Carol Having Surgery . . . Or Possibly Not

Carol has been visited by a whole range of different people during Thursday whilst I was with her. She has continued to be in a great deal of pain and for me it's really difficult to see her struggle with this horrible thing and not be able to do anything to help. During the afternoon she was visited by the palliative care team who are involved in managing the pain. Then some of the doctors came and did an examination and decided that some of the pain is due to an abscess that would need surgery to drain to relieve the pain it is causing. In very quick succession, barely 20 minutes or so, a surgeon came to see her to discuss this and it was decided that a further scan would be needed to be able to see how things are shaping which should help the surgeon. We were expecting the scan to be during the time I was with her, but, having been on the ward since 10 o'clock I had to leave at around 2.15. Unfortunately I need to get some rest. Carol was concerned that the scan (not exactly sure whether it's a C.T. scan or M.R.I scan.) would mean she would be in a lot of pain because of laying on the bed they use for this procedure, although the doctor in charge of her pain said that they would give her extra medication to help relieve this, but it would be no use if they didn't know more or less exactly when the scan would be because it takes at least 20-30 minutes before the medication takes effect. 

The surgeon came back with the paperwork for consent to the surgery and this was duly signed by Carol and he discussed further the procedure that would be involved. As I write this (7.35a.m) we're not entirely sure what time the operation will be, but apparently after 8a.m. So I'm not sure exactly what time she's likely to be back from the  operating theatre and, no doubt, awake after the anaesthetic. As a result I will have to contact the ward to discover all this or to get them to telephone me when she's back on the ward.

Anyway, I still managed to take Alfie out for his usual walk (well, it's a walk for me, but more like a trot for him, whilst all of the time he's yapping excitedly.) Yesterday we didn't go, because I just didn't feel 100%. Just one of those days, unfortunately. Nothing bad, just that some mornings my medication can make me feel queasy. A surprisingly mild morning. Eaglestone Park looking more than ever autumnal. The days are beginning to draw in and it's getting dark earlier and the mornings darker, longer. If Alfie had his way he'd be going out in the dark, but it wouldn't be such a good idea, so going out at around 7.15 is a good deal more sense.

Later. 8.50a.m. Carol has now texted me and apparently she's not having the operation. No doubt they've looked at the scans and decided against operating to drain the abscess. Not sure at the moment exactly what's going on and probably won't know until I go into the ward a bit later this morning. All a bit up in the air, as you might expect.

Later still. It's now almost 3 o'clock and I'm back home from being with Carol for most of the day. She appeared to be much brighter than over the past couple of days. We can't quite understand what happened regarding the surgery which had been planned over the last 24 hours. Infact, Carol hadn't eaten since early yesterday because of the expected surgery. She had a  C.T. scan late yesterday evening and I presume the surgeons looked at the results and decided that surgery was unnecessary and wouldn't benefit Carol. They say an abscess didn't show up on the scan. So, I don't know what to make of this. What surprises me is that none of the nursing staff on Ward 19 were aware that the operation had been postponed. It seems there is a communication problem between the nurses and the doctors. Which is crazy, considering it is them who have to deliver the care to their patients on the ward. The pain doctor had prescribed stronger pain relief medication but this will take several days to arrive from the hospital pharmacy, and it is likely that Carol won't get this until probably Monday at the earliest. Which makes it seem rather pointless if they can't get it to her quicker. Just another problem that needs to be ironed out and I can now see why the N.H.S. has so many problems if these sorts of situations arise.

So, amidst all this, no nearer to having Carol discharged from hospital at the moment, unfortunately, but there's no point her coming home until they've got on top of the pain and to be hones, being in hospital is the best place at the moment.

Later still. About 8.30 this evening Carol rang. She said that Dr Saka, the Oncology consultant, arrived on the ward. It seemed quite late, but he is an incredibly busy man and no doubt found it difficult to fit in all his patients, but his office is just below Ward 19, within the Macmillan unit. He will be coming back between 11 and around 3 on Tuesday so I want to make sure I'm there when he comes.

Ward 19 seems very noisy. Not just the patients, but the staff seem to make an incredible amount of noise. There is a door immediately outside Carol's room and each time someone goes through it, it makes a slamming sound. Also, a female domestic was cleaning one of the bathrooms or toilets close by and dropping the toilet seat repeatedly, getting really annoying. Then an elderly patient was walking up and down the ward using a Zimmer frame to walk with and it was making a dragging sound as if the wheels hadn't been oiled in years or the brakes were still on (not that the wheels on a Zimmer frame have brakes, but it seemed like they were locked firmly) Anyway, you would think that a ward would be a quiet and peaceful place where you could rest and recuperate, well, that's what I imagine it would be like. If I remember correctly when I had my first heart attack in 2006 and I was on the C.C.U. (Coronary Care Unit) at Bedford Hospital, I'm almost certain they had at least an hour's quiet. Not that it's ever quiet on any hospital ward, what with staff coming and going and new patients being moved in and out.

Even later. Carol rang me on my mobile at home. She told me that Doctor Saka came to see her on the ward. at around 7 o'clock. She asked him about the new chemotherapy treatment which can't proceed until her current situation is under control, the infection, which is being treated with antibiotics as well as the intense pain. He told her the cancer can be treated successfully and that he would be back to see us both on Tuesday between 11a.m and 2p.m., so I will make sure that I am on the ward when he arrives.

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.