Clever Bird insisted on leaving to do the forty five-minute journey to Ipswich hospital, two and a half hours before the appointment. Stopped and bought choccies as "thank you" gifts on the way there. Spent nearly thirty-minutes trying to find a parking space. But still had time for a cappuccino and toastie. Clever, Clever Bird.
The coffee shop is however at the other end of the hospital from the Clinic and the corridor seemed to have grown three times in length, but Baggy made it eventually. On the last stretch we met the lady Oncology Surgeon who had first told Baggy about Lawrence. She asked us if we were on the way to the Clinic. "Yes". "Well don't worry, Lawrence is absolutely fine. I know, because I've seen the results". "Brilliant! Thank you". Phew! "You look as though you're still having a little difficulty walking though?" Baggy explained that the staples came out yesterday, but were on the wonk, so it was rather sore. "Ah, that's fair enough then. Good luck". Phew again! So Baggy stopped at the loo and let Calum walk into the reception area to check her in; Calum in a T-shirt, tattoos on display, long hair and beard flowing, with Baggy's (much too heavy for her to carry) handbag over his shoulder. Sudden total silence from the people in the waiting room and twenty or so sets of eyes spun round onto Calum as he said "Mrs Penny Stone-Saunders, for 11.45". Even the receptionist looked a tad surprised until he said, "Don't worry, she's following".
The Consultant confirmed that Lawrence was benign and there was nothing of concern with any of the other bits that were removed. He did however refuse to let Clever Bird see the photos of Lawrence as he was such an ugly bugger! Clever Bird really wanted to see them, but thinks that the Consultant thought that it might give Freda Fretter nightmares. He was probably right. He also confirmed that Lawrence would have been with Baggy since the day she was born and that he'd been getting bigger ever since and that it was highly unlikely that the trauma of the "air ambulance" fall from Wessles would have made him grow any quicker. He confirmed that the wound is healing really well but he did put a new dressing on it to be on the safe side. But because everything's good Baggy doesn't have to go for another follow-up appointment. Brilliant. He did say that Baggy needs to get her heart problem checked, but Clever Bird's onto that, so that's all good.
Baggy then toddled up the next four floors (in the lift of course) to the ward that she'd been on after the op. and dropped off a "thank you" card and a box of chocolates for the staff. On her way home in the car, cushions in place, she suddenly realised just how relieved Freda Fretter was. She'd thought that after previous comments by the surgeons she wasn't worrying that Lawrence might still have turned out to be a malignant lump, but clearly she was. Now that the autopsy had 100% confirmed him to be benign, Freda felt as though a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders, as well as from Baggy's ovary. One less thing to worry about might mean that the ECG results might not be as bad as they might otherwise have been. Having said that, there is a little bit of Baggy, (probably Creative Clara) that is worried for Lawrence. Bear in mind that in the past Calum has managed to make her feel sorry for one of his beard hairs when it fell out. We were staying in a Guest House in York at the time and he said, "it would be all on its own". So Clara rescued it from the floor and took it home with her. Baggy knows that despite Lawrence's hair and teeth and fat, he wasn't a living being, but still he'd been a part of Baggy for almost fifty-six years. (And they did do an autopsy on him - not a biopsy!).
Still it is perhaps a little weird to be feeling sorry for a lump that was a) causing a huge amount of pain and then b) when she found out what he was, totally freaking Baggy out! But she does feel sorry for him. And she seems to be trying to replace the space that he was filling in her body by constantly eating! Clever Bird just needs to start making sure that it's Slimming World "free foods" that she's stuffing herself with, not unhealthy stuff and imagining Lawrence in a happier place living a life free from Baggy........
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