Mike @thefourthcraw Twitter profile

Last Seen Profiles

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@Mrha__

Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

Toddlers make the BEST face covering enforcement officers on trains “DADDY! DADDY! THAT MAN DOESN’T HAVE A MASK ON! HE’S BREATHING VIRUS ALL OVER ME!” (man embarrassedly puts mask on, toddler happy)

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@thefourthcraw

2 years

1) not my child 2) loving simultaneous underestimating of preschooler’s intelligence/overestimating of their capacity for social tact 3) yes, I’d’ve expected an actual adult enforcement officer to have dealt with the situation differently to a 4yr old 4) 👋 @ anti-mask Twitter 😘

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@thefourthcraw

2 years

Hello yes, I am 45 years old, have been medically qualified for over 21 years, a consultant for 9 and yet (some of) my family still treat basic medical advice from me as if my precocious 10 year old self were saying it 🤷🏼‍♂️

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

(I'm going to tell a wee Twitter story, forgive the flurry of Tweets for the next few minutes please)

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@thefourthcraw

4 years

Colleague: I’m exhausted, I don’t know why Me: - THE WORLD IS WEIRD AND STRESSY - Your sleep is screwed by this - We have redefined how we work a hundred times over. Every week is different. The cognitive load is HUGE and DRAINING - You are hug deficient Them: oh, yeah, true

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland @NHS My baby sister all grown up ❤️ @lalalinz

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

6 years

Slightly long thread, sorry! I’ve looked after a lot of children and teenagers in my career, many of whom have left a huge impression on me, and my developing career. There are a handful though who were something more. D was one of them.

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@thefourthcraw

6 years

It was a privilege to be his doctor but even more so to be his friend. I still think of him a lot, happy memories mixed in with sad. And he should have been 25 today. Happy birthday D, and thank you.

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland So, despite all the politics, the difficulties we face in @nhs , that's why I'm still very proud to be a doctor. Cos they changed my world ❤️

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

Favourite medical induction of all time Mandatory fire training Fire officer: you’ve all done this before, yeah? Us, bored: Yeah *Fire guy sets fire to bin, folds arms* Him: this’ll be no problem for you then Us: wait, what?!

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland (Epiglottitis is mainly caused by Haemophilus influenzae B; we now vaccinate against. HiB nearly killed my sister twice. Vaccines save kids)

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland (How it was a surprise to *anyone* in my family when I eventually came out remains a mystery to me ... 😜🏳️‍🌈)

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

Supermarket chat i just had (I’m wearing 🏳️‍🌈mask) Child, pointing at me: daddy, is that man a gay? Me: yes, I’m gay C: pleased to meet you my name is Rory (Turns out they’ve been doing stories about LGBT+ people in class for #Pride . His dad apologised profusely for “a gay” 😂)

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland I learnt medical lessons I've never forgotten: Never ignore a parent's instinct Mum has never forgiven the GP who told her it was a cold

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

4 years

#LondonIsOpen today, tomorrow and always

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland At the end, I knew two things: I wanted to be a doctor, a paediatrician. I wanted to help people like they helped her. And comics were ACE

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

Icy London has its own magic 🥶

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland So, the second week of August marks all of that for me: medicine, comics, how lives change in a moment and how strangers can save everything

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

(Virtual) clinic appointment derailed for 5 minutes this morning cos I stood up to close the window, forgot I hadn’t changed out of my pyjama bottoms yet, and the 7 year old patient couldn’t stop laughing at the idea their sleep doctor was doing the clinic in his PJs

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

1 year

So … today I bought the flat I’ve been living in since I moved to London 11 years ago 😬 🏠 (It’s a bit weird celebrating staying where you are but … 🎉)

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

“Bob, Bill ... we need to write a textbook. On physics” “That’s a bit dry” “It’s for anaesthetists!” “Oh hell. Quick, put in a section that’ll get their attention”

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

New question for the Situational Judgment Test: You are in a coal mine with a canary The canary has just died Do you: A) send for another canary B) evacuate the mine

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland I don't think I wavered after that, not really. I wanted to be an astronaut too ... but if I was, I wanted to be Bones McCoy.

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland Amongst it all, I remember the doctors and nurses Paediatricians. Anaesthetists. They were calm, friendly and amazing. And they saved her

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland Before she went home, the next Transformers issue came out: the girl survived too! (Tho' she did get transformed into a cyborg. Comics, eh)

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland As a paediatrician it was, eventually, my privilege to be there for other kids the way those doctors were there for my sister 32 years ago

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

Ended clinic call this week with “have a great weekend” and patient’s parent replied with “you too babe” then they paused, gasped and went “oh my god i’m so sorry! You’re not a babe! OH NO! That’s not what I meant! You are quite cute! OH NO I DIDN’T MEAN TO SAY THAT EITHER!”😁

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

5 years

I’ve been attending RCPCH Conference for nearly 20 years I only properly came out 5 1/2 years ago The idea I’d ever stand on this stage, to this audience, and talk about my, and others, experience of growing up gay *still* blows my mind and I’ve just done it Still a bit shaky!

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

22 years ago, brand new doctor, and this was my security blanket When things got really bad at 3 in the morning I used to hide in the toilet and just hug it 😂 (Probably forgotten 75% minimum of anything I ever knew from here!) Good luck new docs you will rock it!

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@thefourthcraw

5 years

I don’t have personal experience of being trans By the time I was 7 or 8, I knew I was gay, while Thatcher proclaimed that anyone accepting that was cheating me. That attitude rippled through my childhood and early adulthood It caused harm I stand with trans kids and teens

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

Would it be too totalitarian to suggest that if, 18 months into a viral pandemic, you are an adult who still doesn’t understand that you breathe through your nose as well as your mouth, maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to decide much of anything about anything?

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland After Brittania, we went to the toy shop so I could get my sister something from me, to help her get well. I chose this

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@thefourthcraw

4 years

My last day as an SHO in our adult ECMO ICU today, as our surge rotas start to return redeployed doctors to parent specialties Having ticked off NICU and PICU much earlier in my career, adult intensive care wasn’t a job I’d ever anticipated! (turns out I can still do nights 😁)

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@thefourthcraw

4 years

Me to myself half an hour later: I’m exhausted and I have NO IDEA WHY 🤷🏼‍♂️

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland We stopped at a petrol station. Dad, to try to distract me, bought me a comic ... this one: Transformers UK issue 24

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@thefourthcraw

2 years

Daft things that make me smile … the person sitting opposite me on the Tube still has their NHS work ID on (not my Trust) and they’ve got a @RainbowNHSBadge on their lanyard and my brain did a little “oh, I did that” 😊🏳️‍🌈

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@thefourthcraw

3 years

I didn’t have my glasses on and I’ve just used glitter spray instead of deodorant and I need to know what the home equivalent of a Datix is please

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland I worked in acute paeds for 11 years, over a year in PICU. I saw kids with epiglottitis again but always, always, the image is my sister...

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

4 years

As I might have mentioned (😁) I got a tattoo recently I’ve known I’ve wanted a tattoo for ages, but it’s taken a while for the idea for exactly *what* I wanted to crystallise This is what I got It is very *me* #NationalComingOutDay seems a good day to explain why CW:SH

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

1 year

In *entirely* unrelated news … all the partners at my GP practice have resigned, effective 31/12/22 My hats off to them: they have continued to provide outstanding service, I can only imagine what it has cost them all individually Solidarity to so many more in primary care 🫂

Mike

@thefourthcraw

1 year

Hats off to my legendary GP, still soldiering on with booked review appointments at 9pm 🫡

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland Slowly, my sister got better. Extubated. Transferred to the paediatric ward (I was more welcome there! Toyroom!) Eventually, home! 😁

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

4 years

“So Lyra and her daemon turned away from the world they were born in, and walked into the sky.” #HisDarkMaterials 💕

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

The story of why I’m a doctor, why I’m a paediatrician, why I’m a comic geek, and why I’m proud to work in the NHS

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

5 years

Absolutely amazing goodbye gift from a patient in transition clinic today (might have felt a wee bit emotional) 😁

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

O-MIKE-RON! (Triple-Pfizered since October, wearing exclusively FFP3 again in public spaces for last 3 weeks at least, but seems I’m getting a 🦠 go after all)

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@thefourthcraw

2 years

Baby waking up startled in his pushchair on the Tube, looking confused and worried, then seeing his Dad, immediately smiling broadly and babbling excitedly and his Dad excitedly responding “well hello mister, I missed you while you were asleep!” has given my insides a hug 🤗

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

5 years

Tube Train Announcement: “Did I just see a Dr Mike getting on the train. If Dr Mike is on the train, can he make himself known please?” THANK YOU SO MUCH @ladytubedriver that was EPIC 💕😍😊

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland My mum insisted I needed to see her. "No children in ICU" Mum argued: he'll imagine much worse than it is! (I was!) She won that one.

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

5 years

In Scotland, this essential diagnostic assessment is covered by the following spectrum: Peely-wally Wabbit No affy weel Affy no weel Deid

Dr Linda Dykes @[email protected]

@DrLindaDykes

5 years

@jim_crawfurd @renal_phem What we need is a snappy acronym-able term for “Unwell or just not right, cause not yet clear, keep looking” - “baseline status change, cause not yet known” would be BSCCNYK isn’t very snappy..!

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

Swaggering, antagonistic couple without masks, who look like they’re on a London day trip, loudly talking about their day, and how all those wearing masks are idiots Carriage of mainly masked commuters v politely not telling them they’re on wrong branch of the Northern Line 😁

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland She got worse after that No-one knew if she'd get better Randomly, the Queen appeared to open a new part of Raigmore. She met mum in ICU

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

Every time I have to do it for myself or a relative, it strikes me that navigating the NHS, especially when it is under pressure, to get what you/they need can be challenging even when you DO have a medical background and an intrinsic understanding of how the NHS works

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

4 years

There’s a guy doing squat crab walks in our shared garden, and a cat has just wandered up, stared at him, wandered off, come back with another cat and now they’re both just sitting staring at him, occasionally looking at each other

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

Called by Another Hospital to offer F/U appointment on Tues Said I can’t accept; have my own clinic patients booked “Oh well, as you’re going to breach and we’ve offered you an appt, we will discharge you” Honestly - navigating NHS is tough when you DO understand the system

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

Um, thank you for response to this, my mentions have gone a wee bit daft😍 The @NHS , and the people in it, aren't perfect. But it IS amazing

Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

(I'm going to tell a wee Twitter story, forgive the flurry of Tweets for the next few minutes please)

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@thefourthcraw

2 years

OSCE style stations for consultant interviews Candidate sits at a computer. Email arrives in inbox sent to all staff, requiring a response to the sender. Candidates who “reply all” automatically fail the station.

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@thefourthcraw

2 years

“If you could just send us over a copy of your presentation for tomorrow?” Oh, you sweet sweet summer child

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland But, most of all, that moment in ED, when the world both paused and everything happened at once, as my sister arrested, is seared in my mind

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

Something that sounds exactly like a work bleep has just gone off right outside my bedroom window but it sounded like it was in my bedroom and I can confirm … nearly 10 years of being a consultant without a bleep hasn’t weakened the Pavlovian responses AT ALL

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@thefourthcraw

3 years

THE UTTER LACK OF APPROPRIATELY RESOURCED COMMUNITY PAEDIATRICS, CAMHS AND SOCIAL SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH COMPLEX NEEDS MAKES ME SO ANGRY, AND THIS IS ENTIRELY THE RESULT OF POLITICAL DECISIONS

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

“Is this test going to meaningfully change the diagnosis and management of this patient?” ... it always amazes me how often that concept seems to be forgotten/overlooked

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland ...the absolute textbook epitome of a disease now vanishing into memory, inching towards death on the back seat of our car

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland Transformers led to Secret Wars, and Secret Wars II and then, then, the X-Men. Difficult to over-estimate how much those stories meant

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland And comics! Comics! Transformers lasted for years. Simon Furman, Geoff Senior and others were heroes to 10 year old me!

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@thefourthcraw

4 years

Whoever first said it feels like standing on the shore watching the waters recede before the tsunami hits said it best I think There’s a definite feeling of unreal surreality

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland I needed the rest of the story. "Is she going to die?" Dad didn't know that either In my head the comic girl and my sister got merged

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

Christmas on my own in London wasn’t what I had planned but Merry Christmas everyone in my phone 😁

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

For many UK doctors, the first week of August is the anniversary our careers starting For me, the second week in August is also important

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

Second week in August marks an older anniversary for me: why I'm a doctor, why I'm a paediatrician, why I'm a comic geek 32 years this year

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

2 years

Guy walking past me on the bridge loudly talking into his phone: “So the first thing was <dramatic pause> I never loved you…” That’s quite a start for someone’s Tuesday

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@thefourthcraw

6 years

Was asked why I have been putting so much effort into the 🏳️‍🌈NHS badges the other day - “why does this matter so much to you?” It pretty much boils down to this

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

4 years

Every single time I walk by this sign I start subconsciously humming the song and then I realise I’m doing it and that makes me grin like a lunatic

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland Mum put us in the car She didn't drive home She put her foot down, drove the 40 miles straight to the nearest ED, in Raigmore @NHSHighland

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@thefourthcraw

4 years

I know everyone is entitled to their own view, and people see the world in their own way, and many ways are equally valid BUT ... I will *never* properly understand the people who actively CHOOSE not to sit at the top front of the bus 🤷🏼‍♂️

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland I remember her in Intensive Care Small, in an adult world Vulnerable, fragile - but protected People all around trying to make her better

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

6 years

Best clinic moment this week: 3 year old suddenly announces she “needs a poo break”, returns to clinic 20 minutes later grinning, her and her dad both with ice lollies, plus an extra one for me (Just in case anyone was wondering “why paeds?” this morning)

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@thefourthcraw

5 years

Once got called to a surgical ward at 3am, as paeds reg on-call, because the dad of a patient with CF was shagging the mum of another patient with CF and the nurses were worried a) the noise was going to wake the children and b) about infection control 😐

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

6 years

Hello, my name is Mike. I’m Scottish, European and British. I do not like President Trump at all. #TrumpVisitUK

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

6 years

Five minutes later, the Port was in and I was feeling that combination of smug and relieved. “Mike?” “Yes O?” “That was your first time wasn’t it?” “Why do you say that?” “Cos you’ve put the fecking needle in upside down” “Ah...” (he never let me forget that)

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

6 years

It continually amazes me that *anyone* is capable of walking across Westminster Bridge without giggling on a sunny afternoon

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland It was the first Transformers story I'd ever read Shockwave (bad guy) attacks an oil rig A girl gets hurt, badly It was "to be continued"

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

3 years

Least worst viable British PM right now - Jeremy Hunt? (There’s a tweet I never thought I’d write)

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@thefourthcraw

3 years

Woman sitting across the aisle from me on the train, part of a tourist group: “This cough is really annoying me now, I need to get a covid test when we get to Inverness” Me: 🧐

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@thefourthcraw

4 years

Overheard stage-whisper as I walked by some people earlier “He’s *actually* one of the consultants! 😮” #ActuallyAm

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

1 year

Last week: buys flat This week: gets rid of the awful landlord sofa and installs an awesome new one (I’m so happy with this!)

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland I remember that drive home so so vividly. We drove through a torrential rainstorm that lasted only a few minutes, then sunshine A rainbow

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

5 years

I didn’t have a sexual agenda I was a gay kid in a primary school and social environment where there was zero positive visibility of LGBT+ people It made me feel scared and isolated, and all that turned inwards because I felt I had no one I could talk to We have to do better

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

1 year

I mean getting bilateral pulmonary emboli once can probably be excused, but having it happen twice is just *careless* (all fine, more or less, just waiting for drugs to go home) (Huge shoutout to @RaccoonFran for support through quite a long night!)

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@thefourthcraw

4 years

So, this is a thing that’s happening 😁🏳️‍🌈 (You would not *believe* how long I’ve been keeping this secret for 😬) Thank you so much for helping this to happen @DrRanj ... this is another of those things kid me would have found just unfathomable 😍🏳️‍🌈

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@thefourthcraw

5 years

So, if *your* adult colleague had just described you like this in his new book and you were doing transition clinic with him tomorrow, just how “luridly” would *you* dress for it? 😁

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland The Queen stayed a few minutes. Her lady-in-waiting stayed longer, to get the whole story My aunt took me to the harbour to see Brittania

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

5 years

7 years old Parents summoned to school because I “hadn’t respected teacher’s authority” Teacher: He said something I’d said was wrong, and refused to back down when I told him to Parents: Was he right? Teacher: Well, yes. But that’s not the point! Parents: We’re leaving now

Kathryn Brightbill 🖋️

@KEBrightbill

5 years

What is your most on brand story from your childhood?

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@thefourthcraw

4 years

Loving the security guard at Boots calmly dealing with dude having a temper tantrum at having to queue “I’ve had it with all this shit!” “Sir, you think corona is going. I assure you sir, it is not going, it is still coming and “this shit” helps keep you, me and everyone safe”

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Mike

@thefourthcraw

6 years

Wee update on 🏳️‍🌈 badge project: Phase 1 was basically a guerilla operation by me Phase 2 will be an official, resourced, pilot project within NHS, to prove we can do this properly/appropriately - making rapid progress now Phase 3 will hopefully be the “open to all” bit

Mike

@thefourthcraw

6 years

I had 300 🏳️‍🌈 @nhs badges made as a pilot Response has been hugely positive Simple symbols of inclusion can make big differences: read We’re now working to expand the pilot into something much bigger. It involves a wee redesign; please bear with us!

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland I was a smart kid, with a vivid imagination. I knew she was sick. "Is she going to die?" Dad didn't know. He didn't lie. He didn't know.

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@thefourthcraw

7 years

@NHSHighland (In one of life's weird quirks, Simon and Geoff are now drinking buddies. @james_dodsworth and I still catch each other's eye and giggle)

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@thefourthcraw

3 years

Me, redeployed to adult ICU, secretly deprescribing all the melatonin