::Griffblog::

I’d like to think that I’ve generally kept my spirits up for the most part throughout the treatment I’ve been undergoing. Yes there have been bad days, infections etc that have brought my mood crashing down but I’m generally a positive person and tough as it can be, I’ve kept smiling.

January is a bad time for many, post Christmas/New Year with bleak weather and back to work etc but this last week has been a real test.

Wednesday was the day I was supposed to be travelling to St Peters Hospital in Chertsey (a 30 mile drive) to meet with my consultant and set a date for surgery to remove the ilizarov frame.  As we all know, Tuesday evening saw the worst snow fall in the UK for a great many years and so when we awoke Wednesday it was clear Cinders would not be going to the ball.

With a foot of snow having fallen overnight our car was stuck and the local roads were equally treacherous. Soon after we got up and surveyed the scene I received a text from the hospital cancelling the appointment and advising that a new one would be arranged in due course.

Buggeration!

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With New Year’s Eve only a day away the issue of alcohol consumption is one that concerns most of us.

But for me it is different as I have not been able to consume any alcoholic drink for some months.  As I’m on a mix of oral morphine (a cough mixture like liquid version) and other strong pain killers as well as antibiotics on many occasions, on the few occasions where I have tried to enjoy a glass of beer or wine I have become very nauseous soon after.

Couple that with the difficulties I already have in getting about and the added problems that alcohol may bring mean I have chosen to abstain completely.

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I’ve always been a vociferous supporter of the NHS and the staff who work within. But last week this was stretched to the very limit by a poor experience at Frimley Park Hospital.

Last Wednesday evening I had a pain begin in my left chest when I took a deep breath. I did the man thing, ignored it, went to bed and hoped it’d go away. When I awoke the next morning the pain was still present.

I tried to book an appointment with my GP but no slots were available. Instead I eventually got a call back mid afternoon from a Doctor at the surgery. Having explained the symptoms he told me I needed to present at A&E as it may be a blood clot. Having recently had an operation I was in the increased risk category apparently.

So off I toddled to A&E at my nearest hospital, Frimley Park and after some tests, an ECG and a chest x-ray it was decided that I needed a lung scan and so would have to stay overnight. I won’t pretend I was delighted but needs must and after 4hrs in A&E I was transferred to the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU). This is a ward with beds for short stay only, no TV’s, bedside lockers or other frills and comforts.

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