In The Beginning...

The summer of 1977, when Fleetwood Mac's album "Rumours" was at No. 1, the space shuttle "Enterprise" made it's first flight, England regained the Ashes from the Aussies, punk rock was "in" and so was I...In hospital that is. My mum was a nurse and she had spotted the classic signs of diabetes in me - drinking loads, peeing loads and sleeping...loads. Before I knew it I was in the kid's ward being treated like a dart board.
NASA might have been able to develop the shuttle, but the NHS were still in the dark ages where treating young diabetics were concerned. One doctor had drawn a target on my arm in pen, so that he could easily take my blood every day. Another doctor sent me out, with my parents, to run around the local park until I collapsed due to low blood sugar and I was put on a diet that excluded EVERYTHING  a child would want to eat, leaving vegetables, spuds and bread on the menu.
After a month in the hospital I was released into the world again, about 2 stone lighter and clutching a huge bag of medical items. I only wish I'd saved some of them now, as they would be worth a fortune to collectors. I had glass syringes that required boiling in a saucepan each day to sterilise them, and 1" long needles that were reusable until they were blunt, at which time they were sent away for regrinding!

Since those early days I've been in hospital for various reasons, mostly related to the diabetes, but some not. I will try to post some moments from the intervening years over time and in some sort of order, but for now I'm  skipping to present day as I'm sat in hospital being pumped full of intravenous and oral antibiotics to try to prevent me from losing the big toe on my right foot. What goes on while I'm here will be added each day.