September 14th, 2020Just sayin’…

Jenny, or Mrs Morrison as I should call her, or maybe The First Lady, was on the news last week telling people to make sure they kept up their health checks. It was part of Women’s Health Week so a bit slanted towards the ladies. Well, women. Anyway, I am going to use this spot here to broaden the message. Make sure you keep all your health checks happening.
Yes, it is pretty easy to let them slide. I mean, coronavirus, what better excuse to put off your pap smear or your skin check. It used to be “I have a bit of a cold, better stay home” but no-one has colds anymore because we all wear masks and keep our distance. Even if you did manage to get a cold you can’t be outside anyway. Coughing is a sin, as is sneezing. There is only one OK way to expel air from the body and that’s farting. Although, with those sewer checks happening…
Anyway, back to checks. Yes, it would be easy to put them off because you don’t want to go where sick people hang out – doctors’ surgeries, hospitals etc. But if you think about it clearly, where would you rather be, your local supermarket, or your doctor’s? At least the latter knows hygiene. (Sorry, I know supermarket staff are working hard but you can’t stop shopper stupidity. I buy the weekend newspapers and when I take them home I Glen 20 the hell out of the cover and the back. Surely the only places anyone could have touched. Well, that theory went out the window last weekend when I watched a woman thumb through the first 15 or so pages of the Herald Sun and then walk off – leaving the paper on the stand! WTF? And don’t get me started on people fondling fruit.)
Sorry, honestly back to checks this time. For some reason 2020 was my time for everything so during this pandemic I have had a pap test (don’t have to go back for five years), a mammogram (all clear), skin check (no worries), an asthma clinic (under such good control the doctor said maybe go off the preventer and see how that works out – but seeing coronavirus could be a tad annoying for those with respiratory complaints I let that through to the keeper) and a colonoscopy (see you in five years too).
OK, being honest, I did put off the colonoscopy for a few months when everything was, you know, hitting the fan, but decided to bite the bullet, and it happened between the two lockdowns. I was going to leave it longer but thought that it would be pretty sad to survive this pandemic and then get knocked off by something that a simple check would have avoided. I guess that’s the thought all the time really.
We are very lucky to live in a country where so many checks and balances keep us healthy and upright. So, if you can, take up the offer. Sure, they can be a bit inconvenient and a little worrying but I tell you what, when you get the all clear from the colonoscopy and then you get those dainty sandwiches, after what seems like an eternity of fasting, it is worth it.
Oh, last bit. Thanks for the calls over the past weeks, especially from the person who I have not talked to for about 13 years saying they were just up for a chat, wondering if I am standing for council. No, I am not. But all the best to those who are. Let the games begin.
And finally, Happy Birthday to Don Breen for his 80th on Wednesday, September 16. Have a great day! And a beer or two. Just sayin’…