This week has been extraordinary in experiencing what could be the best and worst of the NHS. So, getting straight in…..
The worst
As I was discharged from hospital, I was told my prostate operation would be done as a matter of urgency. In fact a provisional appointment had apparently been penciled in for 23 May which has been and gone.
So a few times I have called the hospital, having now sussed out the relevant medical secretary who manages the waiting list. It is so frustrating for me not knowing when the operation will be.
They have confirmed I’m on the waiting list. When I asked about needing to have the operation done urgently I was simply told ward based consultants can say whatever they like to make the patient feel cared for. However the doubt in my mind was the definition of “urgent”. So I asked what “urgent” meant to them.
“Everybody is urgent, you’re no more urgent than anyone else” said the medical secretary. The standard waiting time is three months and, as was pointed out to me, I’m already a month or so through that. This last comment might have been well meaning but hasn’t really helped. In fact I was a bit narked at this or, at worst, patronised. The medical secretary did agree to contact the consultant who will be overseeing the operation and let me know. So far I’ve heard nothing. Grrrrrr.
My biggest fear is being on a waiting list and never moving to the top; am I going to have this tube coming out of me forever? I don’t really know the hospital system and ways of doing things, therefore it is hard to know how to move forward on this, other than to call quite often for the same kind of conversation.
The best
The best has come from two rather awkward situations. I had notice some debris in the plastic tube carrying my urine into the night time bag. Mostly bits of light grey fluffy bits floating down the tube. I was curious, with a catheter you quickly become an expert in your own urine flow rates and the colour of said urine! You quickly notice any changes.
On Thursday I went to work as normal. After I had been there for an hour, my leg back was still empty and not full to bursting point as it normally would be at 10am. I got up from my desk and walked around as this will sometimes get the flow going quite well. Not change. Next stop was the toilet cubicle to make sure there wasn’t a kink in the tube. No kinks.
I went back to my desk and thought about the situation for a few minutes, just to be sure I hadn’t emptied the leg back on auto-pilot. I hadn’t and instead I knew we had a problem, Houston. I decided to act and call the District Nurse service and it was agreed I’d drive home and they’d attend to me. This all worked so well with a District Nurse quickly knocking on the door having been diverted from finishing her shift.
The District Nurse was great. She changed the catheter (which was an eye watering experience) and plugged in a 2 litre night time bag and waited to see the urine flow. It did! Within no time at all I had passed a whopping 2 litres and had to change the bag. Then I went into shock, caused by the kidneys having backed-up urine drain away. The shock is feeling shivery and trembling all over, plus feeling very cold.
We looked at the catheter which had been taken out of me and you could see why. There was a bit of dark coloured gunge, about the size of a grain of rice, wedged into the drainage hole. Phew, I’m pleased that’s out of me!
I had thought the problem had been solved, that was until yesterday. During the day at work I felt increasing more ill, almost flu-like symptoms and it looked like my urine was increasingly cloudy. So I came home and called the District Nurse who recommended I saw a Doctor straight away. I did this via the 111 NHS number and before long I was seeing a local Doctor.
He asked lots of questions, examined me all over, blood pressure and temperature were checked along with a urine sample. He confirmed I had a urine infection and needed antibiotics straight away. The dose was adjusted to take account of my high-six creatinine readings. We drove around to the late night pharmacy who promptly made up the prescription.
So I thought that was pretty damn good. Calling the District Nurse on Thursday, getting my blocked catheter sorted and then seeing a Doctor at such short notice to resolve the infection.
As I tend to look on the bright side of things, I naturally dwell on the positive aspects of my treatment, although I am naturally disappointed I’m still having to wait for my operation. Double Grrrrrr.