Pies

That Helen Bye is a very strange woman.
She talks about exercise like it's fun.
She thinks, for example, I'm going to be doing this sort of thing.

Yeah, that's gonna happen.
Does anyone know if they do pies in the Abbeycroft canteen?

The all-clear

Yay!
The lovely Lesley Goldberg (via Dr Brown) has given me the all-clear to exercise.
I've set up my first session with Helen next week - so better sort out some pretty snazzy gym kit over the weekend.
I'm thinking of a cross between Borat's mankini and Jane Fonda from the 80s. Is that what they wear these days down the gym?
Any help appreciated.

The waiting game

I'm hoping there will be a letter on my doormat when I get home - giving me the final all-clear to exercise.
Helen Bye, my trainer-cum-torturer, has already been on trying to set up my first session for next week.
Does she know something I don't?
What struck me on Friday in the gym was how the majority of people in there were glowing and looked positively healthy.
Ah well, at least I'll be giving Helen something to work on!
Here are some pictures from that photo session, just so you know I'm serious.

                                                      The woman with a tough job: My
                                                      trainer Helen Bye. Hope she knows
                                                     what she has let herself in for...

                                         Fitness manager Matt Hickey and Helen couldn't wait
                                         to show me the boxing gloves.

                                        Abbeycroft's impressive gym facilities feature everything
                                        to keep you fit ... and a lot to make me very worried

The kit

Prostate ultrasound provides images of the prostate and surrounding tissue and allows a urologist to examine the gland for abnormalities (enlarged prostate). 

TRUS (trans-rectal ultrasound and biopsy) can be used to diagnose prostate cancer in patients with an abnormal examination or elevated prostate blood test (called PSA). It involves taking small pieces of prostate tissue to be looked at under the microscope. The aim of a biopsy is to find any cancer that might cause symptoms or affect life expectancy.

At West Suffolk Hospital, specialist clinicians run three clinics a week to provide patients with rapid access to TRUS guided prostate biopsy. 

Each clinic sees four to six patients and over the year the equipment is used to test between 900 and 1,000 patients.

The Bury Free Press/West Suffolk Hospital Beat It! Campaign is aiming to raise money to buy the latest TRUS guided prostate biopsy machine, which will run along side of and eventually replace the current equipment which is now 10 years old.

Today’s equipment is smaller, more portable (important on the occasions the procedure needs to be carried out in a theatre) - and provides specialist clinicians with top quality images.

 

Monitor dropped off...good job I didn't have to take it again after the encounter with the rather obtuse  receptionist.

BP ...

Abbeycroft's Helen Bye picked up a slight issue with my blood pressure when I had my first health check, pre-exercise.
Today, I'm taking back the monitor after a week of home blood pressure tests.
It's nothing too onerous but worth doing to find out if there's a more serious problem looming.
Readings have been settled into the normal ranges for the week so I'm hopeful that the nice Lesley Goldberg, at Mount Farm Surgery, will sign me off and I can get exercising.
@ac_leisure and my personal trainer Helen - are you sure you know what to expect?

Poor weekend of little exercise with the snow - looking forward to getting my card so I can start some cardio.
The treadmills at Abbeycroft allow users to plug in iPods and have rolling video of a choice of lovely backdrops. I can't imagine it takes away the pain of exercise, but at least it's distracting.
Back tomorrow to Mount Farm to hand in results of my home blood pressure checks.
The dining room doesn't need to look like a GP surgery any more...