Diagnosis - "not good"

Hmmmmmmm...I think if your throat is so sore that it bleeds when you cough, it probably isn't good is it?

Can't sleep, can't swallow without extreme pain, can't think, can't speak beyond a croak, can't move without setting off a coughing fit, can't cough without spitting up blood, can't concentrate, can barely breathe; do you think I should go to work?

Funny that, the doctor didn't think I should either.

On the plus side perhaps, he thought I'd had my tonsils removed (I haven't) as apparently I have very little 'tonsil material'.

Maybe I coughed them up?

For those of you who can remember back long enough (or understand the rudimentaries of hyperlinks...), nearly three years back I had a similarly nightmarish bad throat and as a result discovered some strange prescription substances.

Well I found the end of the 'green' bottle, which, having been kept out of direct sunlight, had failed to do anything exciting. Ignoring the expiry date (hey what's six months between friends?), I was desperate enough to give it a go. Whilst it helps, it's not really reaching the core of the problem.

However, they now do 'kryptonite juice' in a throat spray and it does indeed seem to reach parts the gargle/rinse doesn't reach. Combined with the finest analgesics the pharmacy has to offer, the extremes of the pain are almost bearable.

You know what really helps though? Lovely friends who've texted from near and far (well various parts of Manchester and Wolverhampton) asking if there's anything they can do and friends from even further away, sending their love.

A text this evening from the Chorlton contingent reads "meals on wheels service leaving in 15 minutes". Sure enough a little later a wonderful home-cooked moussaka and fresh salad is delivered.

As I sit down to eat it a little later, I'm interrupted by the most incredible noise from the kitchen. Yes, a double cupboard (full of glasses, mugs and various food stuffs) has come crashing off the wall, wrecking half the stuff on the table below in the process.

Trust me, when you feel like shite warmed up, the last thing you need is a kitchen covered in broken glass and ceramic, balsamic vinegar, malt vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, honey and syrup. And that's before you notice the 2 litre bottle of caffeine-free diet coke that has been pierced and is spraying a fine spray of brown-coloured water several feet across the room.

Much clearing, mopping (floor and tears) and sorting later, the room is almost straight, the surviving items packed in a crate and the cupboard, which is still hanging on one bracket, propped from below.

Unfortunately the cupboard is too heavy to enable removal without help (well maybe if I was feeling competent and capable, but right now...). Time to take up one of those "is there anything we can do?" offers I think...