Spring happens

‘Of seasons I am flower bearing spring’ reveals Krishna in His Bhagavad-Gita, one of the longest, and one of my favorite poems ever written. And all around us we witness the opulence of spring bursting forth, energising us as we go along.

Coming from the tropics, I was amazed when I first saw our ‘flowering trees’ here in England. What seemed almost dead wood after the cold winter burst into glorious blossoms of brilliant colors vibrant with promise of new life. So abundant have been the magnolias and the flowering cherry trees this year. Impossible to see the wood, or indeed any leaves for the flurry of flowers.

My patients must have picked up this mood too. Peter, in his early 70s, who maintains a small allotment in the midst of a nearby inner city Nottingham estate, brought me a third supply of new spinach-handpicked and delivered to the surgery fresh! Peter has Parkinson’s disease and so this activity is cheering to see. I have been seeing more of him, as the neurologist has given him an annual review appointment, leaving me in primary care to up titrate his pramipexole.

As I have little experience of this medication - which by the way costs over £75 a month - I must say that I have not been entirely comfortable. Not necessarily helped by the fact that Peter remains ‘old fashioned’ and does not like to take ‘tablets’. He does not feel that his activities of daily living are enhanced by the pramipexole despite both of his very charming and caring daughters independently observing an improvement in Peter’s tremor.

I myself am off with back sprain (spring cleaning of all things!), but was most touched by my husband coming home from surgery with a cross-stitched cushion made by Sylvia who I had almost forgotten consulting with late last autumn.  Then, Sylvia’s father had died, and she had developed a ‘psychotic’ reaction in her bereavement, added to her learning disability. Thankfully, it was transient. The pattern on Sylvia's cushion is spring flowers.

Now, I'm off to consult with my own GP about my own spring ailment.