Anatomy 101

Sunday 31st October

You will note that I have not posted for a while, this is mainly because there has been little or nothing about which to post.

However, about 10 days ago my lower left rib began to stick out. It felt as if I had bashed it and it was bruised. I assumed that it was a result of where the drain was positioned after my operation and that the scar tissue was "catching" or otherwise being irritating. My rib was sticking out a lot and was sore enough that I couldn't sleep on my left hand side and raising my left arm was uncomfortable. Anyway the sticking out and the pain subsided after a few days.

On Thursday of last week I went to see my doctor about something quite unrelated to my current condition and happened to mention my rib to her. Being the thorough top professional that she is, she decided to have a quick shufti. Pressing on the rib caused no pain at all, however when she pressed gently underneath the rib from my solar plexus I thought she had dislocated it, the pain was excruciating. Apparently, it's not my rib but my spleen which is swollen, possibly as a result of the chemotherapy. So it's off to hospital for yet another scan to see if everything is tickety boo! This is the same doctor I saw back in June about the original lump. I did mention that I might stop seeing her as she has a habit of finding things that are really wrong with me!

So I have now learned that my ribs (and for that matter yours as well) not only cover my lungs but also my spleen and on the other side my liver. So you really do learn something new everyday.