February 27th, 2021Just sayin’…

SO FEBRUARY has just finished up. And that means FebFast is over. Which is good because I failed miserably at giving up alcohol. But do I blame myself? Of course not.
It was all going really well. February 1, 9am, no problem. Not even feeling like a drink. Actually walking on air a little because a melanoma I had been diagnosed with had been completely chopped out and apart from six-monthly checks – no worries.

What? Oh, back of the arm, where you don’t really see it, especially if you prefer a longer sleeve. It just looked wrong. So I went and got medical advice, had a bit cut off and then, when it came back as a melanoma and I didn’t die of a heart attack, I had a bit more cut off. And all good. Well, you know, not good but what are you going to do. The surgeon asked if I had ever been sunburnt as a child to the point of peeling skin. You bet! I am a child of the early 70s – that’s what we did and as a teenager I fried myself in coconut oil. No tan, but a stack of freckles.

Anyway, I was feeling good and ready to kick the booze for a month. I know, shortest month of the year, but still. So I stocked up on mineral water and was keen for the reset – until I felt a bit sore around the boob. Hmmm. February, just a month before my regular mammogram/ultrasound check, why not book in early? So I did. And all seemed OK. The radiologist didn’t make any noises to worry about – sucking in of air, or furtive glances in my direction and then quickly looking away, and not too many of those clicks on the screen as they push your boobs this way and that.
So I felt pretty positive all was good. But, you know, probably not the day to give up drinking. But the next day for sure. And then a few days later I get the call to say they have found something and would like to do a follow-up with a tiny biopsy. Hmmm. Still OK. But, you know, probably not the day…

So I called to make my appointment and they asked me to take a photo of the referral and email it through. Which I did on the Friday. But no call back. So really, the weekend was looming large… And then when I called Monday they had no record of my email so I sent it all again and called back on Tuesday. (Monday night was a bit stressful…)

On Tuesday they said they had the referral but most appointments were a few weeks away – busy with COVID catch-ups and all that. Fair enough. But you know, just one wine never hurt… And then when I rang on Friday, a tad annoyed, they said they would get back to me asap but mentioned that although the doctor had written “bulk bill please” that particular procedure could not be bulk billed. “It’s $295 out of pocket – do you still want to go ahead?” When I joked I had no choice they offered to end the call but we sorted that bit out. And I really needed a drink that night. And then the appointment and the wait for the news…not a great time for an alcohol-free day, let alone month!
But then, long story long, the call. All good. Nothing wrong. Yay. So here we are, the end of February and all is well. And I am thinking Moderate March. Just sayin’…