Had a consultation last wednesday with
Dr. Karidis.
I don't know what I was expecting, but I was really quite nervous, having never really talked to a real person about this before.
On the other hand, Karidis was totally cool and relaxed - that threw me a bit, and I wondered if he was bored or disinterested in some way.
Of course, that's because this is all in a days work for him, to him it isn't a big deal - and that's a very good thing. No-one wants a nervous surgeon any more than a nervous airline pilot.
Anyway, my head was spinning a bit, so I decided not to make a decision then & there, and I took the weekend to think it over.
Nicola,
Dr. Karidis' secretary said that was fine, and that I should pop back in whenver I want to arrange things.
Needless to say, I made up my mind, so skived off work this afternoon, and went back in to see Nicola to book it in & get the blood tests done.
Decided to have them done there, because I hate visiting my GP. My GP's surgery has pay & display parking, and last time I was there they kept me waiting for ages, my parking ticket ran out, I got clamped and had to pay £100 to get the clamp off. Bloody pirates!
So went in and asked for Mr Kardis' secretary at reception. They took me through into the admin office, where Nicola sat down with me and we booked a date for the surgery, and I wrote a cheque for the deposit etc.
Then Nicola took me back to reception, and got them to sort out the blood tests. Paid for those on my card, and then sat down in the waiting area (which is quite nice - comfy seats, and there were some hot girls in there. Dunno what they where in for - it didn't look to me like they needed any work done!).
Less than a minute later I was called into the blood test lab, which is just off the waiting area.
I have to say, the guy who took the blood was very good - I almost didn't feel it when he put the needle in.
Had a bit of a freakout on the walk back to the tube station - thinking "oh my god what the hell am I doing", "never let anyone cut you, and definitley don't pay someone to cut you" etc etc...
But I thought about the reasons why I want to do this, and also some of the things I'd read on here (thanks guys!), and that really helped me to put things in perspective. By the time I got home I was fine.
So, just over 1 month to go. I've got some work commitments to get out of the way, and I want to drop a bit more weight - so lots to do before the big day!