Very nearly no blip today!

The day started as Wednesdays usually do. I had breakfast, made a packed lunch, gradually woke up and set out for the walk.

Today we met in Alston and I knew there would be plenty of wildflowers.

About 10 minutes into the walk, Eric felt poorly. We were walking uphill and he had to stop.

When I checked, he had a very slow pulse. He is very fit, but not an athlete, so the pulse was abnormal.

Despite protestations that he was feeling better, I took him back to my car, along with his wife, Kay. I decided that asking for a GP appointment tomorrow was not ideal, so I drove to Hexham Urgent Care.

The nurse who saw him thought he looked very well (true) and did not accept that his pulse had been (And still was) 40. She said it was faster when she checked it. She had measured it using the pulse oximeter which does not distinguish abnormal rhythms. I think it picked up the extra ectopic beats.

She was persuaded to do an ecg which shocked her.

She had not allowed both Kay and I to go with Eric, so poor Kay was in the waiting room while I advocated for Eric.

A nurse practitioner appeared and was excellent. Kay was also called in.

To cut a longer story short, Eric was sent by ambulance to the RVI in Newcastle.

I came home and waited until he had been assessed. Then I drove to collect Kay and take her home. She lives near to Bardon Mill.

We had fun and games because her phone was dying and there was no signal in A&E, but I found her eventually.

Eric had nothing appropriate with him, and was still wearing walking boots!

Instead of wildflowers or a landscape near Alston, I give you the storm clouds gathering in the west as I joined the Military Road for my journey home.

Eric expects to have a pacemaker inserted sometime in the next few days. That should fix the problem.