The Pressure's On!

 Wednesday. 7.45 a.m. The sun is shining! It might not be a heatwave, but at least it's not raining and no strong wind to almost blow your head off!

I am coming to the end of the 24-hour blood pressure test. I have got on remarkably well, having the portable device connected to my arm. Sleeping wasn't too bad last night, which was my main concern, and not getting the thing wet, or it's becoming disconnected. I remember when I was in the hospital, and having a heart monitor connected with the type of connections they put on you when you have an E.C.G., and finding it very difficult to lie in bed and sleep, and the confounded thing beeping whenever a connection came off. This thing is only connected to my upper right arm, onto the 'cuff'. It hasn't come off.  I will have to take it back to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre at around 10 a.m., and someone in reception will receive it and then the data it contains, which has been 'saved' inside the device, can be uploaded onto a computer (I presume that's what will happen.), so that it can be looked at and see whatever can be done to help with my blood pressure, more than likely some sort of medication.

10.30 a.m. I have been to the medical centre with the blood pressure device. I had to use the toilet in the centre to disconnect the thing. It wasn't difficult, and now I have to wait for the results.

On the way, driving along Witan Gate, on my way to the surgery, I once again had to avoid potholes, something I have mentioned in earlier blog posts. As I got to the crossing near the police station, I was stuck behind a lorry with 'Road Maintenance' emblazoned on its side. It went over the roundabout and into the estate where I was going but then made a right turn, so I didn't have to follow it on to Bradwell Common Boulevard, where Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre is based. I thought to myself, with all the potholes I have to avoid, all around Milton Keynes, the workers on that lorry should spend some of their time filling in those confounded potholes.

Thursday. 12.10 p.m. I had an appointment at CMKMC (I'm not writing out the entire name of Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre from now on. It's far too long and a real mouth full if you have to say it.) This meant I couldn't go to my Thursday morning Bible study, unfortunately.

I got to the surgery in good time. The appointment was scheduled for 10.50. I was called into room 12 at approximately 10.55. I was to have another E.C.G., which went well. I can't see how it could have gone otherwise. Just laying on a couch and having sticky contacts put on you and not moving or talking for about 2 minutes, while the machine does its work. The nurse then told me that a doctor would need to check the read-out just to see whether my heart was all right. I had to go back into the waiting area and sit there and wait for her to speak to a doctor, and after around five minutes I got the all-clear and drove home to Dexter House.

War Is In The Air

 Monday 6.20 a.m. I've been out with Alfie. It's warm for the time of year. 

I woke up to the news of Iran attacking Israel in retaliation for an attack on Iran's consulate in Syria and killing diplomats who lived there.  The world waits, with bated breath, to see what moves Israel is likely to make, and whether this situation escalates into a dangerous war situation. I personally don't understand the situation, and I'm generally fairly good at understanding such situations, with my interest in both politics and history. Whatever is going on in the Middle East at the moment, things are getting tense. There has always been some sort of tension in that area and it doesn't take much to set off a war.

8.55 a.m. I should have kept quiet about the weather. It has changed dramatically. As I write this, it's pouring rain. Quite a violent storm. I intend to go to Sainsbury's, but I think I'll wait until the rain passes, or, hopefully, stops.

10.15 a.m. The rain stopped! It is bright and sunny, but there's also a strong wind.

On my way along Oldbrook Boulevard, as I drove to Sainsbury's, I saw what at first I thought was pink paint across the road, near the primary school. As I drove over it, I realised it wasn't paint, but pink blossom, blown there by the wind. I'm not exactly sure what sort of tree it's from, but either a flowering cherry or almond.

2.15 p.m. The wind is currently blowing a gale. Things are being blown around, such as wheely bins.

Tuesday. 6.25 a.m.Yet another mild morning on the weather front. It's still, no wind, so let's hope it stays that way.

10.25 a.m. I mentioned a few posts back, that I was going to have to wear a blood pressure unit for 24 hours. This morning I went to Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre and a nurse fitted me up with this device. It has a cuff, similar to any other blood pressure unit, but it also has a small 'box' which I wear, as it has a strap which goes around my neck and hangs down my right side, with the cuff on my upper right arm. I have to leave it on and let it pump up every hour or so over the 24 hours. (As I write this, it has done exactly that.) The 'box' device will record each time the machine measures my blood pressure, so when I take it back to the surgery tomorrow, they can upload the data and the doctor can then decide if I need to be put on new medication.

The nurse then did an E.C.G., and I still have some of the connections for the E.C.G. stuck on my chest!

I have just heard a strange noise, a sort of whirring, electrical noise. I thought it was coming from another flat, or outside, but then I thought it might be in the bathroom. I have had a look, and it turns out to be my electric toothbrush! Somehow or other, it had managed to turn itself on! Don't ask me how, but very odd, to say the least!

12.55 p.m. The blood pressure monitor has been going off roughly every 45 minutes or so. At one point it went off and then, almost immediately, it went off again. It's not uncomfortable, but a bit surprising when you'd do something else, such as reading or writing this.

3.15 p.m. There has been another violent rainstorm. I'm not sure if there are puddles all around Oldbrook, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Mild and Sunny Weather

Sunday. 8.15 a.m. Well, here I am again, once more writing this blog. I haven't real;y wanted to write it, but after such a long break, I did decide to continue.

I now have my bed reconstructed. It came with me when I moved from the house in Eaglestone and had come with us when we moved from the house in Crownhill. It is a rather nice IKEA king sized bed and because of it's construction, it didn't really appreciate being dismantled and then reconstructed. I think there were parts that got mislaid, and I had broken it up and put the mattress on the floor and attempted to sleep on it. I asked someone at church if there was the possibility of him being able to reassemble it, so he came to have a look one Saturday and then got some brackets which were used in the reconstruction. It is now in one piece and my sleep-pattern is getting more or less back to normal, thankfully.

Around three weeks ago, a Wednesday, at around 6 a.m., I had a sharp pain in my chest. Having had two heart attacks, I have a fairly good idea what a heart attack feels like, although in some ways if I have heart burn, it can feel very similar. I used my G.T.N. spray, but it didn't make a lot of difference and then I took a  Gaviscon, a tablet  which usually relieves heart burn fairly rapidly, but this time it didn't.

By about 9.30 the discomfort hadn't gone away, so I thought it necessary to get assistance from Vashti, the Dexter House S.H.O. She wasn't in the front office, so another tenant went to find her in a flat with another tenant, and she eventually came to talk to me. It ended with me using my mobile to dial 999 and the paramedics came within about 20 minutes.

The paramedics ran a few tests on me, one hooking me up to their portable E.C.G. machine and from the printout they could see I had an irregular heartbeat. From this they decided that I should go to Accident and Emergency at Milton Keynes Hospital, but then they decided that I should avoid A and E and go into the Maple Centre.

I was left in the reception area by the paramedics, who handed me over and I was eventually taken into a triage room and a nurse took my blood, which was somewhat difficult as I might have mentioned in earlier posts, I don't like giving blood, or needles and at one point in the past, I passed out. Anyway, she did eventually manage to take some blood and I was then taken through to wait in a corridor, which seemed to be for a long time.

I texted someone from church, just so they knee where I was. I was eventually texted back to say where I was and part-way through the afternoon I was joined by Margaret, who sat with e in that corridor.

I was eventually seen by a doctor, who had seen the various blood tests and E.C.G. readings and informed me that I had had a abnormal heart beat which would have caused the pain I had felt earlier. He informed me that I hadn't had a heart attack, which was a relief.

So, having had this piece of news I was free to go home, and Margaret, bless her, drove me there.

The following Wednesday night I woke up to use the toilet, but on the way back to bed I collapsed on the floor. I had no idea why, but it was somewhat unexpected. I told Vashti when she came to my door around 9 o'clock. The next thing I know is I'm laying on the floor, but having absolutely no idea why. I think I must have blacked out and, as a result, collapsed on the floor in the space between the bathroom and bedroom. It was the oddest sensation, and Vashti was standing over me, calling my name. She got me to sit up and said that, because I'd collapsed twice within 24 hours, it would be advisable for me to go to Accident and Emergency.

I had intended ringing 111, but I could not get through, so, instead, I rang 999 for an ambulance. It was around 30 minutes later that paramedics were knocking on my door. I was soon given a check and then an E.C.G. was connected to me. From this, it was possible to read the print-out and see that I had a somewhat irregular heart beat.

I was whisked off to A and E (although I noticed it isn't called 'A and E.' It's referred to as the 'E.D' department, which is short for 'Emergency Department.' But it could be mistaken for something else which has those initials. 

A great deal of being left waiting, which is the usual thing in any A and E department. I had bloods taken, several E.C.Gs and at one point, because I had fallen heavily when I'd blacked out, I had a C.T. scan and an X-ray, which didn't show any breaks, fractures or anything else. But they had to take a fresh blood sample because the first one wouldn't take, for some reason or other.

After a doctor had seen me, it was decided that I should be fitted with a heart monitor. This consisted of similar contacts  that are used when you're connected to an E.C.G. machine. This had contacts stuck on my chest and then to a machine, so I had to lay on a bed in the A and E department, which made moving around quite difficult, particularly if I had need of the toilet, because I had to get a nurse to disconnect me from machine. If I pulled any of the cables off accidentally, the machine made a noise. All this made life very difficult.

Quite late in the evening, it was decided that I would need to stay in over-night. At around 2-3 a.m. I was eventually taken upstairs to Ward 1,  a new ward and part of the Maple Centre. It was dark when I was eventually taken in, being pushed in a bed by a nurse. The unit had only 4 beds and t was very spacious.

A doctor came to see me on the ward during the morning. He said that my blackout was a rare occurrence, but, since  had had two heart attacks, it was likely to happen. He also said that I was on far too much medication and took me off caesarean and isosorbide mononitrate

I had breakfast and lunch and I was eventually discharged at around 3.30 that afternoon and was collected by Margaret Jobling. She managed to find a place to park at the front of the hospital. I had intended walking there, but I wasn't allowed to and had to wait for a porter to take me by wheelchair. I don't actually think I would have managed to walk as it was quite a distance, but I was glad to be out of the hospital environment and soon back in my flat.

New Year!

Sunday. 3.05 p.m. I mentioned in the last blog post about the problems I was having with my Canon Pixma printer. I also had some difficulties finding ink cartridges. I eventually succumbed to Amazon and ordered a set of black and coloured ink cartridges. I was then extremely surprised to have them delivered only a few hours later! I never imagined them to arrive so swiftly and had thought they would at least 24 hours after delivering.

Even with a new cartridge put in the printer it still wouldn't work. There were a few streaks across the paper when I got the machine to print. My only solution was to find the Canon helpline and ring the next day.

I rang the Canon number and the lady who answered went through what was working and not working on the printer. She told me the thing needed a clean and, after several runs of the cleaning cycle, the black printed when tested but the colour remained stubbornly resistant. She told me that only a few cleaning cycles in any 24-hour should take place, so I gave it another go the following morning, but still, the colour would not work.

After church this morning I decided to drive to the Tesco Metro on Oldbrook Boulevard, only to find it closed! I knew that the parade of shops where it is situated was going to be demolished at some point, because Lidl, which is opposite, was going to also be demolished, and a larger store was to be built on the same piece of ground. 

Monday. 12.15 p.m. Quite mild and sunny as I write this, but there had been frost overnight, which I noticed when I took Alfie out earlier.

Thursday. 8.20 a.m. Yesterday wasn't a good day. It began at 6 a.m. I was shaving at the sink in my bathroom. It's not warm in there. No heating (another story there, I'm sure.) I suddenly got a pain in my chest. At first, I didn't take much notice and thought it might be heartburn. As a result, I took a Gaviscon tablet because they do relieve this sort of indigestion. It didn't seem to take much effect, so I thought it might be an angina attack, so I used my G.T.N. spray, which I spray under my tongue. It didn't make a lot of difference to the pain. In fact, nothing at all. By this time I was getting a bit stressed.

It was around 9 o'clock and I was at the point where I needed to ring 999 because the discomfort in my chest wasn't going away. Vashti, the S.H.O., would need to be informed so I went to the front office and she wasn't there. Another tenant went to find her, as she was working in one of the flats. When she eventually appeared, I told her my situation and said I wanted to ring 999. My main concern was leaving Alfie if I went to A and E and then possibly staying in overnight. Then she said that I should use my mobile because the Dexter House telephone couldn't be used (I don't know the technical reason.) So I returned to my flat to fetch my mobile.

I had the iPhone on hands-free, which made it far easier to speak to the operator when I dialled 999. I had to go through the process from the first pain I had at 6 o'clock when I was shaving and where I was with the pain at that time (which would have been around 9 O'clock.) The operator then said she would send an ambulance so paramedics could do their tests on me. It was at least 25 minutes before the ambulance arrived and the paramedics asked me further questions and then wired me up to their portable E.C.G. machine.  One of the two paramedics looked at the printed-out reading from the E.C.G. and could see that my heart rate was normal, but that there was a slight irregularity.

One of the paramedics said that I ought to go to the hospital to be checked out. I could avoid going to A and E and I could go directly to the new unit, The Maple Centre. He phoned and it was arranged. It would, hopefully, mean I would get dealt with without a lot of waiting. Not a lot of chance of that, I thought to myself. So I was loaded into the ambulance, which was parked outside in the street, and we drove off to Milton Keynes University Hospital.

It's only a short drive to Milton Keynes Hospital. It's actually in Eaglestone. I think it takes up around half the area of the grid section. The ambulance was parked near The Maple Centre and I was pushed in a wheelchair. I think I was capable of walking, but they pushed me in any way. The paramedics handed me over and a wrist label was put on my right wrist and I was parked in the waiting area. It wasn't long before I was taken into a triage room to have basic 'obs' done and blood taken. This, as I've mentioned in several earlier blog posts, is no easy task, because, first, I have a problem with this procedure and passed out once, and two, as I have narrow veins, it's difficult for anyone to find one suitable to take blood from, but eventually the nurse managed to raise a vein and took some blood. Then I was wired up to an E.C.G. which measures heart rate and shows up any heart irregularities. Then I went through into a corridor to wait. 

I was eventually seen by a doctor, who had been looking at the print-out from the E.C.G. She told me I hadn't had a heart attack (what a relief, but I guessed that already.) and she would have to look at the results of the blood test to decide what next to do. I had an irregular heartbeat, but she wasn't sure why this had happened.

I thought it was a good idea to let someone at church know where I was, so I texted Jennie, who is the leader of my Bible study group, on a Thursday morning. She texted to say that she wasn't currently at home, but she would contact someone in the pastoral care group.

I was given a cup of tea and a cheese and onion sandwich to eat, which was nice. I don't think I've been given any food when I've been in A and E. You usually have to buy it yourself out of a vending machine.

A lot more waiting in the corridor. You would think, considering The Maple Centre was a new building, that there would be space enough for people to wait and rooms provided so that patients could be treated or triaged without being in a corridor.

Part-way through the afternoon I was informed that the blood test I had done when I came in hadn't worked. Something about 'sticky blood,' which I had never heard of or what it was. The upshot was, that I'd have to have another one done, and the results would take a further hour or so. No point in complaining, these sorts of things happen. So, it was done and then yet another waiting session in the corridor.

Around 3 o'clock, I was joined by Margaret from church! She is part of the pastoral care team. I was given the results of the various tests during the day. The doctor who spoke to me said there were no signs of me having a heart attack and that the pain in my chest was due to an irregular heartbeat. A lot of information is given from the blood test and one particular agent called Troponin T, which is produced by the heart muscle, and which shows up in blood would signal any heart problems, and this didn't. That was a relief. She said that I wouldn't need to stay in overnight and she'd get a letter typed up and one would be sent to my doctor's surgery.

Another wait. At least I had Margaret to chat to!

Another wait . . . The doctor came past and said, had I received the letter? I said, no, and she went away and around 45 minutes later I was handed two sheets, one of which was the letter.

So Margaret went off and got her car from the carpark and said she'd wait in the drop-off space outside and when I was ready I could come out and she would take me home, which is what happened and I'm so grateful for her coming to be with me and then take me home.

Keeping The NHS Busy- Part 2

Saturday. 8.20. Continuing my adventures from yesterday. I was at home in the flat and about to have a snack as I usually do for lunch and probably watch television. My mobile rang and it was a paramedic at the doctor's surgery. He said there was something showing up on the ECG which had been done earlier at the surgery and I should go immediately to A and E at Milton Keynes Hospital. At first, I thought he said there was no need to go to A and E. I think it was just me misinterpreting the message and really hoping I wouldn't have to go. There really is nothing worse than a visit to A and E and the endless, totally soul-destroying wait, which can be anything up to four hours from your arrival. Also, the fact that you have to pay when you park and then the possibility of not being able to find a parking space for the car.

So, reluctantly, I drove towards the hospital, leaving Alfie alone in the flat and I'm thinking, 'I just hope I'm not going to have to spend the night in the hospital if they've found something serious in the ECG.' I got to the car park near the A and E entrance and walked a relatively short distance into the A and E reception. I had to give details to a nurse who stood near the entrance doing what I imagine is called 'triage.' A lot of the details from the E.C.G. had presumably been sent from the doctor's surgery and then I had to report to the receptionist and was given a printed-out wristband with my name and N.H.S. number on it together with a bar code. Things are becoming more like a supermarket when you get a bar code and scanned like a  packet of breakfast cereal or pint of milk, but I suppose it makes life easier and more efficient in the end, or, at least, one would like to hope so. Then I was taken through to the waiting area and my worst fears were realized. Just sitting and waiting, having to watch some weird animation on the television that was on the wall. Why couldn't the televisions at least be tuned to daytime programmes? I know 'Homes Under The Hammer' and 'Escape To The Country' aren't exactly entrancing entertainment, but the stuff which was on was dreadful. At least not as bad as the awful television system that they had in the hospital whenever Carol was a patient. I think it was called Hospicom. 

I had to have a further E.C.G. and a blood sample is taken, but this time the nurse was successful thank goodness. I trust it would mean I wouldn't have to give any further blood, as booked at the surgery the previous day. I was assured that I wouldn't have to wait much longer for the results and, hopefully, not the more than six hours I had the last time I had to come to A and E, which is mentioned in an earlier blog post.

A long wait. Until a doctor came to speak to me. He told me that they had done tests on the blood sample and the new E.C.G. There was nothing serious that showed up, so I could go home! So I had spent around three hours stuck in A and E, and I was relieved that I wouldn't have to spend any more time there and best of all, I wouldn't need to stay in overnight. I walked to the car park and then realized I needed to find a ticket machine which would release me at the barrier. The machine I found was difficult to access. No instructions, and the digital screens are difficult to read in bright sunlight. But, at last, I managed to put my card into the slot which then kept hold of it, my fear was that it wouldn't come back out and cause further problems. But it didn't and, surprisingly, I didn't have to pay! So I was able to drive out of the carpark, then found it quite difficult to draw up at the machine so I could lean out of the car window and insert the card into the slot. But all worked as expected and I was able to drive out. What a relief to be able to drive away without any further problems!

Cardiology Appointment at Milton Keynes Hospital

(Wednesday) It was quite foggy when I took Alfie out this morning when we walked around Eaglestone Park. Alfie doesn't quite appreciate that we can't really go out until it's light otherwise we'd be walking into trees and bumping into things we wouldn't be able to see. It's definitely getting dark earlier in the evening and the mornings aren't light until at least 7.15. But, being a dog, Alfie can't really be expected to understand, but never mind. 

I have an appointment at the Cardiology Department at Milton Keynes Hospital at 9.00 a.m. this morning, so I must get to the carpark by at least 8.45. Not really a problem, but the traffic is probably at it's heaviest along Standing Way at that time, so I must leave earlier in order to get there in time. I'm having a echocardiogram done, which I had done at the John Radcliffe Hospital on the Tuesday after I had my heart attack. It only takes about 15 minutes, so I have a good idea what to expect. It's not an E.C.G., which is an entirely different beast. That is an electrocardiogram which measures the electrical activity of your heartbeat.

Currently  my blood pressure is 113/70 mmHg, heart rate 69 bpm and Sp02 96%. The echocardiogram done at the John Radcliffe on 4th September showed a normal LV size and wall thickness and systolic function that appeared at least mildly impaired.

My current medication is as follows:

Asprin dispersible 75 mg.
G.T.N. (Glyceryl Trinitrate 400 mg.
Isoborbide Mononitrate 20 mg.
Lansoprazole 15 mg.
Bisoprolol 2.5 mg.
Atorvastatin 60 mg.
Ticagretor 90 mg.
Oxybutin 10 mg.
Candesartan 4 mg.

I've still got a slight cough which is a side-effect of the Ramapril I was given when I left John Radcliffe in Oxford on the Tuesday after I had my heart attack. But, hopefully, it is coming to an end. It's not as bad as it was, but I do get fits of coughing. As I've stopped taking this medication and gone back to Candesartan it seems to have worked, although Carol said that several of the nurses on her ward have complained of coughing and have said that it might be due to the warm weather we had in the summer and as it's dry and sunny at the moment there is a lot of dust around which might be responsible for coughs, dry and sore throats .

Later. 8.30p.m. Sitting here in the lounge and really waiting to go to my appointment. As I look out of the window it looks quite sunny. Actually the past couple of days it's been remarkably warm and sunny. I suppose it's the time of year when you get foggy mornings and then once it clears you get bright sunny days which are really pleasant but then it can change and be quite cold and it's at that time you need to put on your central heating for a bit of background heating.

I was in good time for my cardiology department appointment and got to the hospital at 8.45 which meant I was able to park the car easily and then walk to the cardiology department which is only a short walk away. I didn't have to wait very long before I was called in by the nurse.

An echocardiogram is fairly straightforward, compared to the other procedure I had done on Monday at the John Radcliffe in Oxford. I had to take off my shirt and lay on a bed. The nurse put some sort of gel on my chest (presumably like KY jelly or other personal lubricant.) I had to first lay on my left side while she put the sensor device on my chest and moved it about several times. After a while I had to move even more to my left and had to hold onto a handle to prevent myself falling on the floor. She pressed the hand-held sensor fairly hard but it didn't hurt. The machine wasn't like the one used on the ward at the John Radcliffe which was portable, this machine looked far more complex. The whole procedure took no more than 20 minutes. The procedure was apparently ordered by the cardiology  nurse who is going to set me up on the rehab course which is hopefully going to start at the end of October and they have to make sure I am in a fit state before I commence that course.

I'm generally feeling well at present, although I know my limitations and if I over-exert myself I know I will only get angina so it's best to walk slowly. I have a tendency to walk too fast, so to avoid pain or other problems it's best to just slow down. I do occasionally feel queasy but I think that's my medication. There are certain side effects that I just have to get used to. I have managed to sort out the cough which was almost certain to have been caused by the Ramapril, which has now been replaced by Candesartan. I do get tired easily, which I have been since my first heart attack in 2006. A relatively short rest on our bed sorts this out, or if I'm out and about a couple of minutes sitting and I'm back to normal. I have to take a G.T.N. spray with me when I'm out and about and if I use it before anything strenuous, then it's a question of using it before an activity. But I know over-use can be a bad thing as I think if over-used it's less effective.

I went to Sainsbury's when I left Carol at hospital this afternoon. It was bright sunshine as I came out of the carpark and it seemed worthwhile to get what groceries I needed rather than going tomorrow morning. I was in and out within barely 30 minutes and it was easier to park when there was plenty of space in the carpark underneath the store.

Having unpacked my shopping when I returned home, I was sitting in the lounge and Alfie looked at me and began to bark loudly so it seemed appropriate for me to take him for a walk as it was so sunny and warm.

Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Test At John Radcliffe

I've mentioned that I had a Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Test procedure booked at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford today. (Monday) I was taken by James, a good friend at Shenley Christian Fellowship. He wasn't due to pick me up until 12 midday as the procedure was at 2p.m. and it wasn't going to take 2 hours to get to Oxford. Generally, with light traffic it wouldn't normally take more than an hour. I wasn't over-keen on driving myself, due to the stress it was likely to cause and I certainly didn't need any more, what with Carol already being in hospital and also the state of other drivers attitude of other motorists, being tail-gated and generally not being in a fit state to drive that far at the moment. Also, I don't think Carol would have been happy if I had gone on my own. I was ready to leave well before 12 noon. He phoned me to say he'd be ten minutes late. When he got here he had to set his satnav and we left for Oxford.

The journey was relatively straightforward, but still I'm glad I didn't have to drive. We had to stop on the A34 because the satnav wasn't working or something, so James used his mobile phone as a satnav.

We got to the John Radcliffe but then we weren't entirely sure where the department was that I was going to, the Nuclear Cardiology department. The John Radcliffe is an enormous hospital, spread across a really large campus and it can be extremely difficult to find the particular department you need when you don't know the exact layout of the place. Then we had a problem with parking the car, a vast carpark but absolutely no vacant spaces. So I had to get out of the car, having got James's mobile number so we could keep in contact. I went into the main reception entrance and asked at a desk, and was given instructions as to the exact place I should go to, along a very long corridor (why do hospitals always have at least on long corridor? Is it something that the architects work into their masterplans or something, just to keep patients and visitors fit with all the walking?) Even then I didn't know the department was on Level 1, so I had to go down in a lift, which, when I got in one, insisted on going up first before delivering to the correct floor. But then I had to walk a considerable distance before finding the right department although I had to ask at two further desks before eventually ending up where I should have been. I can't say it was particularly well signed, just endless corridors and stairs to reach it.

All the while James texted me. He said he would attempt to park outside the hospital and then, later, said he was going to go to a library. One was going to be closing at 1 o'clock, so obviously no use, and then he said he was going to Bicester, which we had come through on the way over from Milton Keynes, and he said he'd head back to the hospital to pick me up at 5.30.

I reported to the reception in the department and then had to wait in the waiting area, but I didn't have to sit there long because a nurse soon came to get me and went through to one of the preparation rooms where I had to have a canala inserted in my right arm. As usual with me I had to lay down on the bed because I have a problem with needles, usually with giving blood, as you will have discovered if you read my blog posts regularly. The nurse had a real problem finding a vein, and at one point wanted to put the thing in my hand, which I refused. It's not the pain of the needle, it's mostly when whoever is attempting to put a needle in is fiddling around, looking for a vein, try one area, then another, then they tap your skin to raise a vein, it won't work here, then there, they might start to put a needle in, it takes too long, at which point I'm feeling queasy and sick. But eventually the canala was inserted and eventually the radio-active substance put into my bloodstream. My blood pressure was taken, which was low. I don't have a problem with that. I had to remain laying down for a minute or two. I began to feel better and eventually stood up and had to go and wait out in the waiting area for an hour before they could do the fist scan. I was shown what the machine was like,  through a window into the main room and how I would lie on the bed with my head out though the end of the machine as the camera revolved around me. I have to admit I don't like being enclosed in a small space and get mildly claustrophobic as a result.

So, I sat and waited for the hour. I had to drink water, for whatever reason. I could have eaten something, but I wasn't hungry but I currently don't have an appetite. I had eaten earlier, before I had left home, at around 10.45. Some people waiting with me had bought food with them but I just couldn't face a thing. They had a television on to watch, an ancient edition of 'Bargain Hunt' on the Really channel, not a channel I would normally watch, and then what seemed like endless episodes of 'Homes Under The Hammer.' I attempted to read, as I had a book with me, but I couldn't concentrate on it, so I gave up.

When the hour was up (and goodness, how it did drag. Really boring, unfortunately.) I was called in to the next room for the scan. I had my blood pressure taken. I had to lay on the bed within the scanning machine. They put something under my legs to raise them slightly. I think I had pads put on my chest, that connect you to an E.C.G. I had to slide right back and put my head out the other side of the machine and raise my arms and put my hands behind my head. To be honest, I didn't like it. I don't like enclosed spaces. The actual camera part of the machine encircled the whole bed with me on it and my chest had to be under the camera. Fortunately they had music playing, from Classic FM, so as the machine started I could concentrate on that and not on the humming, whirring machine as it kept circling me. Also, the whole procedure took around 10 minutes, not a moment more or a moment less. I had to lay completely still. My arms began to get cramp and I wanted to stretch my legs, but I had to keep perfectly still. Then one of the nurses said that the procedure was over. Thank goodness. The thing began to stop revolving and I was able to be moved down the bed so that I could sit up. I then sat on the edge of the bed and the pads were removed from my chest and I could leave the room, and had to drink water as I sat outside. I was told I should eat something, but I didn't feel hungry and really had no appetite, although someone sitting near me in the waiting room had food with him in a bag and kept eating fruit and other things.

So, another hour elapsed. Again, watching television and being generally bored. Once the hour was over I hd to go into another room. I had to take off my shirt while they connected me to more pads, which went to a computer which showed E.C.G. readings. I had to stand on a treadmill and walk, at first at a slow pace and then they gradually increased the speed. I had to hold on to a handrail, and walk steadily. The speed of the treadmill was increased and I managed to keep walking steadily, but I began to feel a tightness in my chest, but they made me keep on walking. One of the nurses put something into my arm through the canula in my right arm. No doubt more radioactive substance but I think it was more likely something to make my heart beat faster, probably adrenaline, but I'm not sure. I had a stress test done at Milton Keynes hospital in the cardiology department several years ago and they did something similar whilst doing a sonic scan of my heart and the adrenaline or whatever it was made my heart beat faster. I think this new test was similar to that. As I got more and more tightness in my chest they slowed down the treadmill until it stopped, but frankly it was stressing me somewhat and I was relieved when it was over. I know when I'm out walking when to slow down or stop to rest, whenever I feel some tightness in my chest, so it was with this test.

I got off the treadmill and they took the pads off my chest and I went back to the waiting area.

Another hour to wait. Or perhaps a bit more. I attempted to text James, but by now my mobile showed that I had little battery-life in it. I decided to turn the thing off, otherwise if the battery failed I wouldn't have enough power to text James to let him know I had finished and where to pick me up from.

It was well over an hour by the time I went into the room with the gamma camera in it (I've been looking at the literature I was sent prior to going for this procedure and that is what the machine is called.) I had my blood pressure done again. By now (it was around 5.15p.m.) I was heavily sick of the whole thing, feeling really tired (which is an effect of having had a heart attack, so nothing new there.) I had to lay on the bed thing in the machine and my legs were lifted it up with a sort of bolster thing. Not sure why, although perhaps it helps my blood circulate better for the camera. Then I had to put my head back as far as I could out the back of the machine and put my hands behind my head. Again the machine started. But this time the operator left the room. I didn't get far into the procedure, unfortunately. I had my eyes closed as I had the first time round, but then I opened them and saw how close the camera thing was to me and I'm afraid to say on here that I got a horrible panic attack. I just can't stand being enclosed, I've mentioned it on here earlier. I just freaked out and in the process I move my position. I continued with the procedure, but when it had finished the nurse said that because I'm moved it had ruined the results of the scan. I would need to do it again. I explained that I'd had an awful panic attack and the staff did understand. I didn't want to have gone all the way to Oxford for this procedure and then not have it completed successfully. They said to me that next time someone would be with me during the next run with the gamma camera, and it wouldn't be so long, perhaps seven minutes. So, I agreed to have a second attempt and this time it went well, with the nurse talking to me throughout. The earlier attempt wasn't pleasant and I just hope that I don't have to have another scan like it. Just don't like being in enclosed spaces like that.

So, that was the final scan, thank goodness. I packed up my things and had to open up my mobile, which even than had very little battery power. I managed to text James (by now it was about 5.35 p.m.) and attempted to walk to the hospital reception area, where I'd come in earlier. I walked along a really long corridor, expecting it to lead out of the building, but I came to a set of double doors which I couldn't open, it requiring a card to swipe to get it to open, which I didn't have. No doubt a member of the hospital staff would have such a card, but I obviously didn't. I walked back the way I'd come, a long walk, and I wasn't feeling 100%, so it was hard work. I used a lift and hoped I would get back to the level which lead out to the reception area. I eventually got there, James having said earlier in a text that he was now back on the hospital site. I decided to walk out of the building and thankfully I saw his car drawing up down at the road-level. So I got into his car and we began the journey home, arriving back at our house at around 7.15. I was so grateful to James for his kindness to drive me to Oxford and for the successful conclusion of what was a very long and tiring day.

Checking On Ashfield, (and other matters)

(Monday)Because I have had some changes to my medication, since I had my recent heart attack and was cared for in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, I needed to check that our doctor's surgery at Ashfield Medical Centre had received the letter from the hospital which has a list of the amendments. I just don't trust them to have this organised so that, when I need to put in a repeat prescription I get the new drugs on the list. We drove to Beanhill and went into the surgery and I asked as the reception desk whether the amendments had been made to my medication and the receptionist looked on the computer system and it had been up-dated, which means our GP had received the information plus a letter from the John Radcliffe which I'd received recently regarding my heart attack last week.

(Wednesday) I'm still managing to find the remains of the adhesive that they use to stick those contacts on your body when you have to have an E.C.G. when your in hospital, on my body, usually where you can't get at it easily. It's a sort of sticky residue which will wear off given time, but it's quite difficult to get off except when you use soap and water. I found I still had several of these contacts on me when I got home from hospital.

I'm still suffering somewhat from a dry cough, caused, I'm almost certain, as a side effect of some of my medication. I do occasionally get a twinge in my chest, no doubt caused by the stent, but it soon settles down. Certainly not as bad as any angina attack. I still have bruises on both my knees which were caused when I collapsed in church. A bit black and blue, the right knee is more swollen than the left and a good deal more painful. It has been difficult to bend but I can walk a good deal easier than when I first left hospital. I seems odd, but when I was supposed to have had a heart attack, in all honesty I can't remember any real pain as it was going on, no shooting pains up my arms as you're supposed to experience.  When I had my first heart attack in 2006 there was definite excruciating pain then and afterwards, when I left hospital after a week I could barely walk. This time I was able to walk without any problems. After the stent was fitted I was very drugged, no doubt as a result of local
anaesthetic, and felt really horribly woosy for some time and couldn't walk unaided, but it soon wore off, thank goodness. At one point it seemed as if the whole room was spinning round and round. Quite unpleasant. I had to sit down and rest before it went off.  I also have a bruise on the left of my forehead which is somewhat painful to the touch but not too bad at the moment. When I was in hospital they did check these injuries out but they decided that there was nothing serious in them.

On the weather-front, it's a somewhat overcast sort of day (as I write this at 8.00 a.m. on Wednesday 12th September.) I'm not sure whether we'll get sunshine today as it's sort of cloudy and I think it rained slightly overnight as the ground outside is damp.

I've had a telephone call this morning from the Cardiology department at Milton Keynes Hospital checking me out to see how I am after my heart attack. It would appear that the John Radcliffe in Oxford have been in contact. I had a short interview to discover how I am at the moment and I bought up the matter of the dry cough and the lady I was speaking to said it would be a side-effect of the Ramipril, one of the additional medications I am currently on since being in hospital. So, at least I know where this cough is coming from, considering I'm not feeling inwell due to a cold or 'flu. She said that I could ask my doctor to change this medication, but I mustn't stop taking the Ramipril. She asked me about diet and then gave me an appointment for next Monday at 9.20 a.m. As it's only a 10-15-minute walk to the Cardiology department from our home at least there should be no problem either finding the department or finding it. We have usually entered the hospital through Cardiology when we've been to the oncology unit when Carol was having her chemotherapy sessions. All this showing how rapidly the various N.H.S. departments have got on my case to get me up-and-running with rehab.

Emergency Trip To The John Radcliffe In Oxford- Part 3

I can't remember exactly when I had several canulas put into one of my hands and my left hand. I think this may have been done when I was in the ambulance when travelling to Oxford. They are used to connect you to drips and in several cases to take blood. Also, I had several contacts stuck to my chest and other points on my body which were used to connect me to a monitor for heart beat and other body functions. A bit annoying that I had to contend with the cables when I lay in bed and had to disconnect them when I needed to go to the toilet and then the connection block got in the way and could be incredibly uncomfortable. Then the monitor, which all patients in the ward had these over their beds or at least nearby and they also gave off incredibly annoying bleeps which made it incredibly difficult to sleep. Not just these monitors, but many other electronic devices within the ward. There seemed no way you could either reduce their volume or turn them off completely.

It was odd not seeing the other patients in the unit. Being in a single room meant I was somewhat cut off from others on the ward. You could see people being moved around as they were shunted around in their beds. A bit like I was, all my belongings (such as they were. Not a lot, but still put in a large plastic bag) and then pushed by either a nurse or a porter to the vacant place on the ward.

Monday.

You get worken early in any hospital. I think I was awake already, but because there's always some noise on a ward, monitors buzzing along with outer machinery, staff moving about (they do try their hardest not to wake people) and the fact that I had a blood pressure cuff on which kept on automatically inflating to take my blood pressure during the night, I don't think I got a particularly good night's sleep. Then they begin to come round doing patients' 'obs' and at around 7.30-8.00 someone comes round with tea or coffee and breakfast. But for some reason you don't get toast, which i would have liked. A pity, but I bet the old Health and Safety rears it's ugly head, perhaps because of the possibility of fire, over-heating etc etc. Some wards I've been on had toasters in their kitchens, so it would have been out of the way to prevent accidents.

At around 10.00-10.15 I was visited by one of the doctors and given a brief explanation of what had happened to me and it was by then that I had actually had a heart attack myocardial infarction, to give it the correct name.) He explained what the stent was there for and the new medication I would be put on as a result of my recent episode. He had quite a lot of information which came from various E.C.Gs which had already been taken, as well as from my blood pressure and so on. You get regular observations ('obs'), taken by the nurses, covering temperature, blood pressure and heart rate, all taken with digital equipment. I was told by the doctor that I could possibly go home the next day (Tuesday) but I would be having a scan which would show the state of health of my heart and from this they could decide whether I could drive after a week or a month from having the heart attack on Sunday.

I was told that I would be in hospital until at least Wednesday. Not much to do. I had no books to read, no mobile phone, so I couldn't speak to Carol and there wasn't any television to watch, unless you had access to the in-hospital system which required you to pay, and similar to the dreadful Hospicom service at Milton Keynes Hospital. Also, I had no cash on me, nor either of our debit cards, so I couldn't even buy a newspaper.

I had breakfast on the ward. As I've mentioned, it's quite difficult to sleep with all the noises going on in the night, so I'm usually awake early. Partly because, having been bought up on a farm, life starts early so I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me. I'm a morning sort of person anyway. You get offered tea from a trolley and they come round regularly with the trolley and there's always water to drink with medication. No fear of dehydration. You have to fill in a menu for the next day's meals, lunch and dinner. Usually a fairly good selection of options.

Later in the day, probably 9.30-10.00 I was told I would be moving out of the single, en suite room and moving down to the Cardiac Rapid Response Unit, which is on the ground floor of the department. Everything was bundled up and I was pushed out of the room by a nurse and a porter, taking me down in a life and along a long corridor. Eventually entering the more open ward, with 6 beds in it, each bed facing another bed. It made a real change from being in a single room and it made a change to have other patients around. It was beginning to get slightly claustrophobic where I was. Much more space to inhabit that was the general amount of space patients were expected to inhabit in Milton Keynes Hospital.

Tuesday. Another night of attempting to sleep, due to the noises on the ward. But this wasn't really much of a problem, because I could sleep all day if necessary.  I was again told about the scan, an echocardiogram, or 'Jelly Scan' as Carol told me when I phoned later. Then I had the problem of how I was to get home. I asked one of the nurses whether I would have transport back to Milton Keynes but I was told that I couldn't have transport because I lived outside their official catchment area. A bit unfair, seeing how I had no choice of where I was taken by the paramedics after my heart attack. So I spoke to Carol via telephone and she said she would speak to Ross, Pastor at S.C.F. and he would come later to pick me up. Which is what happened.

The echocardiogram was done. I was expecting to go to another department to have this done, but a technician came with a portable machine and he did the scan with me laying on the hospital bed, with he curtains drawn around me. It's also referred to as a 'Jelly Scan' because they use a sort of jelly to put on your chest so that the probe device can slide across your skin more easily. I think it was KY Jelly, but I'm not sure.

The admin staff on the ward did the paperwork for myself, giving details of my care and my health condition which would also be sent to my GP at Ashfield Medical Centre as well as ordering additional medication and details of how it was to be administered. It was some while before the scan was analysed and I was told by one of the doctors that my heart looked healthy enough and that I would be able to drive after a week and not a month.

Around 3 o'clock Ross and Carol arrived on the ward. I wasn't too sure how long it would take them to drive over from Milton Keynes. So, having been given a bag full of the new medications, which had been sent from the hospital pharmacy, we walked out of the ward and out to the carpark and to Ross's car and we left Oxford to drive home to Milton Keynes.

I'm feeling fairly well, having undergone the trauma of the heart attack. I must have collapsed quite heavily, because I have bruises on both knees as well as the left side of my forehead and all these bruises are really painful and make walking quite uncomfortable and as I write this (4.00 p.m. on Thursday) they are beginning to come out quite blue and the pain is going off.

730th blog post: Ashfield Surgery Appointment and Over-night stay at Milton Keynes Hospital

Over the course of the past six weeks or so I have been experiencing a rather nasty pain in my chest, rather like an angina attack, bought on by some form of exertion, such as walking. It usually goes off with rest. This happened a few weeks ago when we went to Stowe Landscape Garden and started up as we walked back to the car. I had to stop and sit and it gradually went off. It also happened again last Friday after we'd been to the restaurant for a meal with Carol's work colleagues and we were walking back to the car. It's almost like a sort of 'spike' of pain, as I say, similar to an angina attack. I have used my G.T.N. spray which is supposed to relieve an angina attack.The G.T.N. doesn't seem to make much difference to reducing the discomfort.  I was prescribed insoborbide mononitrate last time I was admitted to Milton Keynes Hospital when I had an angina attack which didn't subside after a particular bad attack. It has a similar effect to G.T.N. spray as it makes your blood vessels open up to allow a better flow of blood and so reduce pain. I had got to the point where I was really suffering with this discomfort but was reluctant to go to the doctor because we have been going there quite a lot recently, and in particular, after the last few weeks with Carol's medical problems. I was prompted to get advice for this situation when I went to Sainsbury's pharmacy to collect a repeat prescription and the pharmacist did a review of my medication (as they do every six months or so.) I managed to mention this chest pain and he said that perhaps it was caused by one of my current medications, such as bisoprolol, which helps maintain a slower heart rhythm and possibly the dosage I'm on needs reducing or increasing and that, as a result, I should make a doctor's appointment and discuss this chest pain with my doctor and get him to either increase or reduce the bisoprolol dosage I'm on. So, yesterday morning I decided to ring the surgery to get an appointment with the doctor (or 'a doctor' as there are several doctors at the Ashfield Medical Centre.) As mentioned in an earlier post on here, they have changed the appointments procedure and you now have to ring and go through a sort of 'triage' system so that they can decide which medical problem are more urgent than others and then get  a doctor to telephone back to discuss the problem and then make an appointment for later in the day. I eventually go through at around 10 o'clock. Then a doctor rang me around 45 minutes later and I was able to discuss the chest pain to him and as a result was given an appointment at the surgery at 4.30 yesterday afternoon.

When I got to the surgery the first thing I realised as soon as I got through the door was that the computerised check-in system wasn't working. You're supposed to put the initial of your surname in the program then the month and day of your birthday and it's supposed to bring up yout appointment-time and the doctor your're booked with. But because this wasn't working (it's a common fault that this sytem crashes whenever I need to go to the surgery and sign in with the system.) so I had to queue up and check in with one of the receptionists. It transpired that I was seeing one of the practise nurses and not a doctor. Having waited for a further ten to fifteen minutes I was called in by the nurse (because the computer system wasn 't working, it meant that the digital display which informs patients when their appointment is ready so you go through to the relevant room.) and then had to explain what I have already described above. I had to have an E.C.G. which is something I've had several times before and when she had the print-out from this it was taken to a doctor elsewhere in the surgery. I had to sit and wait a further ten minutes and she returned to tell me that I would need to go to the hospital.  Which was not exactly what I wanted to hear as I had expected this to be an 'in-out' appointment so I could go home immediately afterwards. She then said that they would need to call for an ambulance to take me. Which seemed amazing since the hospital is barely a five-minute drive away from the surgery. So the ambulance came (within around ten minutes.) and I had to then describe the symptoms of the pain in my chest  to the paramedics and they took notes and took me out to the ambulance and did a further E.C.G. scan and my blood pressure.) We eventually moved off and got to Accident and E I mergency, being taken inside sitting in a wheelchair (which is strange for me, having been a carer, where I often pushed other people around in a wheelchair.) Once at A and E I had to go through the process of describing my symptons yet again. By this time I had called Carol on the phone to let her know where I was and to let her know what was going on. Meanwhile she had arrived in A and E. I was taken to a cubicle and settled in. We were then told that I was likely to be there for around 2 hours. When they insisted that I must wear a hospital gown did I realise that all this was going to take a good deal longer than anticipated. I had to go through the rather unpleasant ordeal of them taking a blood sample. Unpleasant, because, as you know, if you've read any of my previous blog posts, taking a sample of blood has caused stress as well as problems. As it turned out it did cause some problems as the nurse couldn't find a vein that would yield  sufficient for them to sample and consequently it took quite a long time, but eventually it was successful. That done, we had to wait, and wait and wait. It wasn't excessively busy in A and E, so I don't know why they couldn't deal with me quicker. I think they soon realised that my case wasn't particular urgent although, anyone who has a history of heart problems or had a heart attack gets priority which would be one reason why I was taken to A and E so quickly. They then put other patients at the front of the queue and my case was much further down the list which was why I had to wait around 4 hours before anything could be done as regarding what had caused my chest pain. Carol decided that she would need to go home as it was getting late and I would be staying at the hospital over-night. I then was taken to have a chest X-Ray and by the time that was done the doctors could have a look a my notes as well as the X-Ray and blood test results to give a clearer picture of what was going on.

Sometime later, getting on for around 10 o'clock, one of the doctors came to tell me that, having looked at past E.C.G. records and other material they had from earlier hospital visits that there was no evidence to show that what had caused the pain I had been experiencing had anything to do with my heart and that I could go home. But by that time I was really tired and felt that I wouldn't be able to drive let alone walk, even though 'home' was so close. So I rang Carol to say I would be home in the morning. Earlier the doctor had said that whatever it was that had caused the problem had been because things 'had been stable for a long time, but now they had become unstable' but at that time they could not see what it could have been that had caused the pain.' But by now they had decided that the problem wasn't heart-related, which was a relief to me. So, I was moved into a sort of holding ward, away from A and E, as they have to free up beds for incoming patients. Then, having got to sleep and was well settled in for the night, I was woken at around 3 a.m. to be told I was being moved once again, to yet another ward. I was pushed there by a porter and nurse, through the corridors of the hospital, into a ward that reminded me strongly of the C.C.U. at Bedford Hospital (Coronary Care Unit) because it was almost exactly the same sort of configuration of beds with curtains around them and facing one another (I think the Bedford C.C.U. has eight or perhaps six beds, in two blocks, one for men and one for women.) I was once again checked in, with 'obs' (observations) blood pressure, temperature and another E.C.G. I suppose they have to adhere to certain procedures, but by this time it was becoming somewhat annoying. How many times did I repeat the symptoms? It seemed somewhat obsessive. Could they not have kept the various sets of notes and referred to them? Build up a set of notes from each successive examination? It does seem that the N.H.S. is somewhat over-staffed with people pushing bits of paper and in some cases, over-sensitive to such things as targets and statistics, which would be what most of this is about.  I spent a somewhat restless night attempting to sleep, as it was so noisy. Staff walking about, doing such things as 'obs' of other patients and someone talking in the next ward very loud and squeaking trolleys and electronic gadgetry making strange beeps and burps at irregular intervals. But I think I did manage to sleep for two or three hours. At 5.45 my mobile alarm went off, as it's set to that time because we always get up at that time every day, starting off the day with me making us both tea. Incidentally, I didn't get a cup of tea early as I would have expected when I had had to stay in hospital, although we did have tea and a sandwich given us as we waited in A and E, nor did they ask me what medication I was on which was rather a surprise. At 6.30 Carol phoned and said she would come and pick me up later and the doctor re-appeared to reiterate what he had said the previous evening about the pain being unrelated to my heart but at that time they could put a finger on exactly what had caused it. So, I was free to go home. A further lot of 'obs' were done and I got dressed and walked out of the ward. I went to the nurses station to tell them that I was leaving expecting there to be some paperwork to sign or allow me to be discharged. But the staff didn't seem that interested so I walked out. I didn't get so much as a cup of tea when I was on that final ward. I hadn't eaten anything since having the sandwich when we were in A and E. Not so much as a packet of crisps. I'm somewhat surprised. It seems I was totally ignored. They kept an eye on my blood pressure, temperature and so on, but not one offer of something more substantial to eat. When I was a carer I could have been done for neglect if I didn't allow one of my clients a drink or something to eat if they were unable to provide something for themselves. So I'm shocked to think I got nothing except a rather lack-lustre sandwich and a mug of tea. But I got outside and couldn't work out exactly where I was, and certainly not near the front entrance of the hospital as I had expected of even near when I had entered A and E when the parmedics had brought me in in the ambulance. I had a call on my mobile and Carol came and collected me from near where we had gone the other evening when we'd visited the former Walk-In Centre. So, we drove home, to be met by our two dogs, Poppy and Alfie, who were pleased to see me as they were totally confused by having their routine upset when I had gone out and left them alone in the house the previous afternoon.

Doctor's Surgery Appointments and Weird People

I have had a nurse's appointment booked for today a week or two ago at Ashfield Medical Centre. I went with Carol on the Monday of Half Term and was seen by the doctor who wanted me to have a blood test so I had made this appointment then. Carol needed her own appointment today so we got to the surgery at around 7.45 and queued up. The weather was building up. It had been raining earlier but as we stood and waited it was fortunately dry but the clouds were threatening rain. She was able to get her own appointment fairly quickly. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, there is the option to ring in after 8 a.m. for an appointment but you will never have any sort of guarantee that you will actually get through and then get seen that day.  My nurse's appointment was supposed to be at 8.20, but I didn't actually go into the nurse's room until around 8.35. It gave me plenty of time to observe the people waiting in the surgery and queuing up. A lady with some young children with her was just before us outside in the queue before 8. The little girl with her had a scruffy dolly with her and was running around full of energy. The two older boys seemed to do their best to try and ignore her or to at least appear that they weren't anything to do with them. A bit difficult. I think the little girl must have been quite a handful. Most certainly a very demanding little thing. Once we'd sat down in the waiting area the little girl was causing her mother further grief, running around and demanding attention, but not in an unpleasant way. They went off to the doctor when their name came up on he digital screen. When they came back several minutes later the little girl was wearing her mother's wooly hat and proceeded to slide up and down the shiny floor. The mum told her to get up in a commanding voice which lead to the child screaming loudly. They then sat in the waiting area, supposedly to see a nurse or get the results of a test or something.

A somewhat belligerent man came in. Short, stocky, Scottish accent. Went up to the lady on the reception desk and demanded to get an appointment. All at the top of his voice so everyone could hear. If he'd got to the surgery before 8 as we had done he might have been able to get the appointment he wanted (from what I heard, it was for his son who was at work.) I was very impressed by how the lady on reception handled it. The gentleman left, but I'm not sure whether he got his appointment or not, but he was in a far calmer mood than when he came in.

Another odd person wandered into the surgery while we sat and waited. A woman who looked drugged up to the eyeballs. She was dressed in a fleecy dressing gown, tied tightly around the waste and wearing slippers. It looked as if she had just got out of bed and had wandered outside, got lost and turned up in the doctor's reception area. I don't know whether she went in to see a doctor, whether she signed in (incidentally, the automated signing-in computer which is on the wall beside the reception area, was out of order. You had to sign in with either of the two ladies who were on reception.) but she hung around for a while.  Perhaps she wandered back out when I went in for my appointment with the nurse. Anyway, whatever she was there for, if indeed she was there for anything, perhaps to get out of the rain, she wasn't dressed appropriately. Certainly not for a rainy day. And where do all these odd people come from? At one point she went over to the window near the door and leant against the glass, putting her head on her hands. I couldn't tell whether she was tired, just resting there and waiting, thinking whether to stay where she was, or walk out. Just seemed a very odd sort of pose, but considering her odd attire, it might not have appeared quite so odd. 

Carol went in to the doctor's surgery when her name came up and I remained sitting in the waiting area for mine to come up to see the nurse. Then this weird gentleman came in. He was tall, around sixty five, bald, about 5ft 8in tall,  and slim. He had darting eyes. You really didn't want to give him any sort of eye contact. I didn't hear him talk or make any sort of noise. Just had a strange sort of body language. He had a carrier bag with him and came towards me, and moved the chair next to mine several feet away from me.  Why? What had I done wrong? Did he just not like sitting near other people? More likely other people didn't want to sit near him. He gave me a strange look. He had on a sort of wet-weather jacket, sort of zipped up and with a high neck. Also what looked like a bicycle lock on a chain and worn round his neck, so I assumed he had arrived on a bicycle. He then proceeded to sort out the items in his supermarket carrier bag which included a bunch of pink flowers and one of those folding umbrellas, black and glistening with raindrops. I didn't give him eye contact, but from what I could see from the corner of my eye he kept rearranging the items in the carrier bag. He then went up to the girl on the reception desk and was given another carrier bag or something like one and then went back to his chair and started sorting the items from the supermarket carrier into this new bag. 

My name then came up on the digital display and went into the nurse's room. I'm never sure exactly which room to go to as there is a long corridor with doors with 'Nurse's Room' with numbers on, but the one I wanted was the last one along the corridor. I had my blood taken, laying on the couch as I'm prone to passing out, or have done in the past as I have explained in earlier posts on here. Then I had an E.C.G. which I haven't had for quite a while. All present and correct and then left to wait in the waiting room. By now Carol was back, having seen the doctor and having been given two prescriptions for medication. She had been to the pharmacy next door to have the prescriptions made up but it wasn't open so we will have to go back later.

She told me, when we got into the car, that the 'weird gentleman' was behaving very strangely when I had been with the nurse. Apparently he had sat next to her and had sat on the small table in the corner where I had sat earlier and had tried to sit on her lap. Sounds very odd to me. Where was he from? Some mental unit, such as the Campbell Centre, which is within the grounds of the hospital and not far from where we live. I expect the staff in the medical centre are used to him and are aware of his odd behaviour, or at least I hope so. Could put you off if you were to encounter him. Carol told me he went off on his bicycle and had the bunch of flowers sticking out of his saddle bag, and with his umbrella up. Not sure whether he held it over himself as he rode along, but it would seem a bit difficult to ride a bicyle and hold up an umbrella. Weird. We were just glad to get away from the medical centre and to not be in the centre of some outing from some mental institution.

Later on, around 5.30 or so, I had a telephone call from the surgery to say that the doctor had requested me to come for a routing appointment, which has been made for 25th November. Nothing serious, just to get feedback no doubt from the tests that will supposedly be done by then.

Heart, Hospital, and Home . . . Part the First

I've been in hospital again. This will be the fourth time, the first when I had the initial heart attack (MI to give it it's proper technical name. Myocardial Infarction.) and now three more visits to the hospital in Milton Keynes, following bouts of chest pain caused by angina. The first time was when I woke in the night and had to go to the loo (as one does . . .) I think it was brought on by cold that time. The second bout was when I was working for Guardian and had to lift a wheelchair in and out of my car. I then had to go to hospital when the pain didn't subside. This third bout started two weeks ago. On the Monday the pain returned, and didn't go away. I used the Nitrolingual spray as usual, three puffs under my tongue, but the pain continued.   Carol said that I should make an appointment to see the doctor. I was somewhat baffled by the fact that I haven't had any sort of appointment with the cardiology department at MK Hospital in months and months, not some sort of follow-up after the last hospital visit. Then it occurred to me that they might have written, but that any letter that was sent had gone to our old address, which would explain things. Anyway, Daniel (my Stepson) told me off for not going, so I went to the surgery as soon as it opened, but they couldn't see me that day, and the receptionist said that she'd get one of the doctors to telephone me. I was then told off for not ringing 999 if I had chest pain. I went home, and later in the morning I did get a call from one of the doctors, and he said that he'd need to refer me to the cardiology department at the hospital for an appointment. Again, I was told, if the pain came back (as, by this time, it had gone off.) I was to ring for an ambulance immediately.

Anyway, things were fine for the rest of that day, Monday, until Wednesday lunchtime, I was about to sit down and do some reading, doing nothing very active or in any way shape or form or indeed, what you'd call strenuous, when the pain came back. I used the Nitrolingual spray, and just sat and waited for it to take effect. It is supposed to take about five minutes, but it didn't work. I tried it again, and after a further five minutes it didn't make any difference, the tightness in my chest continued.

At around 3 p.m. I was beginning to get somewhat anxious, and memories of the original heart attack came back, and when the spray had no effect on the pain, I rang 999.   By the time I got through to the operator I was hyperventilating, and I was told to chew three asprin (I take soluble asprin as part of my medication.) They taste bad enough when dissolved in water, but chewing them in your mouth is nasty, to say the least! I gave details of what was going on, and I was told to have the front door open ready for the ambulance to arrive. I was concerned for the dogs, so I got them into the kitchen and shut the door. Poppy is o.k., but I know that, if Alfie gets out he will run off up the road, although he will suddenly realise that he doesn't like it outside, and on his own, and then run home. But he has no sense of danger and would get run over. Apart from that, he would be in the way when the paramedics arrived.

At this point I was concerned that, if I was going to be taken to hospital, I would have to lock up the house, and that Carol would wonder where on earth I was. I imagine that she would have worked out where I'd gone, and she would be thinking all the wrong things, so I decided to phone the mobile (which she had taken to work with her, with exactly this eventuality in mind.) I rang the number, and all I got was my voice on the voicemail! I have done a somewhat sarcastic voice which greets callers when they decide to leave messages for us. I left a message, but was still concerned that she hadn't answered, and, besides that, I never trust these answering services and prefer to speak to someone direct.

Within barely five minutes of my dialling 999 a car marked 'ambulance' drew up outside the house, and a lady paramedic came to the door and came inside the house. I was surprised by the speed of her arrival, but then I realised that there was no excuse as regards getting here as the hospital is only a short distance, away infact our house is immediately behind Milton Keynes hospital. She connected me to an E.C.G. so as to do a heart-check. She ran the checks and then the proper paramedics arrived. I have never had a PRE-PARAMEDIC arrive first before the actual ambulance arrived. She handed over and then it was up to the two male paramedics to decide whether I needed to go to Accident and Emergency.

Then they told me, unbelievably, that I  might be going to Oxford Hospital, rather than Milton Keynes, which seemed odd, considering how far away we were from Milton Keynes Hospital. We went outside into the ambulance which was parked immediately outside the house, and they connected me to their own E.C.G. machine. It was from this reading that they decided I should go to A and E. In the end they informed me that we were going to Milton Keynes Hospital to have me checked out, as this is the procedure for anyone with a history of heart problems, and particularly someone like me, who has had a heart attack.

By now I was beginning to get concerned that Carol hadn't got my message and would worry where I was. I told the paramedics, and they told me that, once I got to A and E one of the nurses there could ring her.

I was able to lock the house up just before the ambulance drove out of the estate.

I had nothing with me as regards staying over-night in the hospital. Under any other circumstances I would have prepared some sort of bag with pyjamas, toothpaste, toothbrush and shaving things, as well as some sort of reading material, my iPod and something else to keep me occupied, as my previous experience of being in hospital is that I get extremely bored and need these things to take my mind off the boredom, but I was unable to organize any of these items. In any case, my iPod wasn't charged up, and I hadn't put anything on it that I could listen to in hospital.

It didn't take very long to get to the hospital. Well, it isn't that far, but it's odd being driven somewhere when you can't see where you're going, so I'm not exactly sure which way we went out of the estate and then which way we went into the hospital campus.

 . . . To be continued . . .