Up close and personal

I see from a report in the paper that a 78-year-old widow has been trying to force her local council to ban cars from her road. The council produced 25 witnesses that the road had been a full vehicular highway since 1669.

Amazing they could find anybody nearly 350 years old, let alone 25 people who could remember that far back.

Meanwhile, closer to home, I was back the hospital again yesterday for the second time this week. On Monday I had another CT scan and yesterday I was back to see the consultant. She did at least - and at last - confirm I do not have cancer, which comes as a great relief. Instead, she thinks I have a condition she called ABPA which, she says, is linked to the asthma from which I suffered as a child. ABPA, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, is apparently linked to a fungal growth in the lungs and is treated with corticosteroids such as the inhalers used by asthmatics. So I have a short course of steroid tablets plus two inhalers, one - known as a preventer - for daily use for the foreseeable future and one - a reliever - for use as and when necessary.

I started using the first inhaler yesterday evening. I suppose it may be some form of autosuggestion, but I do feel rather better this morning and I hope the improvement continues. I've to have another x-ray and see the consultant again in six weeks.

After what I wrote yesterday, what a coincidence that the quote for today is:

"This is like déja vue all over again".