Makeshift Ambo!

[salty]

Good to hear you’re home my friend. Take care

Absolutely ditto the above. Enjoy Xmas, best you can. Oh, and no Dancing.

 

[Coulomb]

What really made me angry was not so much that I couldn't go home, but that there were literally people lining up in the corridors of A and E below waiting for beds, some elderly and frail.

Yes, but maybe they didn't have private health insurance. At least, that's how it operates in Australia. Definitely two tier service.

 

[securespark]

Quick update on the old joint.

Been virtually bed bound since fracturing my ankle on November 23rd.

Went back to see the surgeon in hospital on Monday. First, I was sent to X-ray. I was asked to climb a piece of kit with steps on so that an X-ray could be taken with the joint under "load", but I wasn't confident using the steps, so I had X-rays taken on the table.

Then I went to meet the surgeon.

His first words were: "How have you been with your walking?"

My instructions while in hospital have varied from "partial weight bearing" from the physio only when doing "sit to stand" exercises to "non weight bearing" at all times.

The surgeon was horrified when he realised what had happened and even worse when he realised I had lived with my AirCast boot on 24/7. He got a poor victim, sorry, nurse, to remove it immediately and wash my leg and replace the festering sock.

Then he arranged for me to have a session of Physio immediately as he said I was on the point of no return WRT losing mobility in the joint as it had been cooped up for so long in the boot.

I did get a copy of the discharge notes on leaving hospital but they were written in hospitalese and there's no way the average patient could decipher them.

Anyhow, moving on, I have been shuffling round the downstairs, doing the exercises the surgeon set for me to get my ankle moving. It's very tiring, but I'm determined to try and catch up on all the time I've lost lying in bed!

I'm going back to see the surgeon again in a couple of months and hopefully I will lose the AirCast boot.

Re the poor communication I'm going to write a letter of complaint to the hospital demanding that each patient gets a letter on discharge with simple instructions outlining what they should do.

 

[Archev]

Quick update on the old joint.

Been virtually bed bound since fracturing my ankle on November 23rd.

Went back to see the surgeon in hospital on Monday. First, I was sent to X-ray. I was asked to climb a piece of kit with steps on so that an X-ray could be taken with the joint under "load", but I wasn't confident using the steps, so I had X-rays taken on the table.

Then I went to meet the surgeon.

His first words were: "How have you been with your walking?"

My instructions while in hospital have varied from "partial weight bearing" from the physio only when doing "sit to stand" exercises to "non weight bearing" at all times.

The surgeon was horrified when he realised what had happened and even worse when he realised I had lived with my AirCast boot on 24/7. He got a poor victim, sorry, nurse, to remove it immediately and wash my leg and replace the festering sock.

Then he arranged for me to have a session of Physio immediately as he said I was on the point of no return WRT losing mobility in the joint as it had been cooped up for so long in the boot.

I did get a copy of the discharge notes on leaving hospital but they were written in hospitalese and there's no way the average patient could decipher them.

Anyhow, moving on, I have been shuffling round the downstairs, doing the exercises the surgeon set for me to get my ankle moving. It's very tiring, but I'm determined to try and catch up on all the time I've lost lying in bed!

I'm going back to see the surgeon again in a couple of months and hopefully I will lose the AirCast boot.

Re the poor communication I'm going to write a letter of complaint to the hospital demanding that each patient gets a letter on discharge with simple instructions outlining what they should do.

Thanks for the update. I was wondering how you were. Wish I could help

 

[securespark]

That's very kind, but what I can say is that you most definitely have helped!

Being able to chat to people on here has kept my spirits up no end and I am very grateful for that.

When you go into hospital to fix a physical problem, you tend not to to think about mental health.

But actually, it's a big issue and becomes bigger the longer the stay.

 

[dsimpkins]

Good to hear the update and that you are finally making progress. Interesting to hear about your experience regarding discharge letter. I can relate to that as I had to take my wife to A&E on Boxing day, and she then spent a week in hospital before having a procedure before being released. When released the consultant had put on the discharge letter to return a few days later for a follow up procedure as what they had done was only a temporary measure.

No details on time, ward to report to, just the name of the consultant and the date. Rang before the date to try and find out more details, only to find out not booked in for surgery. Have them chased since, had to trawl through the hospital's website to find out who to contact (again not easy) and now have a date from the hospital for the follow up procedure. The communcations are terrible, and the discharge notes as you say are not understandable to anyone without medical training. That said, the care has been great, they just seem to struggle with communicating between departments to the point it just doesn't work unless you are prepared to put in the time yourself to chase/follow up/ask questions.

 

[Ian Key]

That is very poor service from the hospital with the discharge notes. You'd get better ones from a vet. When one of my greyhounds had 25 teeth removed the vet personally typed up aftercare instructions in plain English with contact numbers if I had any questions or I wasn't happy with how my dog was healing.

 

[T1 Terry]

My wife has been suffering with an ulcer in her heal, and acute Achillies tendon issue. Every specialist seems to have a different idea on what or how the problems should be treated. The ones looking at the tendon problem had a whole range of exercises, a moon boot for day wear and a night time boot for sleeping.
The ulcer specialists said, no walking on the foot at all. Then there were three different treatment processes each wanted followed religiously .....

This has been going on since March or before, last yr and really getting worse not better.

The thing that finally got a better course of action sorted was the MRI, to see if the infection had affected the bones in the ankle.
The next visit, the wife is using a walking stick and shuffling along best she could .... the foot infection specialist was not a happy chappy, I said no load bearing on the foot .... she explained about the other specialists and showed all the contradicting treatments and exercise programs .... his straight out reply, if you don't stay off the foot completely, the infection will eat through to the bone and we will have to cut the foot off, so there is no value in trying to sort out tendon problems until the infection is sorted, because there will be no tendon there to worry about .....

Each specialist is brilliant in what they specialise in, but being specialists means they don't look at the bigger picture.
The poor nurses etc expected to write up notes and after care have to follow what they are told by the specialists .... if one lot conflicts with another lot of instructions, what are they supposed to do .... in most cases, delete the conflicting instructions, write the info up in medico terms so other medicos can understand just what is going on, then move on to the next case. Time is critical in the emergency depts, things get missed or follow ups aren't recorded because some other case has taken priority ..... I won't have their job for a million quid, but I'm very glad we have these people in all these hospitals around the world, would you know what to do in such an emergency situation?

T1 Terry

 

[Gadget Geek]

This is why they are supposed to have daily multidisciplinary meetings of the different specialities to discuss cases and agree treatment regimes. As head of MRI, I attended a few of these, however, these days the NHS is under resoursed and struggling to meet even the basic needs of patients.

 

[securespark]

Just thought I'd give you a final update.

I'm making good progress. The joint is still a bit reluctant to fully cooperate movement-wise, but I'm having more Physio.

Had an infection elsewhere, which went to the bone (the left hand incision) and it started weeping, so I've just finished 3 courses of antibiotics and it's healing well now.

Having progressed from frame to stick, I'm now walking unaided indoors with some stick use outside.

Thanks to everybody for their best wishes and cameraderie, which has helped immensely along the way.

 

[MG Clive]

Aww man, this is the first time I've seen this, and I'm glad to hear the recovery is going well.
Are you able to drive yet?

 

[securespark]

Thanks, Clive. If I were able, I would, yes. I have an eyesight issue so have failed the field of vision test.

But I wouldn't be able to drive a manual yet. I would need more physio before that could happen. And a clear eye test!

 

[MG Clive]

Thanks, Clive. If I were able, I would, yes. I have an eyesight issue so have failed the field of vision test.

But I wouldn't be able to drive a manual yet. I would need more physio before that could happen. And a clear eye test!

I just thought you may be able to drive the MG4 as no left foot is required, but obviously the eyesight is another barrier to being able to drive.

 

[securespark]

Yeah, it's a real killer for me. I absolutely love driving. Literally one of the first journeys I made when I passed my test was to go down the Smoke and back, just for the heck of it. It was great, such freedom! And it also helped that my Grandad had to give up driving (eerily due to bad eyesight, although we are not related) and had gifted me his 1978 Alfasud Super 1.3.

I know the 1.5 Ti and the Sprint were more sought after, but even that 1.3 boxer was an incredible performer and had a low centre of gravity. The whole car was a great package and when you consider it was released in 1971, it was way ahead of its time. Boy, I miss it!

I have driven a good few hundred thousand miles for work and for pleasure, including delivery and commercial driving between August 1983 and March 2012 and looked forward to every journey.

It was a massive blow to be told I could not drive anymore and the likelihood is that will not change.

Enjoy driving while you can!

Edited to change idiot smartphone grammar decisions.

 

[Aitch1]

Went on an overnight trip to Lancashire to help parents in law empty their static.

Got home fully loaded on Friday, but realised we needed some juice to get home from Warrington.

So we went to BP in Birchwood. The forecourt was painted with very smooth paint and it had been raining.

As I took the lead and went to plug in, I slipped onto my back, landing with my head on a kerb. Luckily, there wasn't a significant impact with the kerb, else it could be game over, but I heard a horrendous snapping noise as I slipped and felt an almost instant searing pain.

My left ankle was completely floppy and I could not move my foot at all.

Mrs S rang an ambo, but we were given an ETA of 5 hours. I was on cold wet concrete and didn't fancy the wait. On the other hand, I didn't fancy the prospect of what I knew would be incredible pain being moved without painkillers.

A very kind gent helped Mrs S drag, push and pull me into the back seat of the car so that I half sat and half lay there.

It took about half an hour and I was screaming like a little girl for much of it.

But eventually, I was in as best I could be and Mrs S set off for Warrington General.

His Lordship, for that is what we call the car as it is always bossing us about, bleated incessantly, telling us variously that one, two or three passengers in the back didn't have their belts on.

It was just over 5 miles to the hospital and every bump was agony. I made sure I told His Lordship what I thought of him....

Mrs S parked in the empty ambo bay and I managed to get into a wheelchair and into a room for triage. After taking some details and giving me a dose of Oramorph, I waited in the A&E waiting room for X-ray.

More agony and yelling ensued while they positioned my foot on a plate for the X-rays.

Then after a brief wait, I was told I had a choice of three ankle bones to break, and I'd managed to snap them all cleanly. More hilarity ensued as I was sedated with a vape type piece of kit and my foot twisted, pulled and pushed to get the bone pieces back together. I was yelling good and proper, but I don't remember a thing. After my leg was set in a cast, they left me to come down from my high. During this time, I was telling Mrs S all sorts of odd facts and a lot of fiction. She asked if I knew who she was and I said I didn't. She asked me for her name and all I could stammer was Puh...Puh...P....P....Puh....

I told her I was divorced and didn't have kids (which was true before I married her) and all about decimalisation in 1971 and Playschool in 1972 with Floella Benjamin and Derek Griffiths and Brian Cant and Johnny Ball. Then I asked her why all the presenters were named after body parts!

Then I told her that Jacques Chirac like poetry and quoted a line from his favourite piece...

"I wandered lonely as a croissant...."

Apparently by this time she was laughing like a drain!

It took me ages to return to my normal self.


Then I was assessed for crutches. I have a weak leg due to CP and I had broken the good one, so he wasn't happy as I was very wobbly on the unbroken leg. I had to stay in and I saw the Physio the next morning WRT using a walking frame.

They was no good as the unbroken leg would not support my weight to get up off the bed to a standing position. So here I lie, waiting for them to decide what to do with me.

It doesn't help that I had the temerity to break my leg in Warrington when I live in Stockport. There's all sorts of issues swapping my care to another Trust.

Resetting my bones and putting my leg in a cast is not sufficient to fix the problem... I need further surgery to screw and plate the bones.

And because I can't walk, they have to decide where to place me between now and surgery.

I broke my right leg with a spiral fracture of the tib needing an X-fix on 14th November 2014.

It was an odd way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that by breaking my left ankle.....

View attachment 32616

View attachment 32617

Made a right good job of that, mate. H

 

[JohnV6]

Wow I'm glad you made it. I hope you get better soon

 

[securespark]

Made a right good job of that, mate. H

Yeah, everybody I have spoken to in the medical profession who has seen the repair has said the same. IDK where the post op x-ray is, but I'll post it below. The posh name for what I did is a Trimalleolar Fracture.

 

[securespark]

I'm making great progress and movement is slowly returning but it's not 100% and I'm walking much slower than before.

I'm expecting things to improve though and remain optimistic.