrigued by your reference to the screening that saved your life Christina. You are right to suggest that the NHS is a national treasure.
DeleteIt's not the size that counts!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a good result, that's one thing you can lay to rest
Thank you Kylie. Even though my aorta is short - nobody knows! It's my little secret.
DeleteGee, I've never heard of that type of screening. Sounds like a very good idea though as they would be devastating if you suffered one. Glad your result was good.
ReplyDeleteI've finally managed to blog about our holiday in the Dales. Makes me want to go back !!
Thanks for the heads up Helen. I will be checking out that post very soon.
DeleteA good check to have. Aortic aneurysms are not good news.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to hear that there is now only a very remote possibility that I will ever have one.
DeleteI never knew the NHS offered this service. What a good idea. (And something else for me to look forward to, LOL!) I like your description of the kids "ghosting" with their phones. I feel like it's rare to see anyone under 25 actually looking up.
ReplyDeleteI guess they are all doing degrees in Mobile Phone Studies.
Delete