As I said to you before, if I had one criticism that I think the, the local surgery should certainly, make sure that there is a bit more physiotherapy to make sure that you go to clinic or something on a bit more regular basis. I know it’s, it can be up to you but it it’s far better that they, that you’re promoted to do it and also that I think that I know that doctors are far, you know, they’ve got too much on but I would have thought that at least twelve months, once every twelve months, you should have some kind of consultation just to say, How are you developing? and so forth on this, rather than having to go to the surgery. But unless you go and see the doctor, make an appointment and go and see, you’re not seen as such, whereas I think it’s, you should have at least a twelve month check-up.

Okay, and is that something you’ve felt you’ve been able to raise with your GP at all or?

I haven’t I haven’t suggested it, no, no. And I had you know, I’ve had to go and see her on a couple of occasions for other things but the stroke is not mentioned at all, which is, well, I suppose that if it’s not causing you any trouble, there’s no point bringing it up but, you know, it’s mentioned as such.

If I could ask any messages you might have for other people who are living with more than one condition, any advice or messages for them?

Well, I think one of the things that, certainly with our local hospital that that not only with what you’re doing, but there’s two or three schemes that are volunteer, you know, which you can volunteer for and if you’ve got the time yet they’re worth, I think they’re well worth doing, because you meet cardiologists and things which doing what I’d said earlier on, like a health check, which certainly I had for the first fourteen months. And it did mean me having to go to the local hospital, you know, two or three extra times but they reviewed how your blood pressure was and also that sort of gave you a bit more self-confidence, you were going in the right direction. You might last a few more years yet sort of thing and to make the most of you know, the, you’ve had a serious condition and you luckily, have survived it and that you’ve got to make the best of what’s left sort of thing.

I took quite a bit of explaining by the doctor to see exactly what had happened to me. I found, I’ve recently had a letter from my surgery asking if I’d been depressed by the stroke or diabetes and hadn’t even thought about it but philosophically, I think there’s not much you can do about it and I find that, whereas most friends are pretty sympathetic, when I explain to my friends that I walk with a limp and my voice had slightly slurred, they said, Well, nothing had changed. Which I thought was pretty unkind but they really, when you explain your condition to your men people in the pub and so forth, when it really comes to it, they don’t really want to know because they don’t want it to happen to them. And it’s probably best not to mention it and just carry on living your living your life as such. Actually, I certainly haven’t been depressed about it. I find that you’ve just to make the most of what you’ve got and enjoy, probably makes you concentrate a bit more on enjoying life and making the most of what what’s happening that you’re still alive. [laughs] What else can I say?