The GoBetween was a novel being studied as part of the Year
12 course, and my mother drove myself and a friend
to see the film of the novel at the Dendy Cinema in Brighton.
I needed to find an escape from my routine, and the film helped my understanding of the
book. But such a simple exercise posed major problems for my
parents, because there seemed to be no consistency between the
policies of doctors on avoiding infection. Obviously with my white
blood cell count below the optimum level, I was in some danger.
And the next CROP could not be commenced on time should
I be ill. Should I wear a hospital mask, as was suggested, with
disinfected hands, and keep excessive distance from others?
I had worn the masks whenever friends visited the family home,
but the paranoia could not continue. My counts were not that
low at that stage, and an infection should only slow the rate
of treatment. I was trying to think of every justification possible.
So after lengthy discussions, we decided a protective mask was
not required, and luckily all went well.
I would have felt so stupid had the decision gone the other way, because I would certainly have looked out of place.
