Sun Getting in Europe

Sun’s out

We come out and we laid down in the sun for burning. It is the reptilian nature of Northern Europeans to sun bathe, every appearance of the glowing sun with its warmth and heat is a welcome sign to strip off and soak it in.

Now, those of us of darker skin are usually not persuade of the sun worshipping ritual all by reason of the fact that we have come from sunnier climes where we probably always sought the shade and when we did not, we had our houses and offices fitted with air-conditioners that brought tundra to the tropics.

Sun health

I did remember one office I visited in Lagos that required we all wore jumpers for the artificially manufactured cold – no one considered the cost of and the energy it took to freeze the building.

The fact is we also need the sun because essential Vitamin D is produced by our exposure to the sun which we do not get enough of in Europe that we have to take supplements in the winter months.

Humidity is sometimes a curse, it is usually so high as to be suffocating, we need the sun, we need hydration and we need cooling down. One other problem that we have encountered is after about 8 years of living in Europe we become so susceptible to hay fever – the feeling could be so nasty, those of us spare the ravages of that ailment can only be thankful.

Sun getting

By and large, we should take in the sun with moderation and there isn’t much we can do with sun screen lotions since the pigmentation that is literally invisible on Caucasian skin shows up as if we have been face painting.

The sun is out, we should make the best of summer, my shorts, my bicycle and off to the man-made beach I used to scoff at.

Get pills for sunny vitamins

Off to hospital

A date set in the future with expectations and anxieties finally arrived and news is anticipated from the life and the living things found in the bloods.

My 3^rd quarterly check-up was scheduled for today and I had arranged to first see the catholic pastor before seeing my specialist. As usual, my journey was once again eventful, so surveyors impeded tram traffic just before my drop-off point that when they freed up the tracks the tram just continued to the next tram stop.

I did not have to walk 10 minutes to the hospital because a tram that goes by the front arrived just in time and that was fine to make my first meeting.

We chatted for about 45 minutes on my job, my work ethic, my spiritual life and basically how I felt about things in general – he was preparing for a funeral service – one of the hospital flock he had known for long had just passed away.

Good signs and progress

Then I booked in at the Department of Internal Medicine where first my weight and blood pressure were measured before I saw the consultant.

Within minutes I was called in and introduced to an intern, the consultant was impressed with my improvement – my feet in regular shoes, my looking hale and hearty, my sense of well-being and much more.

My feet were inspected and for the intern who saw the original pictures she must have been so impressed with the wonders of modern-day medicine – the scarring was still there but the whole foot was healed, the irritation and itching was put down to the weak immune system rather than anything else.

The tale in the bloods was very satisfactory, liver function good, cholesterol fine and immunity factors up by almost 350% but still not where they should be, however, it was a considerable improvement on February where the rate of improvement was hampered by the courses of chemotherapy.

A substitute for the sun

With the obvious indicators dealt with some other things gained some attention, certain anti-bodies had appeared which need further scrutiny in probably 4 months, strikingly, there were other factors that pertained to my race – they had noticed a deficiency in Vitamin D – well we have not had that much sun latterly, neither have I been on a holiday to some of my regular haunts in a while – that needed boosting, the pills could only be chewed, they were that big.

My drug regime would change but I have to choose the time, some of the medicines are being offered as amalgams of other discreet types cutting down the ingestion of 7 pills a day to just 3. One of the side-effects is supposed to be the feeling of being stoned (Better get Dummies Guide to Getting Stoned), so best taken before bedtime – as for the other side-effects I just hope that I am in the very rare few that experience none of them.

The next appointment is set for 4 months time – the doctor in closing said he felt I had improved so much more considerably than he had expected, not to mention that I had gained 10 kilograms in just 3 months.

Much information to take in, the consequences quite dramatic and  there is a life to live, hopefully for the good and full of gratitude to many who I cannot thank enough for their encouragement and support.