All shook up

Sometimes it feels like one illness leads to another and leads to more and more problems. MS? Of course Sir. and would you like diabetes with that? ...but...and whisper it quietly, mumble it discreetly - the week started well. Nothing to report. I was ok. No numbness. No irritating music in my head. No pliers attached to my feet.

Then out of nowhere last night was really bad. I did my injection as usual, went to bed, land of nod. Then about 1.30 I woke up. Hot. Burning. Tremors, shaking, pins and needles, uncontrollable. Fi began to worry. The plier man reappeared, this time with four friends and applied pressure simultaneously to all my toes. Involuntary shaking became so bad Fi wanted to cover me in day glow paint, stand me in the corner and call me "feature lighting". Have you had your paracetamol? She said. Paracetamol? I said. Are you joking? Paracetamol can't help me now! I need urgent care. No she said. You forgot to take paracetamol with your injection.. She was right. She normally is. A couple of paracetamol later (with ibuprofen thrown in for good measure) and everything calms down. I feel exhausted the next day but symptoms have disappeared.

I need to warn Florida Dave Carey about this though. Florida Dave is about to become the second Dave Carey to take Rebif Interferon beta 1a. I wouldn't mind betting we're the most popular name on Rebif's books...hey...we could get sponsored by them. Now this could work....MS vs Dave Carey (feat. Interferon Beta 1a). What's more I've found a New York Dave Carey that's a video maker. We could become an internet art collective. We could be called the Virtually Dave Carey Collective. VDcc for trendy short. No, hang on, sounds like we've all got Gonorrhea. That's an illness too far. We'll stick as a duet.

Small world

Well it's all gone pear shaped now. Everyones Favourite Nurse is leaving the trial. I've become a bit choosy about who stabs me with a needle and EFN is pretty much top, second, third and last on my list. I guess a mutual dependency exists between you and your nurse. I depend on her and she depends on a new job in Southampton...cos she lives there...what sort of excuse is that eh? She's fed up with four hours commuting a day. Where's the dedication?

Her parting gift to me is 3 months supply of hamster serum in its max strength - 44mgs. Heavy duty. Dr. G pops in to check I can handle it. Can you handle it...can you handle the hamster? Is not what he says at all. In fact he says I doubt you'll even notice the increase. Generally speaking if 8mgs doesn't do you in then nothing will. Nice. He's amused to hear that my twitching has stopped. Nothing to do with the hamster serum he says just co-incidental remission. That evening we're at a play in London and my hand starts to co-incidentally twitch as that familiar numbness starts to make its way down my arm. A healthy dose of beer in the pub after seems to numb everything else enough to make the arm feel at home. The following day and I'm back to full limb feeling. My mind is just playing tricks on me.

Back at work and a colleague introduces me to a scrawny fifteen year old kid who is joining the Youth Theatre...Dave Carey my colleague says...meet...Dave Carey, it's a small world isn't it...what are the chances of that eh? I look this kid in the eye...d'you wanna join a band?

Ten-a-penny

Well I don't know about Britain but Dave Careys have definitely got talent. Turns out there's loads of us. Dave Careys are playing in bands in Pennsylvania, Boston and New Jersey - New Jersey Dave has even recovered from Leukemia which makes him leader of the band in my book. And...he plays the trombone! I'm a bit rusty but my trombone is still in the loft...I could get it out again...little bit of practice....Then it turns out that another Dave Carey had a #1 HIT in 1957...Bingo! Bingo!! I'm in love...Should this be our first release? A cover of Dave Carey's Bingo! Bingo! recorded by Dave Careys....it could start with a trombone duet. I need to check it out with Florida Dave first as he's been in the band from the start and really it's our band.

Meanwhile the diabetes jury is still out...the blood specimen was 'unable to be processed'. But what the hell does that mean? Unable to process because they've lost it? - because they accidentally heated it in the microwave with some tomato soup? Or did someone mix in half a pound of silver spoon granulated and I'm technically speaking dead but they haven't got the heart to tell me...but no...Don't worry they say, we'll take another sample when you're next here.

This means next week as I'm back for tests to see if my blood is ok for an increase in hamster serum injections (up to 44mgs). The injections are now leaving their familiar red marks at the injection site. On my stomach two red patches sit above my belly button like eyes and I'm definitely getting some odd looks a the gym, particularly in the sauna where the heat seems to exaggerate the red blotches. In fact if I position my hands correctly my whole stomach does a reasonable impression of Edvard Munch's 'the scream'. Good enough to go on Britain's got talent I think.