Just a little wing, feel free to ignore/flame me

Saw the Doc on December 17th and he said that they weren’t going to amputate my foot ( yay) but that he wanted to refer me to a couple of his colleagues who were ankle specialists. He is a knee specialist but happened to be on duty when I was wheeled in so did the operation that saved my foot. He said he would send the referrals and I would receive the appointments soon.

He suggested, but not promised, that once they had seen the details of the ankle and decided what to do the operation would follow quickly, probably in early January.

I hop away a happy man.

I get an appointment letter a few days later for January 2nd. I am pleased. I turn up and sit around for the standard 2.5hours late running appointment. I walk in an it is the same consultant I saw in December. A little surprised I ask what the other consultants he was referring me to had said but apparently it was Christmas so no one had spoken or done anything.

Why was I told to come in for the appointment? To keep me informed that there was no progress!

I understand people take time off over Christmas but what a waste of time yesterday was. I have chased up the consultants myself and one is on holiday until next Monday and the other is home in Egypt but no one is sure when he is coming back.

I am tempted to get the Dremel and a few Ti screws an do it myself. 3 months has never felt so long and to be then told nothing has happened in the last 3 weeks really grates.

Anyway, just thought I would share my frustration

Hope the foot clears up soon and 2013 is the best ever!

Hmm not brilliant that. I can see why you’re frustrated, bit of a communication of failure there – something which seems to happen too often in the nhs….

I ended up talking through the next steps with the consultant and getting him to start doing them.

Me:what will happen next?
Him: you will see a specialist
Me : what will they do?
Him : review the x rays and operation notes and decide what operation is required
Me : so I can be operated on the day after I see them?
Him : no, they will need an MRI scan first to see what blood supply is there
Me : can you book that now please
Him : okay
Me : anything else needed before the operation?
Him : ct scan, shall I book that now too?
Me : probably best, anything else?
Him : I don’t think so, possibly blood tests but they will have to decide those
Me : thanks. When are my scans due?
Him : um, I will request them now shall I? I could mark them urgent if you want.
Me : thank you

NHS, presume? (Not that there’s anything bad about the NHS, I might add – just that privately, things get sorted so much quicker).

One NHS consultant and one private/NHS consultant.

I have been using both NHS and private to see the same consultant. I am hedging my bets on which will get results first.

NHS for the emergency op and a couple of post op check ups and then private for on going check ups and planning the reconstruction.

The main difference is the private appointments happen at the time agreed and last the agreed duration.

WCA I saw a bloke on something in Sainsburys that I thought might interest you. It was like a kids scooter but instead of standing on it you rested your knee and lower leg on it and used the good leg to walk/propel you. It had handlebars and brakes and looked to be made out of metal with an 18″ padded knee/leg rest. It looked like you could get up to quite a speed on it.

You have probably already found one on your quest to be more mobile but I will have a quick google to see if I can find it.

Here you are this sort of thing.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=knee+rest+scooter&rlz=1C1CHFX_enGB496GB496&sugexp=chrome,mod%3D8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=4nrlULCDDrDY0QWV84G4DQ&biw=1280&bih=939&sei=53rlUI2jJsSm0AXV3oC4Bw

I had an haematology appointment today due to suspected lymphoma, they were ultrasounded last month, saw no blood flow, suspected that they were cysts and i should see the GP to get them removed, ace.

So i got a letter 2 weeks ago saying i had an appointment today, went in and they took my blood pressure, took a load of bloods and sat around for a bit until i saw the consultant. Apparently the ultrasound tech thinks they’re cysts, i need to see my GP and book in to get them removed.

£3 for the carpark 🙁

L ache – I have a specially modified crutch made by someone on here that has a second leg and a knee rest fitted. Sort of like the wheels kneeler you show but less cumbersome around the house and office. Thanks for the though though.

Scaled – not just me the. £20 in taxis because I can’t drive and rather than seeing he consultant at the general hospital where he works, and 2 minutes from my house. We all troop across Southampton to a different hospital because that is where the nurse clinic is. If they decide you need bloods taking you then have to go back across town to the general hospital as they can’t take blood at the South Hants but you do have to go to the south Hants to get the results.

I am making taxi men happy

i feel your pain re the appointments
twice i got myself to the hospital for an outpatients appointment, 20mins early to allow for the queue at reception, only to be told that within the last 24hrs, my appointment has been moved to a different town, they were surprised that I hadnt had the letter yet!

I am tempted to get the Dremel…

What attachment would work best do you think?

I’m surprised you’re thinking of using a dremel. You’ve got much bigger tools in your garage that could be used!

Just got the two appointments through. 29th and 31st of january