Having a twinge

It's not unusual for me to have various aches and twinges in my legs and feet, all of which arise from running. Swimming is altogether gentler so back when I used to swim regularly, I'd rarely have any micro injuries from that, so by and large these odd little sensations are limited to the lower part of my body.

Today, though, I woke up with little twinges in my chest: one on each side, kind of horizontal. It was weird and happened, both sides in concert, every couple of minutes. I had my coffee but nothing changes, so following my usual 'run it off' approach to micro injuries, I did some yoga and weights. Still no difference.

Reluctantly, already fearful of losing my day to waiting around in A&E, I opened the NHS 111 website. Actually, I was really impressed by it, as I was led through a series of questions. For a short while - three or four questions, maybe - a blue box appeared containing a message along the lines of "these are questions about having a heart attack". Fortunately, I answered no to all of them.

Despite that, at the end, I was told "Go to your nearest UTC". Bugger. So I told the Minx, who was delighted I wasn't simply ignoring these sensations, and I set off over to Kendal.

There were only a couple of people there ahead of me, which, if you'd never been to A&E before, you would take as good news but I estimated an hour and a half's wait. Still, I had my iPad, it would be fine. So I gave the receptionist my details, sat down, and - "Fenner Pearson!"

Well, appears that reporting chest pains is the way to jump to the head of the queue in A&E!

All of the clinical staff were great: friendly and competent (as far as I could tell) in the bustling manner of people who are busy but still doing the job properly. I was wired up to an ECG, had my blood pressure and pulse taken, answered some questions and, thankfully, everything was fine.

I was kind of hoping that was that but the clinician said to me "Look, with chest pains, we can't just let you go home. We're going to do some blood tests." So, in the end, it was lucky I had my iPad as I was there for another couple of hours.

The bloods were fine, though, so in the end I was allowed to go home with instructions to return if I had any further problems. I felt bad for wasting people's time but I know that, especially with one's heart, it's better safe than sorry and if nothing else it was good to get an MOT.

Here's a funny thing, though: during the tests and check up, the doctor had asked me to lean forward so he could use his stethoscope to listen to my lungs. After that manoeuvre, I don't recall having any more twinges!

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Reading: 'Touching The Void' by Joe Simpson