Pamela: She just said there was something but it was nothing to worry about, and then we had the letter with the thing and we read it and put it in the drawer and didn’t worry about it.
Anthony: Yes, yes. That’s the same in my case as well. She just said there was something and I said, “Oh yes”.
Pamela: You see I think you’ve got to realise that when you’re 78 and 80, you’re bound to have something wrong with you, because otherwise it’d be a miracle, wouldn’t it? [Laughter].
Yes. So you just take it on the chin, in a way.
Pamela: Yes.
Anthony: Yes
Yes. What did you think about that letter when that came?
Pamela: What, with all the details?
Yes.
Pamela: I thought it was very good how they’d gone to all the trouble of putting all that out, you know, and sending it all out in full.
Uh-huh.
Pamela: Wasn’t it?
Anthony: Yes.
Pamela: I mean, not that we understood all the exact things, but at least it was in the open. It’s much better than being, you know, people wouldn’t tell you anything. If they didn’t tell you anything you might start to think all sorts of things. But if something comes in the open I don’t think you’ve got to worry about it anymore.
Anthony: I think we’ve grown up in a generation of people when doctors didn’t tell you what was wrong with you. And I think…
Pamela: Which was bad.
Anthony:...we’ve now over the years become more used to the fact that doctors do tell you what’s going on, truthfully, and don’t try and gloss things over. And I think this is you know, I feel quite happy about it, I’m not worried about it in any way.
Do you think there’s anything they could do to improve that letter, because I know it’s quite complex isn’t it with a lot of figures…
Pamela: No I thought it was fine, we both thought, didn’t we?
Anthony: Yes.
Pamela: Because we got it the same day and we sat and read it all, and we thought it was fine.
Good, okay. And would you have liked any more information about heart valve disease itself, and what you’ve been told is wrong with your heart valves?
Pamela: No, because…
Anthony: No. As I say, I was quite happy when she said to me, “It’s there. You can see it.” I mean I could see it and she said, you know, “It shouldn’t affect you, or won’t affect you at all, if you don’t notice anything wrong with it now”. I’m one of these people that if I feel all right, you know, I think I’m all right. And you know, if I get a pain in my leg or a pain somewhere, I quickly say to myself, “Is it a muscular pain? Have I been lifting something, or doing something?” And that’s usually the case, and I’m quite happy about it, and I think we both are, aren’t we?
Pamela: Yes.
Anthony: We don’t worry about these things. As I say, we’ve been lucky [laughter].
So you haven’t come home and got onto the internet and started to…..
Pamela: Oh no, no.
Anthony: No thank you! [Laughter].
Pamela: I wouldn’t believe anything I saw on there anyway, really [laughter].
Anthony: No, I think this is true. I would be very sceptical about something of that sort. If it was somebody like you telling me, then yes, I would be happy. If you told me something which I wasn’t quite so sure about, I might enquire somewhere else and get better, more information, but I wouldn’t go through the internet. I would go and see one of my own doctors or something of that sort.
