Day eighty seven

Well, it's official! I am diseased! My liver, gallbladder, pancreas, adrenal glands kidneys and spleen are OK. My bowel is "unprepared" (I don't know what it's unprepared for, but who cares).

That's the good news! This means that, yes, I have the results of the CT scan. The annoying thing is that these results have been on my NHS app since the 15th January! If you have an NHS app you will know the layout. There is a section labelled "Test Results". You click on that and it takes you to a list of dates. Top of the list is 2026. Every year below that goes down. (2025, 2024 etc.) I have been checking for the "Documents" section, thinking a letter might be sent. I have been checking under 2026, because that's this year. The results came out on the 15th January 2026.

But! The test was done in 2025, and that is where I found the results. 12 days they have been there! 12 days!

There is a recommendation that I see a GP. I am now booked in for next Tuesday morning at 9am.

So, what does it say? Exactly what I have been saying for weeks. It's all connected to the lining of my duodenal tract being flattened. I have "uncomplicated sigmoid diverticular disease: I'm just glad it's not complicated!

It can be dealt with by antibiotics! Antibiotics! I could have been taking these 12 days ago! But there are other ways of dealing with it, but I'll let the GP decided that one. But maybe, just maybe, that might solve that issue.

And this morning (I woke up at 3am and got up at 4:45am) as I was reading the list on the Test Results, I came across an extra (well, there had to be!). It says, "Bibasal lung atelectasis noted". (You try reading that out loud!!!)

That's the kind of thing you don't want them to notice. I had no idea what it was, so I looked it up and it says, "Bibasal lung atelectasis means the lower parts (bases) of both lungs have partially collapsed, often after surgery due to anaesthesia or inactivity, causing symptoms like shortness of breath and cough by preventing tiny air sacs (alveoli) from inflating, but it can be treated with deep breathing, oxygen, or airway clearance techniques to re-expand the lung tissue." I haven't had any surgery, but it's nice to know that both my lungs have partially collapsed, not just one. And then I read on: "Serious complications may occur if atelectasis remains untreated. Complications can include low oxygen levels, pneumonia, or lung failure." Sounds wonderful! Apparently it can be fixed by deep breathing.

But I feel like an old house. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law used to live in an old house. One day they noticed a hole in the kitchen floor, so they investigated. They discovered that the kitchen, which had been an extension put on years before they bought the house, had no foundations, so the whole room had to come down and be rebuilt.

You complain about stomach pains; find out that your stomach is OK, so call them abdominal pains. From that they diagnose oesophagitis, hiatus hernia, high cholesterol, high PSA levels, and finally, diverticular disease. But then they find a problem with my lungs - not just one of them, but both.

But, look on the bright side: I don't have cancer - anywhere! Having said that, I haven't had my cystoscopy yet, so there is still the bladder to be checked.

So that's it! I have the results from my MOT. I passed, but there are serious areas that need to be dealt with. For the Methodists reading, this is like a quinquennial inspection. There are serious issues that need to be dealt with in the next 12 months.

And yesterday I started preparing a sermon series for when I go back in March. I have several people I need to visit. I have requests for a wedding, a wedding blessing and an infant baptism. So I'm ready to go back.

Deep breaths!!!!!!!!!