PT never sugar-coats things. So I'll say straight up that this has been the kind of week I do not want to repeat for a very long while.

I'll get all the horrible stuff out of the way in this post, and then the next one can be dedicated to all the nice things that make up most of our life in Kuching.

So, the medical news:

-- Nothing good?
-- No-one's dead.
-- You're over-dramatizing.
-- True...
-- How did Nigel get on?
-- Nigel went in for his little op, and emerged safely (though not, it must be said, comfortably). He was supposed to be having day surgery, but we ended up staying overnight. That was a good thing, though, as he was still looking pretty moal.
-- Pretty what?
-- Moal. Means poorly. A Manx word that's leaked into common parlance on the Isle of Man.
-- Is he OK now?
-- Still has to take things slowly. But doing well. Not moal any more.




-- And PT?
-- At this moment, I don't have cancer.
-- Good...
-- But I spent all day at the hospital on Wednesday, having tests and consults. The thing they were worried about last year is stable.
-- Good...
-- But there's a new thing.
-- Oh.
-- Then I was told to see another doctor, and she found another couple of issues that were of concern, and sent me off for more tests.
-- And were you brave?
-- No. I cried. Too much bad news for one day. Actually not really bad news. Just too much news that wasn't reassuring. But she was nice.
-- And was that it?
-- No, I was called back in on Thursday, as some of the test results were flashing amber. Not red. But definitely amber. So I had yet more blood tests. I'll see her again in a couple of weeks, and we'll decide on a course of action.
-- So there are now a number of things to keep an eye on.
-- Too many. I need more eyes than Argus.
-- And are you feeling braver?
-- At the moment I'm too tired to feel anything much. If I think about it, I'm cross that this cancer saga just never goes away, and I'm always waiting for the next shoe to drop. And I guess I'm struggling with the whole aging business. I hate looking back on a week that has been full of hospitals and anxiety. But it could, of course, be much worse.
-- And it's still early days for the things they've identified.
-- Right. There's still time to intervene, much though I don't relish that prospect.
-- No need to leap in immediately.
-- No, anything major can wait till February, when our Europe trip is over.
-- Ah, yes, February... Isn't that also when you'll be looking for a new apartment?
-- It is...
-- Anyway, you can kick the can down the road for a while.
-- Right. And I really do need to keep things in perspective. The world, after all, is full of people who would LOVE to have the challenge of aging. Think of all the people in Palestine or Ukraine or Russia or Myanmar, or so many other places you could mention, who would just love to have the chance to grow old, and face the "problems" I'm facing.
-- Time for a cat picture.
-- Definitely.