"Drunk on the Blood"

Jac & I at an Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster gig @ The Barfly in Brighton, 25.07.07.



Still don't know exactly what to think about my new health status except that I am 'well happy' and 'well relieved' that I won't be dying a Hep C related death any time soon. Otherwise business as usual...me arm kills me, me ankles kill me, still swallowing mouthfuls of Lovely tablets everyday with plenty of cycling and kayaking and not really a whole lot else besides. Ooh, I did go see a live band on Wednesday and attended another hearing for the public inquiry in Westminster just hours before the gig and I have given a fair bit of blood too (Thursday in fact) in a study that my doctors are carrying out up at the RFH called "Determinants of thrombin generation in Haemophilia: Does this associate with phenotype?". Sounds good eh? I'm not entirely sure what it means either, although I was given some literature to read and did indeed read it, but I still don't really know what it is for except it has something to do with my Factor VIII levels. I know I should probably take more notice of and show more interest in all things blood, especially when it is about my blood, but to be truthful I don't really want to become a doctor or an expert on the red stuff...not even a semi-expert...not even a mild one. I think I will leave all blood related things to the wonderful doctors at the RFH. I didn't even get a tube of Smarties for all the blood that they scoffed!

So, another public inquiry came and went (on Wednesday afternoon) and was dare I say it rather boring. Maybe I missed something, I'm pretty sure I did as I was nodding off to the gentle voice of Professor Ian M Franklin of Transfusion Medicine, University of Glasgow and National Medical & Scientific Director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service. The social part of the hearings, where likewise infected people get together before or after and, well, basically socialize...this is the part that I enjoy and look forward to the most. Jac & I met up with Ros and Matt (fellow bleeders and infected...both are clear of Hep C but only Matt & I have HIV) a couple hours before the inquiry and sat in a smoke-free pub (pure bliss:) right under Big Ben in Westminster and spoke about all things HIV, Hep C, Haemophilia, Von Willies, blood, painful joints and how Lovely the fish & chips were that was sat in front of each of us. It was a very short hearing (1hr 30mins) and was held from 2pm. Are they running out of people to invite along? Were the panel busy with more 'important' things in the morning? Who knows? It was Jac's first time there and although it could and has been more interesting she still found it so. But she thinks they are wasting their time & money and the whole thing is pointless. We'll see.

Then came the gig in Brighton, on the same day as the inquiry. The band Jac & I went to see are called "The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster". They're a Brighton band so the crowd were pretty much up for a bit of matchbox mayhem...and matchbox mayhem was what they got too! What a complete bunch of fucking nutters! Look them up on YouTube and see what you think. You will not like them I guarantee it! I however think they are the dogs bollocks! Jac likes them too and knows what they're like but what happened on Wednesday night was pretty mental and an experience to behold. She said she'd never seen anything like it! The place was tiny (The Barfly) and the band and the crowd were only divided by a foot high step, some speakers and a little bit of shoulder height metal fencing to either side of the stage. If I wanted to tug Guy McKnight's (possessed lead singer & according to people that have met him a thoroughly nice chap) snazzy little neck tie I could have. Jac & I were right at the front by the fence and two very big speakers stacked on top of one another. The three support bands that were on before were soon forgotten about and the whole place seemed to move forward nine feet in anticipation of the bands arrival. Guys first dive into the crowd (there was a lot of diving) was to the brilliant track "Mister Mental". He clambered up the floor speakers on the stage and leaped onto the fence where I was standing and whilst bent over up against the low black ceiling of the venue, glitter covered eyes briefly scouring the crowd for someone to land on he dived right into the crowd still singing until he was pushed around on a see of sweaty hands for a few seconds before he disappeared in amongst the crowd! This happened during almost every track, just feet away from Jac & I. Exhilarating stuff indeed! I filmed a tiny bit of the dive I just described...it should be at the bottom of the post with a few more clips.

God knows what was going through Guys mind as he stood there between tracks seemingly unaware of where he was, saliva freely dribbling out of his open mouth, down his shirt and onto the floor. His eyes were wild like a rabid dog and his chin, body & limbs shivered as if half the world's alcoholic population were taking a giant chemical filled piss right onto his grave! His silk neck tie was either beginning to irritate him or he was trying to hang himself with it as he tried to pull the thing off. In the end he settled for the removal of his rather feminine looking shirt after singing for a few minutes with the thing tightly wrapped around his entire head like some sort of mummified psycho.

Although I would Love to have been just three or for people to my right (in the mosh pit) I was quite happy I wasn't too as I didn't have any factor VIII in my blood at all because the study I was involved with the next morning at the RFH meant that I was not to have any F8 for 72hrs before! Next time I will fill myself to the brim with fake blood and just throw myself in;) Ok, maybe I won't...but I want to! Who knows, it might happen as I have already bought tickets to see them again in London on the 7th August at The Scala in King's Cross.

YouTube clips that I made on Wednesday in Brighton;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ELJfSbm58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ELJfSbm58

Below are my bloods from July 4th. I have no idea what they mean or whether they are any good, so if you no maybe you could let me know?

Bloods taken on July 4th, six months after finishing my Hep C treatment;

Hb 16.2
Wbc 4.72
Neutrophils 2.58
Platelets 127
ALT 23
Bilirubin 13

And in case you are interested below are my CD4 count;

CD4 @ 258 on July 4th 07
CD4 @ 154 on 22nd Jan 07
CD4 @ 202 on 2nd Oct 06
CD4 @ 98 on 9th September 03

And here is my weight taken on July 4th also;

Weight 74.1kg


So there you have it. Very happy (if you know what I mean) and very relieved also. The pubs and clubs (strictly for seeing live bands in) are now smoke free and I am (although I have a lot of pain in my joints) as fit as I ever have been. I got my sponsored bike ride coming up in three weeks which I am well looking forward to and it even looks like the weather is going to get better down here in the South of England in the next few weeks too.
See you when I get back from the Shrewsbury Hep C gathering this weekend. I'm staying with me Lovely friend Ros and her Hubby Ade...thanks guys for putting up with me again;)


Jason

P.s. Happy Birthday (28th July) to my wonderful blogger friend Ample. Have a wonderful weekend my dear:)xx







(C) JPT 2007.........2257.76 miles.