Monthly Update From Garry McGivern

Garry McGivern’s monthly update for July 2025 a bit of a warning; this month’s update is mostly about my health. It’s been a quiet month on the cycling front, although a busy month on the health front, with a lot going on. And I know which one I prefer. I had hoped to get another bike trip in before the school summer holidays started, but I’ve been in too much pain/discomfort.

If you read my update from a couple of days ago, you’ll know about some of my health issues already. But boringly enough, there’s more. At the beginning of the month, I went for a scan on my gallbladder. I’d had one a year ago, and it showed that there was some debris in my gallbladder, which the consultant thought needed taking out. But because I hadn’t had any symptoms since my first scan, he agreed to another scan. If the scan was clear, he’d leave my gallbladder alone, but if the debris was still there, he’d take it out. Good news, the debris had dispersed, yay. Bad news, I now have gallstones, boo. Looks like I’ll be having my gallbladder out now. I’ll add it to the list of operations!

Good News or Bad News

After spending the morning at the hospital, sorry again, you’ll have to read my update. Alternatively, you can find some short videos explaining things on my YouTube channel. Anyway, as I was saying, after spending the morning at the hospital, I returned home. Only to find two further letters from the hospital. One was confirming that I needed to have my gallbladder out. I’ve got an appointment with the consultant next week for that, so maybe I’ll get a date for the operation then. The second letter was a date for my hip aspiration, which I have in two weeks. I’d better wrap myself in cotton wool and hide away until then. Just so I don’t end up with any cuts or grazes, which would give them a reason to cancel. What’s the saying? It never rains but it pours?

None Health Related, Sort of

I finally got around to cleaning my bike after my ride around Kent, in the hope that I might get away somewhere. I remembered why I’d left it so long now. To clean it properly, I always take the chain off. But what a nightmare trying to get it back on. I’ve lost so much dexterity in my hands because of my myelopathy. I struggled to get the joining link back on. And the longer it took, the more frustrated I got, which in turn made things worse. I had to walk away and do something else. And return to it an hour or two later, which worked, I managed to join the chain. I think I might be farming that job out next time.

Although it’s the school holidays and I don’t like going away when the campsites are busy, I might try to get away for a day or two. Before my hip aspiration, I can’t remember if I’m allowed to cycle afterwards or if I’m banned from cycling for a few weeks. That’s assuming all my ailments allow me to!

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