I got an appointment to go to have my vitiligo patches looked at by a doctor at Salford Hospital. The appointment was at 5:20, and I was only due to finish work at 5:00. My boss said I could leave early, so I left work at 4:00.

Salford Hospital is, by far, the most confusing place I have been to in quite a long time. For one thing, there are no signs pointing to where the entrance is.

If you do gain entry all the areas inside the hospital are referred to by colours, like "blue area" and "green area". As I was initially walking up to the building, I saw that the outside of one of the buildings was painted dark blue. I took this to be the "blue area", found an entrance and went inside. Apparently the exterior colour is no indication of the area colour inside, as when I looked around inside I was in some sort or "purple area." Maybe this purple area had been inadvertantly caused by me wandering through a green area THEN a blue area?

In any case, I was lost somewhere really colourful.

20 minutes later, and after some sort of kaleidoscopic hallucination, I arrived at an information desk. I asked the old dear manning it, (or womaning it, I suppose,) where I needed to be. She gave me directions through a door just to my left. Moments later, I was at the dermatology centre (blue area) and talking to a Polish receptionist.

Shortly after taking a seat, watching a bit of telly, working out the order in which the coffee machine lights rotated their display and eating a few polos, I was called into the consultation room to see the doctor. The nurse advised me to remove my coat and jacket, and that the doctor would be in shortly.

I did and he was.

He introduced himself, shook my hand, and took a seat on the nearby bed. I was sat on a chair, so it was a very informal situation. The first thing he said was "So..... why are you here?" and he smiled and nodded. I've never felt so instantly at ease with a doctor.

I told him that my doctor at home had advised me that I had vitiligo, that my doctor had seemed unsure of how it was treated nowadays, wasn't sure if it was hereditary, hadn't "recommended" but had "mentioned" homeopathic remedies, and how all of these things were a concern.

He started his 4 minute explanation of everything, and I can honestly say that everything he said made sense. He didn't assume that I knew these things already, he didn't talk down to me as I feel doctors often can do, and he was a genuinely good doctor.

He asked me how long ago I had noticed the patches, and I told him about 6 months.

"And were the initial patches on the hairline, the hands or your eyelids?"

"Eyelids? Is it there too?" I asked, genuinely shocked.

"Around the eyes and the lids, yes," he confirmed.

"I didn't know my eyelids were changing colour!" I exclaimed.

He seemed unconvinced, and so I continued,

"In order to see my own eyelids in a mirror, I'd have to have done this!" I said, and promptly closed my eyes.

When I reopened them, he was nodding in agreement. "I suppose so," he affirmed.

"There are four possible treatments" he said after a short gap, drawing his chat towards conclusion. "Apply steroid cream daily in the hope that your melanin regrows, PUVA treatment where we give you an oral tablet and you sit in a light box while we fire UV light at you, injections to remove the remaining melanin which will give your skin an even tone but remove ALL resistance to sun damage, or camouflage."

When he said camouflage, I smiled. I think he took that as an indication of which method I preferred, whereas I was actually singing "Whoa ooo ooo ooo, Camouflage" by Stan Ridgeway in my head.

I chose the steroid cream.

"We will need to keep track of the patches so I will need to arrange appointments with our photographer, and we will need a blood sample too," he added.

"Before you leave, hand this into reception. They will make an appointment for you to see another doctor next time because," he lowered his voice slightly, "I won't be here..."

I felt a bit upset for him so I gave him a look of concern, hoping he hadn't just had some bad medical diagnosis himself.

Before I went to leave he brought me an information booklet about vitiligo, an appointment card for next time, a help-sheet of phone numbers and website addresses, and a prescription for two creams; a steroid cream for my hands and hairline and a non-steroid cream for my eyes. As he was signing a few things I glanced through the information booklet. I saw a section that just said "Remember - The sun is no longer your friend." Wise words on how to handle the planet which consists entirely of gas, fire, and temperatures exceeding the hottest of ovens.

As I was leaving, I thanked the doctor. It was a genuine eye-contact thanks, and I was sincerely appreciative of his time and expertise.

At the reception desk, I handed in my appointment card. I noticed, as I was passing back to the Polish lady, that my doctor had been called Dr. August. No wonder he said he wouldn't be here any more! It was October and he was already well passed his time!

So I now have a cream called Eumovate that I put onto my hands and forehead daily, and a cream called Elidel for around my eyes.

I had to go back to be photographed and for blood tests...