a fairground life (its all down the pan)

I haven't written much this year, I didn't think there was much of interest to say or record. Then a few months along the year I look back and many an episode has come and gone, Guild stuff, cancer,ride mods,hires,new places…sorry whats that you said? oh, cancer, yes I've been dealing with that too, during this open season of moving, building, hospital stays,operations, fairs, moving again etc etc. Don't know how I found the time?

I've never had a single hospital stay ever, no broken bones, stitches or illness but then 2013 arrives. It all started slowly, a little colour or protein in my urine. I thought kidney infection, after all it was winter. After a month or so I went to the doc for a test, well no point being too Hypercondriac about it. They confirmed a little protein (blood in my pee) in my urine. So a course of antibiotics was prescribed. A couple of weeks later there was no real improvement, but then there was no pain or real ailment I thought so I got more tablets and went on Holiday. During this time, one day while using a public WC I noticed a few specs of something in my pee. It all stuck to the bowl and being a little more concerned, I took a photo of it for the doc. There were no more occurrences but when I got back from abroad, I showed the doc, who was about to leave on maternity. Her final act was to send me to Urology for a camera. So a few weeks pass and the appointment arrives. Amazingly the night before my pee turns a cranberry red colour (first ever) and I took a sample of it in a water bottle. This only happened for two pees and only on the night before the procedure. This is probably a mans worst nightmare, no matter who you tell, when you say the "camera up the front", they cringe and pull a face whilst letting out a just audible "oowwwh". The nurse and sister who performed this act, (whilst I was awake and talking to them) tried to put me at ease, but its a man thing when you just have that cold sweat on. When the camera passed the muscle it froze me in mid sentence, They commented to each other that "we've shocked him!", but after a few long seconds, I said in a croaky voice "its ok, I'm back, it just took me a while to work out if I could still talk". After the initial discomfort the camera was in and the monitor lit up. It was then the Sister said,"oh, that shouldn't be there, I'm sorry but you have a tumour". Well that was not good, and although I though it was possibly some other kind of tumour, looking back, the "I'm sorry" statement makes me know they knew then and there it was the big "C".

On walking out my wife was waiting patiently. She asked how I got on and I said fine, …….but I have a Tumour. That probably rocked her more than it had me. I was told that within a month they would have it out and I would be sent for a CT scan also. Some how I got hold of the CT appointment team extension, I explained that I worked away from home, on the move and that they should call me for my appointment, not send a letter and that I would also take a cancellation at short notice. I also did this for the operating theatre and had my name down on three consultants lists on their hospitals in the area. Within three weeks I had my date. The day before my op, it was cancelled due to an emergency. The next day (original date of the op) I got a cancellation call for the next morning. So nil by mouth from midnight, I went in to pre op at 11am. I sat in a gooney from mid day through to nearly 5pm that night until they took me down. I never felt hungry or thirsty. Apparently I was lucky as several people who were scheduled for the day before had been prepped but then sent home as the emergency had went into extra time. After my long wait, the surgeon spoke to me for a couple of minutes before they put me under. His tone was low and matter of fact, I found it a little dramatic. He asked if I was a smoker, "no never" I answered. He said I was "very unlucky then and extremely young to have this". Asking my occupation, he said that fabricators,welders or chemical workers were high risk for this type of cancer. I suppose then that a showman can tick all those boxes in some form or another. He explained the procedure to me (pee hole surgery, theres that oowwwh again). I had already read the wiki page and I told him I wasn't prepared to lose my bladder. I always knew I would get cancer, but I expected in another 20 years. The anaesthetist piped me up and with a warm, comforting feeling spreading through my body, the last I remember was saying "I'm still conscious".