My physio came round this morning for my weekly checkup. Generally I can tell how the appointment is going to go before it even begins, predominantly because I inflict my self-diagnoses on them and they are so polite they usually go along with it. It was fairly normal in most respects; we gossiped far too much and then managed to steer the conversation towards lungs and their antics, but my opinion that “yes I am great thanks doing really well” slightly varied from hers. As she (quite rightly) pointed out my lungs are still bubbling and crackling a fair bit more than usual, in fact quite significantly so. I must have subconsciously chosen not to notice this and instead have been focusing on how much better I feel now I am not full of head cold. My comprehensive and substantial defense was “but I feel fine” and after a quick consult with the doctor we decided to wait and see how things are after the weekend. Still I am feeling nice and perky, and it’s so reassuring that the hospital are keeping such a close eye on me, not to mention the therapeutic benefits of a good catch-up and gossip, so all in all a very positive checkup I feel.

I am currently terribly over excited, not because of a big money win/new extravagant purchase or anything else others would find mildly thrilling, but because it looks like the oxygen situation might be about to improve. I have had one or two people mention to me the possibility of using liquid oxygen. These are apparently not only much smaller cylinders, but last much longer than the big gas ones I currently get. This afternoon I spoke to a nice lady at the Oxygen company who explained more about this liquid oxygen and agreed that I should qualify due to how much O2 I need (they seem to be quite strict as to who can have it as they have limited equipment at present). Apparently one of these liquid O2 cylinders could last up to 10 hours on a 2litre flow rate. Not only that but you keep a big tank in your house and then refill the cylinder as required.

At present, I have to use the cylinders as sparsely as possible to make them last, so I use them in the car to travel to somewhere like my parents house, then plug in my concentrator when we get there. The NHS are strangely unable to provide me with a team of men to accompany me wherever I go, carrying my equipment around for me, so A gets me settled then goes to and fro unloading and setting up everything. Having the freedom of being able to leave the house, a source of electricity and my concentrator for even 5 consecutive hours is just too exciting to contemplate and makes me scrunch my toes up with glee. My friend (who will hopefully start using it soon too) and I were chatting eagerly about the prospect of it when it occurred to me how that we may be the only people in the whole of Britain who have today had their days been made by oxygen.

Good god my bank balance is going to regret this.