I’m in Sydney for my 12 week post treatment blood test. This is the big one, the pointy end of the year I have dedicated to tackling hepatitis C. 

The most frequently asked question I get is “do you think it’s worked”. My answer is “I don’t know”. And that’s the truth. I used to say “I don’t  want to say one way or the other, I don’t want to jinx anything.” But I realised what a dumb thing that was for me to say. I’m not very superstitious so jinxing doesn’t enter in to it. Now I am more likely to say that I can’t predict anything because I don’t have enough information. 

These post treatment tests are interesting. You can’t prepare for them. You can’t do anything to maximise your chances of a good outcome. All the work has been done. It’s a bit like final exams at Uni. If you don’t have it by the time you walk into the exam room, you can’t pull any rabbits out of the hat in there. 

All you can do is watch your blood fill the vial, check they’ve got your name right and silently hope all will be well. 

My trip to Sydney this weekend was something of a comedy of errors. Flight changes and flight delays meant my 12:30 appointment with the nurse was pushed to 3:00pm, then 4:00pm then abandoned altogether in favour of a “drive by” visit to the pathology dept of the hospital which didn’t shut until 6:00pm. My awesome nurse had already dropped the pathology request off at the clinic, so all I had to do was get there before it shut. I made it with five minutes to spare. 

Now I wait! But this weekend I’m waiting in Sydney so I will be seeing a play tonight (Orlando, based on the Virginia Woolf novel), seeing my daughter, catching up with friends and their new baby and generally wandering aimlessly around this rather gorgeous city. 

Trust me, when I know what’s going on, you will know too. 

Just don’t ask me if I think it’s worked.