So I forgot to write a post when I found out about the appointment that was made, I was booked in for the 9th to get my surgery, I didn’t have much that needed to be done. All I had to do prior was to get a list of meds and not to take one of my tablets from the day before.
As before I was expecting something to happen to get it postponed like every other appointment with them but as time went on and closer to the date I got a more and more hopeful that it was actually going ahead.
I had my hospital bag all ready but needed to add some more stuff as I’d be staying at my parents afterwards. On Tuesday I was at my normal hospital appointment and it seemed to go smoothly enough, gave bloods and then round to get my infusion. Although at that stage there was a bit of a hiccup. After the cannula came out I went round to the waiting area again before seeing the doctor and my arm felt wet, I went into the toilets and had a look and the hole for the cannula hadn’t clotted and was pouring down my arm. I spent a bit of time cleaning that up and by the time I was done it had clotted so didn’t need another plaster.
Went back and sat down and a few mins later was called, just a quick chat and told them about getting the hip replacement on Friday, which they were pleased about and then booked in for the next appointment in 4 weeks. I normally go to my parents, which I did but this time I brought the hospital bag with the extra clothes and had a load of stuff for the dump too.
I decided that I would stay over at my parents early to make sure that I had everything that I needed, rather than coming down on the Thursday night and then finding out that I didn’t have x,y or z and not being able to get it myself. Because of this I had to head home to get the last few things that I knew I needed and on the way there I called to the dump.
I picked up my stuff and on the way back to the parents I called into Burger King. First one I’ve had in quite a while and used the voucher on the app.
All was going grand although sitting on a different seat than I’m used to, I found it hard to get comfortable and was sore and the bed was obviously different too which will take a bit of getting used to.
Thursday I got a call from a private number and I thought great here we go… but thankfully it was the pharmacist checking what tablets and doses I was on and not a cancellation.
And now Friday the day of the surgery, I got up washed ready and had everything all sorted and my mum took me over, waited a little and then was brought up to the ward. In the lift there was a crowd all going to the same place, 5a and the nurse said “turn left, then right”. So I was first out of the lift and turned left and that was 6a/b and I turned right 180 degrees and there it was 5a rolls eyes, on into the ward and was taken to my bay, thankfully I was in a side room by myself, seemed warm enough but the chair was a bit too high and was hurting my legs but it was bearable. Bloods were taken and was told I was third on the list and would be getting operated at about 12.
Now it was just a matter of waiting, my mum stayed for a while and then headed on and about 11 the nurse came in to tell me to get changed into the gown and in to bed which I done, a bit more waiting and then at 11.25 the surgeon came in…
“I have some bad news, with your admission into hospital in January…”
“Err when? Last year?”
“Oh 23 not 24?”
“No it was over a year ago I was last in hospital, I was there on Tuesday to get my IGG but not admitted”
The surgeon rushes out and I hear him shouting “Hold the phone!!”
I didn’t hear anything more for over half an hour so wasn’t really sure what was going on but when he eventually came back he popped his head in the door and gave me a thumbs up and said it was a mix up with the dates and we were still going ahead
Maybe I am actually going to get this done today!!
But as it was well after 12 and as I was waiting on him coming back there was someone already taken away in the bed, guessed I’m no longer 3rd on the list and each was roughly 2 hours so I thought it would be 2 at the earliest to get brought down.
Time went on and no word and eventually at about 1.50 the porter came in “Hi I’m here to take you down to surgery”. Great!! He put up the side rails and raised the bed, “I’m just waiting on (insert name) to help bring you down”, as he was saying that the nurse came in and said that the bloods that were taken before 8am, 6 hrs ago, had hemolyzed and they would have to be redone. These bloods were for irradiated blood which I need as I’ve had a bone marrow transplant and stem cell transplant.
The bloods need to be sent to another hospital and the irradiated bloods made and sent over so that would take quite a while and they aren’t going to do the surgery without it being there. By this stage the porter had left and it was after 2 so my hopes of getting it done then had vanished and diminishing that I’d get the surgery at all that day along with them.
Eventually after 2.30 the surgeon and anesthetist came in and I knew what was going to happen, even without all the priors the look on their faces told me. The surgery was canceled. Despite knowing and playing out the whole charade it still took a minute to process it and then it hit me, I don’t think that it was the fact that it was canceled I think it was the whole being let down, again by them, every appointment I’ve had with them has been postponed and I actually thought when the porter was there to actually take me to surgery that it was going to be the first appointment that actually went ahead.
But no.
I’m not angry or annoyed at anyone, but the whole process. I’m just fed up with it, and not exactly the time wasted but the false hope and inability to trust anything they say or do. I had already lost that from the previous appointment but to still believe that maybe just maybe there was a bit of redemption to be made…
I just really couldn’t be assed with it all, but it’s a means to an end and I don’t have any other realistic alternatives. It’s just another thing on a long list of things.
The next possible available slot is on the 26th, which isn’t too far away but it’s not when I was booked in and waited for 8 hours. And even that is just a possibility as his secretary is off until the 19th and there may not even be any space. I don’t think I should store any faith in that being the case and will just wait, again.
Just to add to my great luck with hospitals I had a check to make sure the date was right for my next normal appointment and instead of it being the requested 4 weeks, they’ve booked me in in 5 weeks and will have to chase that up as I’m booked in to get treatment on the 4th week and there’s absolutely no way I’m wasting a different morning just to get bloods taken and asked if I’m ok and be sent on.
My parents came and picked me up and we headed back to theirs, I just wanted silence and peace to process things. I just wanted home, to sit comfortably in my chair and watch what I wanted on tv with no interruptions and despite their good intentions of trying to distract me from silence, it was not how I wanted it and after saying over and over that I was going home my mum was insistent that I was staying. I had packed and everything brought down and was sitting in my coat and she was still, “what do you want in the chippy?”, “but this”, “but that”.
Anyway I got home and didn’t have to spend a second day packing while I was recovering from that busy day. I was already suffering by that stage with a sore head, caused by the lack of fluids and medications.
This continued this morning but a lot worse, it was like a severe hangover despite it being over 14 months now since my last drink. It is easing now though with things starting to return to normal with getting my meds and plenty of fluids in me.
Well that’s everything with me my end for now, I have a feeling though that something will happen in the next couple of weeks that’ll put off the surgery on the 26th but hopefully the next you hear I have that appointment ready to go ahead.
But now it’s a weekend of sport and I get to watch the Arsenal game and the Super Bowl!