General Election 2019

In 24 hours from now the country will have a good idea on which party has the biggest chance of forming the next Government. I hope with all my heart that it is not the Conservative Party.

I used to vote Conservative. I was proud to be a pro-business, pro-EU, pro-aspiration voter. Not any more. Since 2016 the Conservatives have swung so far to the right that there is no way I can vote for them tomorrow. And the lies they have told, with this deluded belief that they need to out-Brexit the Brexit Party.

Boris Johnson has no integrity. Neither do many in his Cabinet, I hope that the results tomorrow will be a blood bath for them. The polls are tight but it is still possible that there will be a hung parliament. That is what we need right now - some moderate politics that can guide this country away from the abyss. Boris Johnson is not the man to represent the country.

I am a bit scared for tomorrow, but I have a small feeling that the polls are closing in on Boris Johnson. Tomorrow I think that people will vote for anything but the Tories. Whether tactical voting is successful or not will be part of that story.

I am so fed up with politics right now. I'm fed up with Brexit, But that doesn't mean that I am prepared to waive through a Withdrawal Agreement that has not had proper scrutiny. This is what Johnson is hoping to do. Before the election was called Parliament refused to accept the shortened timescale for debating the Withdrawal Bill. So Johnson tried to call for the election. I am still a bit annoyed that an election was called at all, but I believe in democracy and I know that in the end this will be work itself out.

We have come a long way since that terrible year, 2016, when people who didn't have any opinion at all about Brexit suddenly decided to pin all their domestic woes on the EU. Fed by the lies and deceit of Brexiteers it was always going to be inevitable that manipulated electorate would vote for something that had been barely explained in full. Now that the full ramifications of leaving the EU are in the open, there is only disinformation (and there has been a lot of it) by the Tory spin doctor in chief, Mr Cummings, that can once again engineer a result to suit them. I just hope that truth and integrity prevails tomorrow. It is the last chance we have to stop Brexit.

Do or Die

Tonight was supposed to be the last night before we left the European Union. The famous Halloween Brexit, drummed into the country through television advertising, social media and no-doubt email spamming (hopefully only for those who had opted in for such nonsense), has mysteriously come to a juddering halt. The minting of the 50p celebratory coins has stopped. All money wasted. Johnson said he would rather "die in a ditch" than not fulfill his promise to leave the EU on 31st October.

He has failed.

He has failed because Brexit is impossible to achieve. Instead he has insisted on an election. Another election to mix up the Parliamentary mathematics with a last gasp hope that he might win a large enough majority to have another go. It is also a convenient smokescreen, to distract the public who really should be asking where the ditch is and why is he not lying in it.

So in about six weeks, on 12th December, we face a General Election. On my work Christmas Party night of all days. I await with interest to see if we get yet another hung Parliament. Lots of MPs are already quitting whilst they are ahead but there are also plenty of Brexit fanatics that I hope will face humiliation on Friday 13th December.

What a nice Christmas present that would be.

Momentous

What a time to be alive. After reducing my anti-rejection medication my creatinine made a significant fall this week. So pleased that the return to a decent eGFR has recommenced again. I just need to fix the CMV infection I have contracted from the donated kidney and will be sorted. My liver is still causing me problems though and the cysts on it are impeding on my stomach, causing me reflux. I have an appointment at Kings next week to address that.

This week the Supreme Court deemed that Johnson had broken the law regarding prorogation. What an outcome! So Parliament was duly resumed. Hopefully MPs can continue to hold this corrupt Government to account and maintain our democracy.

This week I also spoke to my manager about returning to work. I feel a little guilty as there has just been a major release, which I missed. I just need to meet with Occupational Health next week and set a date for returning.

Set back

Bit of a set back this week - my creatinine stopped falling completely and was actually slightly raised. Also my new kidney appears to have a bit of hydro-nephrosis. On top of that my Tac levels are a bit too high. It's a bit of a balancing act to keep them right but that could be what is impacting my creatinine levels. Received a call from the surgeon today to reduce my levels even more and they are bringing forward my appointment to Monday next week.

Spent most of yesterday watching the proceedings in the Supreme Court where the Government is defending their position on prorogation. Tomorrow we will hear from John Major's lawyers. So it will be true blue-on-blue PM-on-PM. How has it got to this?

Johnson heckled again on a hospital visit. He really is not very popular with the people.

Finally the Lib Dems are offering a true alternative for Remainers by promising to revoke Article 50 if they win the next election. That is quite unlikely but it is a great incentive for Remainers to put an end to this sorry affair. Looks like Corbyn has missed the boat.

The drone bombing on Saudi oil refineries looks about the escalate. 

Extension

Huge day tomorrow. Will the Johnson lies be finally stopped and the country taken off the brink of no deal Brexit? Or even if Parliament votes for an extension, which will be legally binding on him, will he choose instead to break the law and ignore the will of MPs?

I'm so sick of the way this Government is choosing to interpret what "leave the EU" actually means. He lies when he states there is progress on the negotiation. I watched the statements with Merkel and she did not agree that the Withdrawal Agreement could be opened. She just said that there was existing provision for alternative arrangements to replace the backstop when and if it is finally agreed that they will actually work. Despite his lies that there is progress the EU states categorically that there is not and that he has not presented what these so-called alternative arrangements will look like.

Yet he needs to claim there is progress as the only defence he has against removing the threat of no-deal.

There is no progress.

And let me state again, I have specific requirements for medication following my transplant, which is at risk if there is a no deal.

The sooner this nasty party is consigned to history the better.

Constitutional outrage

He's been in office barely  month and Johnson has shown complete disregard to parliamentary democracy. Today he announced that he intends to prorogue parliament in a naked attempt to suppress the debating time of the House where it might otherwise seek to block a no deal.

I cannot begin to describe the contempt I feel for this man, if not this government.

Kidney is still very sleepy and my eGFR is still only 22. My creatinine is still 276, with only a slow decline. Still better than being on dialysis though.

Transplant!

It finally happened. Two weeks ago now. I took at call in the early hours of Friday morning to say that there was an available kidney. The operation seems to have gone well - my creatinine is falling and I feel great!

eGFR is currently 12 and rising.

As usual the NHS was completely amazing. The nurses were brilliant and really looked after me. Night times on the ward were more of a challenge (I need absolute quiet to sleep) and I was a little uncomfortable at first with the pain.

Most of the swelling has subsided, and I am without the catheter and drain line now. Only a catheter between the new kidney and my bladder remains for a couple more weeks. That will not be a pleasant experience to remove it!

And all this against the change from a May to a Johnson government. He has 98 days to deliver an impossible Brexit. We shall see what happens, but I am not confident that he will achieve any kind of deal. And if there is no deal then Parliament has made it clear that it will do everything it can to block it.

Interesting times.