Frank's 60th Birthday
London to Paris
Charity Cycle Ride
22/7/2009 - 26/7/2009

Well, the last week started ok, with a run on Wednesday evening with South West Road Runners which really pushed me: I think it was about 8 miles at 8.2mph. And it was wet, dark and miserable. Thursday I went up to London for a book launch, dinner with the Freud family (lots of them) and an invitation from Lucien Freud's daughter Jane to sit for a sculpture - how could I refuse such flattery?

Friday I spent the morning at the British Museum, and in the afternoon went for a swim at the Oasis Leisure Centre near the hotel, to do my usual forty lengths. What happened next I don't remember, but do now know what happened. I went back to my hotel for a shower, and had some kind of seizure, so that I repeatedly rang Brana's mobile telling her that I didn't know where I was and that I was confused. She called an ambulance (from Devon) and called our son to go to the hotel immediately. I was taken to the University College Hospital near Euston with another brain haemorrhage and stayed there till Monday evening uindergoing various tests. I was allowed to leave the hospital on Monday evening, and I was allowed to leave London yesterday (Tuesday) to return home to Devon. I rang my neurologist last night but he is on leave for a week. This morning I saw my GP. So no driving licence again, a lot of worry, but at least I am allowed to continue running and cycling etc.

I got home from the doctor's and on his advice ordered some medical ID tags in case I have another episode. Then the post came, with a letter from the consultant neuroradiologist in Plymouth and a covering letter from the consultant neurologist in Exeter. Now they say I don't have a cerebral AVM but a cavernoma, ie a resberry-like formation in my brain rather than a tangle of capillaries, and a reference to the fact that I have small vessel disease... Plymouth also said that they wouldn't contemplate treating my cavernoma: 'It is in a relatively non-eloquent area of brain and would have a small re-haemorrhage risk.' That was written on January 27th, just a week before my latest haemorrhage.