Page 2.

Background Information.

     I was born in Scotland on 1st November 1942 but raised from the age of three in London. All my working life has been involved with computers and communications equipment in one role or another, but never in an industrial environment recognized as hazardous to health. Married with two grown up sons, I have lived a fairly ordinary, contented life in the same house in north west London for over thirty years.

     A life long non smoker who enjoyed the odd beer or wine but rarely spirits, and only slightly overweight, I felt my health and lifestyle were pretty good. My last stay in hospital had been for tonsillectomy when I was ten, and I had never been on long term medication or prolonged sickness absence. As 2002 progressed even faster than the  previous year, I was growing a little weary of the daily commute, and looking forward to an approaching retirement.

     So, as you can see, I had no reason to believe I was about to be confronted with a very serious health trauma. What I had failed to realise was that our journey through life is influenced by an element of  luck, and mine was about to run out.