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I have starting this blog post so many times over the last couple of months but have never really known how to write what I really wanted to say. In truth I have shied away from sharing my thoughts, as my battle with chemotherapy was so much harder than I imagined. For someone who is used to...

Not a single day goes by without healthcare in the news at some point. Whatever the story the ultimate aim is always about using the incident, the story, the report or the headline to improve health outcomes. This has got me reflecting about my own journey. Having been a patient for roughly 35...

It has been a while since my last post but that was for good reason. With so much going on I thought that I would take a step back and not post for a while. However the last few weeks as a patient have made me reflect and want to share a few thoughts with you. I have spent a lot of time talking...

I recently finished watching the brilliant BBC hit legal drama Silk. At the end of the series there was a vote for a new head of chambers and the two barristers started their speeches with the question “who am I”. This question has been swimming around in my head ever since. Who am I as a bowel...

One of the issues here seems to be privacy. How do the candida doctors get around this. It isn't the patients who worry but the NHS trusts.

Last Friday I had the great privilege of speaking to a group of 4th year medical students at Cambridge University. It was really incredible to engage with around 130 students all of whom will soon be on the wards potentially treating you and me. As part of the talk I described what it was like...

The truth is I’m tired. No, not because I am up partying. At my age as if!!! I’m tired of always feeling like a patient. I am tired of over 30 years of being ill. Crohn’s Disease, Intestinal Failure and then of course a bowel transplant. The reality is that I know that I am no different to so...

Thanks so much Johnnys mum :) I really hope that he gets better very soon. We are all part of one big family in my opinion. The more we share the more we can help each other. Warm regards Michael

Going back in to hospital doesn’t get easier just because you are a regular. If anything it gets even tougher because you know what is in store. I have just returned home after a ten day stretch and further surgery. As you would expect there is a blog post coming after my little journey but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3jy7X_Y2dk&feature=share&list=UU_cK4xEI-uZY79uBiGjR9WQ

I thought that it was time I wrote down a summary of where my life was in bowel transplant land. In doing that I realised that my role as a patient was changing. Was that down to me or down actually to the changing nature of the NHS here in the UK? I will let you decide. A warning this is a long...

Wow, so much has happened in my bowel transplant world where to begin? Usually I like to focus on what has been happening to my health from a physical perspective. However I want to devote this post to telling you what it has been like managing basic things such as medications from a patient...

If I am to be totally honest the last week or so since my last post has been a bit tough in my bowel transplant world. It felt a little like watching my football team QPR last season. Hoping for a run of success but sadly each match ending in defeat and subsequent supporter frustration. However...

Aside from the ups and downs of being a bowel transplant patient these last two weeks have been a welcome change from focusing on my own health challenges. Whilst phosphate levels continue to yoyo and my medical team and I grapple with bile salt levels, bacterial overgrowth, stomach dysmotility...

My journey has a bowel transplant patient has taken me off in a number of directions over the last couple of weeks. Some have been great some not so good but again all paths lad back to The Churchill Hospital in Oxford and the transplant unit and my surrogate family. The route to this particular...

wow Rob it really sounds like she has been through it all. I would be delighted to help you in any way. Where about are you living? The key componant for a transplant is intestinal failure and on intavenous feeding. is she at that stage now? Take care :ylol2:

The food is so appalling it is time they listened to us patients for a change. Finally hospital caterers agree that we need standards so lets see. Not giving up the fight yet :lol:

Thanks David - hey did you apply to Doctors 2.0? I haven't heard from them but have a call this week. Hope you are keeping well:dance:

Hi Mario, really appreciate your support and thanks for watching. I am going to put a post with all the links on soon as I need to collate them properly. Just not got off my backside and done it yet. Hope you are keeping well.

I have tried hard this week to get my head out of bowel transplant mode and in to the space reserved for “rest of my life.” I just figured that with my head still spinning with so many things it was time for a mental clear out, a kind of spring clean of the mind. As I write this I have visions...