"The Whirlwind"

I am very concious that when people ask me how John is I say "oh he's fine", as though my illness has usurped his. Well I can officially confirm that he is as well as possible for someone with a damaged heart.

Today we went to Toulouse to see Professor Galinier and it can only be described as "an experience". We set off at the unearthly hour of 5.45am as John's appointment was 8.30am. After an ECG we waited for the Prof. Suddenly there was a very loud voice outside the examination room, which at the time we took for a porter berating a nurse. However we soon discovered that this was the Prof. It would seem that his normal way of addressing minions is to shout from one end of the Department to the other. We felt that they were expected to click their heels and respond immediately.

The next thing we knew the "Whirlwind" had breezed in, or should that be stormed in? He was a little man with an extraordinarly loud voice. At a rate of knots he explained that at present John did not need a heart transplant but it could be considered in the future if necessary. Whilst advancing  years  was an issue it did not totally prohibit a transplant if  his condition deteriorated. Furthermore he said that an extra 'pump' could be fitted to assist the heart. We both found all this very reassuring as we had had the impression that if John didn't have a transplant there was nothing else that could be done.  However "the Whirlwind" now had to dictate all this for the record, which he did very loudly of course and either incredibly fast or conversly incredibly slowly. All I could think of was how on earth does his secretary cope with this and John was sitting there concentrating on not giggling. Eventually he left as he had arrived saying "just carry on living your life normally"!! We didn't know what had hit us and were sure that many a poor student has suffered in his wake.

So he did as he was told and we bought lots of  DIY gear on the way home so that he can press on with the en suite bathroom and the office. In truth he has been doing a lot in both rooms this week.