Good day Bloggets. Well I’m just starting to come down from
the past few days of emotions. Yesterday morning Hub held me and I just cried. I
was so full of pain what could have happened. People say stop thinking of the
negative, well I say if only they knew my life. They reply. “Yeah I have had it
bad too.”” As I say, if only they knew my past!
It was so difficult yesterday to keep him sitting down. He is
still weak and in pain and his skin is like a pin cushion. He found two new
puncture marks yesterday on his wrist he never knew he had. But to be honest
the last day I visited him, he was out of it most of the day. And during the
night, they did all sorts to him. Including two lots of flushing out with antibiotics.
He has been told it’s best that he doesn’t eat red meat… Result. So, it’s
chicken and fish from now on and to be honest that will be better for him for
so many reasons.
His voice is back to normal now and after the shock of what
happened to him he’s seems to just be happier being well, fitter as my
goodness, he had a full medical. They did every test possible.
I just got very frustrated as everything was so very slow.
If he had the CT scan on day one, they would have known what was going on. He
could have been out on day two rather than the evening of three. It would have
saved us two full day and nights of stress. So much worry. It was only
yesterday Hub let me know that he was scared for his life. He thought he was
going the same way as his poor lovely Mum. As did I. Bless her for months she
was visiting hospitals and they never knew what was wrong with her. It was such
a short time before she died when we learned she had cancer. Sadly, she had a
lot of stress towards the end of her life and I am sure that didn’t help.
But thank God he’s OK. My heart is burning. I’m exhausted,
but I’m so grateful to our maker and eventually the NHS for helping him. It was
the attitude that annoyed me. It was like just whatever. Tomorrow. And I have
no patience! But it was just seeing him so very ill. And waiting hours to learn
what was happening next. And when next came, it didn’t happen. But he’s home
and all is well that ends well. How much this cost the NHS? Goodness knows. How
much did it cost us? Nothing. Totally free. But observing everything over the past
few days I felt myself getting so wound up. The staff work such long hours. 13.
As for Junior Doctors, much more than that. As for nurses and care assistants,
the pay is absolutely shocking. You can earn more as a shop assistant who are not in charge of the
wellbeing of people’s lives. And it seemed like the left hand didn’t know what the
right hand was doing. Too many cooks spoil the broth. By the time they worked
over nine hours, all the paper work they had to do. It’s dangerous working
longer. Peoples buzzers/buttons were going all the time, it took on average
fifteen minutes after Hub pressed his button for anyone to come out, only to
learn that something he needed was missing or they only had one of them on that
ward or they would have to get another member of staff to do whatever. So, taking
another ten or fifteen minutes for that to happen.
The private hospital I was in some years ago, The Spire
hospital, was incredible. I pushed the button and within a minute someone came.
They had an amazing policy where by no one waited longer than a minute and a
half for someone to come to you and it didn’t matter who. It was whoever was
closest to the person needing help. So, whether it be the cleaner, porter or
consultant, nurse or cook, Doctor or receptionist, someone came out. And dealt
with what you needed or got someone who could help more. And even then, you
never waited. It was such a nice environment and you felt as a patient and
visitor so relaxed and safe. I didn’t feel Hub was safe there though the staff
like the nurses and so on were really lovely, it just didn’t have a relaxed
feel probably because they were so tired so stressed themselves. But we paid
nothing. Thanks tour wonderful NHS. It just totally needs revaluating and
people who work for the NHS need to feel more special. More valued and receive
more money. May be give the specialists less money? Managers slightly less
money? I’m not talking loads but if they took may be a couple of thousand
pounds per year from each of them, and put that towards the staff who are
earning £8 per hour? Or make it a nicer place to work by offering less hours,
and benefits to encourage people to work for them. If staff are happy, patients
will be happier, visitors will be much happier and happy hospitals will happen.
More effect things will get done and the slow process will be no longer and
surely beds will become free for the next person because things will just get
resolved faster. Getting better is sometimes all in the mind. If you have
confidence in your carers, your mind will heal your body. Obviously in most
cases, it takes medicine. This was the case for my Husband. But he was so
afraid as was I because we just didn’t have any faith in what was happening. And
even now, I still feel like I can’t totally relax because I’m just wondering
did they get the diagnoses correct. As one evening at half six, the consultant
didn’t have a clue what was wrong with Hub. That night at eleven they started
giving him medication through a drip and the next day, he was told at nine he
would be released as they knew what was wrong, it would just have to be
clarified with a CT scan. And he was home that night. So, from not having a
clue, to knowing within four and a bit hour. Within that time, he had no other
tests, so how did they know? See what I mean?
On Saturday I was so frustrated and wanted Hub to have his
CT scan. He had been promised for two days. That morning I was told that it
could be the next day he would get it. That would be three days. I called a private hospital called the
Nuffield. I learned today as they don’t answer your enquiry by email until the weekend
is over, that he would have to be referred by our GP. Oh, my, if that is the
case, would we have to wait to see our GP? Three weeks before that could happen? That doesn’t fill me with confidence. I thought
you could just turn up. Or at least book over the phone your appointment? I’m
sure that is what we did for me? And it took two days to do that. From the
phone call to me getting admitted. So why not for the Nuffield? Unless you can
ask your GP to call them or email them to refer you and you don’t need to see
your GP first? Something I need to look into, unless you know and can let me
know?
I just know unless you get a room to yourself, hospitals are
so very unfriendly for those of us who are blind. In most cases a blind patient
will be visited by their sighted spouse, or the other way on, I guess it’s rarer
to have two blind people, but we do exist…
Guide Dog staff kindly offered to give me mobility training
around the ward. But I said it wouldn’t be worth it, as by the time I learned
that, he would be moving ward, and he did just that. Also, you can’t really
learn where the new trolley is going to be or a chair with a new visitor will
be in the ward. And there are tables at the end of most people’s beds. Hub in
his second ward on his last day, learned himself where the toilet was, because
he was at the very start of the ward just near the toilet. But he said every
time he got out of bed, he knew people were just looking at him. It’s awful. It
makes you feel embarrassed. But when he was ill, and he needed help to do that,
I could have done so if we had a room of his own, but not on your Nelly could I
dare to help him in a ward full of life…
His first ward was so busy too, and noisy. His second one
was quite the contrary. It was like a blooming morgue.
So, life back to normal with the knowledge that we really
have to take more care of ourselves. We can’t get away with things as we get
older. I mean, Hub has learned that he has a small intestine and it’s so narrow
that food has got stuck and caused blood poison. Surely, he’s had that narrow
intestine all of his life? why now? is it his age? Old so and so. Haha.
Finally thank you all for your support. Louise, Rob, Hanz,
Trix, Like, JB, J, B, Pip, Sham and our darling Son. Thanks to all my readers
too. You have all been so kind. Terry and Carrie-Ann thanks so much. Thanks for
your shares too I hope somewhere along the line, this blog may go towards some
kind of help in hospitals for those who are blind. Even if it’s not training
but understanding a little more. I mean just some of the comments we had were.
“Can I pull your curtains to block out the sun as it will
blind you…””
“Do you wear glasses?””
No, I’m blind.
“Did you drive in?””
No as I said I’m blind.
“Do you work?””
Yes. I’m an area manager!
“Really? Wow!””
Why wow? Hahaha. Blind people can be clever. We can work you
know? But I guess the best one was
“Would you like me to show you how to work your reading
light?””
With love.
© Fiona Cummings
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