Getting organised!

So the op to pin the humerus is now confirmed and authorised via BUPA. Mr Smith will do the operation on Thursday next week the 22nd March.. Now one of the most stressful things we have always maintained was the inability to park sensibly at any hospital these days, and QEQM is no exception. As I have already espoused several times in this blog the provision of sensible and easy to park spaces designed around the ability of patients and visitors should be something which many hospitals ought to address, but of course that won't happen because by doing that there is a loss of revenue: a report in 2010 suggested that some hospitals earned in excess of £1.5m per year simply from parking and clamping. Nice work if you can get it!

Today my MRSA test was being undertaken at the private Spencer Wing and they have their own car park, right outside the building. There is an automatic barrier, and once in you are required to obtain an exit code from the building reception to exit. Simple, stress free and efficient. We drove in, parked, walked straight into the building, did what we needed and left: no stress, no fear of being late,  and perhaps a model that could be utilised on a bigger scale by the main hospital to lessen the problems that many have to endure to park.

  

The 7th Cavalry aka BUPA

I am lucky, in that I have spent 30 years in the cab business in London, and that has enabled me to spend a lot of time learning to understand the accents of drivers whose communication skills were, at best, rubbish. Add to that the fact that that many of those drivers did not have English as their first language and I am often way ahead of many people when it comes to understanding at that level. In the NHS the  doctors that used to be called SHO's are now known as S2's. So, the S2 we dealt with on Friday at A and E was like that: both language and communication issues. He called me today, and we had what can only be described as a scary and frightening conversation, in that I had absolutely NO idea why he called me, and he was asking ME if I knew about G-CSF.  "was I taking it, etc etc" "Er no, I am the patient, I don't self prescribe..."

When asking him WHY he had called me there was no clear answer: not a surprising conclusion I guess.

Anyway, I had called BUPA this morning, and made contact with the private Spencer Wing at QEQM, and been referred to an arm specialist:: we just had a call from his secretary to invite us for a consultation at the Spencer wing at 5pm tonight.

Met the orthopaedic consultant: Mr. Smith, nice guy! and we saw the x-ray from Friday: total snap right through. So he is going to speak to the oncologists, work out the drug/medication requirements, book theatres and anaesthetists etc. with a view to pinning the bones next Monday evening. His secretary will confirm details tomorrow, and that will give us 10 days after the pinning before the next cycle of chemo.

I have to say I am much much more comfortable doing it through this guy than the NHS who have already screwed this totally and who are still procrastinating about when it will be done. Add to that the the consultant for the NHS is the guy who said it wouldn't break: don't think so matey! 

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Waiting Game

 I really don't believe how badly organised the NHS can be sometimes. Firstly, yesterday afternoon they were saying I would come in for this bone pinning today, then they called last night to say it would happen Monday.

Late this morning Jen takes a call saying come in Sunday; now this call was from "bed allocation" which she immediately queried because the call last night stated they don't have any theatre time this weekend. So, back goes the bed allocation lady to check and Lo and behold! no they don't have any available theatre time this weekend!

Although all this journey thus far has been undertaken via NHS I do have Bupa cover from work and I will call the private wing at QEQM on Monday to arrange the pinning operation under my Bupa cover. Have already spoken to Bupa and it shouldn't be a problem. That way we get done privately, probably quicker, and with the best care there is, allowing for the fact that the op has to be done after the commencement of my chemo, which creates some issues due to the impending loss off immune system.

This can be counteracted by the use of a drug known as G-CSF. This drug helps promote white blood cell production in cases of low immune response such as cancer patients. The oncology consultant says they should use that and it shouldn't  be too much of an issue

Information on G-CSF here

So that's the plan as of today, but of course we are subject to change at any time.

I should report that thus far I haven't had any noticeable side effects (as yet) so I am keeping fingers crossed, and certainly until I have the pinning operation: don't want to be having an operation while dealing with the chemo backlash. Worst way that can wait till afterwards as next chemo is scheduled for 28th March.

Breaking News! excuse the pun

Just had call from hospital: op will not be tomorrow they cant fit me in. So now we wait!

Disaster strikes!

All was seemingly well. Pain was no worse, and we had an arranged meeting with the Hospice Pain Management Consultant this morning. A good meeting, discussing issues concerns and making some fine tuning to the medication I was taking. Now when I had my fall the other evening, which wasn't really a fall, more just a roll where I lost my balance when I was down on my haunches in the kitchen and rolled onto my right arm there wasn't any real addition to the pain that was already there and I had managed to have a few hours actual sleep the last two nights.

What was noticeable was that the upper part of my right arm had swollen a little. The doc looked at it and suggested we get a precautionary x-ray to be on the safe side.

So, over to x-ray and total amazement when they said "It's fractured!"

Three days into chemo and a concoction of drugs about to destroy my immune system and they want to start pinning my humerus! Looks like I will have to be admitted in the morning for an operation to fix it. What a friggin' nightmare! What's really hacked us off is everyone involved telling us how careful we needed to be with the bone with one exception: the orthopaedic consultant who categorically said it wouldn't break. I am not happy right now! Jen is upset of course, and i have spent the afternoon trying to touch base with all the different teams to update them on the news of what has happened.

We await a call from the hospital in the morning!

Chemo effects, the first signs?

Woke this morning very full of aches and pains the reasons for which I know and will explain in a moment. More interesting though is perhaps the first of the signs of chemo side effects. Sore dry mouth, and ulcerated tongue.  These are listed as one of the side effects of this type of chemo. To see more information in detail about this  chemo click here.

So to the aches and pains. All my own fault! I bent down in the kitchen last night, too quickly, lost my balance and fell over straight onto my bad arm. Did I swear? Yes. However apart from a bruise and the awful pain which is going now after appropriate dosages of morphine no harm done. Just have to be a bit more careful that's all.