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THR copsham's recovery thread

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Nine week feedback
Nine weeks has gone quickly but it seems a life time ago since I was so acutely anxious pre op.

Stitches - my internal stitches have stopped coming out so wound is now able to heal properly.
I was able to show photos to OS so he had to believe me unlike during my previous appointment.

Walking - my walking has improved a lot. The only thing that I am not good at dealing with is walking in a crowd like a shopping centre as I feel that I might get knocked over in the melee. I am slower than I used to be it feels that my walking is keeping me calm as I cannot rush around at the speed of lightening at the moment.

Physio - on my last visit two weeks ago to the physio she saw my incision and as it was still red and bumpy she asked if she could ask the on call doctor to look at it to which I agreed. The wound was red from the areas of inflammation where the stitches came out and also from where he infection was. The on call doctor looked at it for 1 second said "fine" then said to me "the scar will not be gone in six weeks" and walked towards the door. He did not ask me one question about pus, pain, stitches, temperature etc. I tried to begin a discussion with him about my concerns but he left closing the door behind him. The physio apologised for him!!

Acting disabled - I do notice that I am at times in pre hip op mode for example today I walked up a long wheelchair slope rather than walk up three steps totally unnecessarily, in the supermarket I take out a trolley and immediately bend over it to support me like I did pre op. I have to conciously break these and other pre op habits.

Achievement - today we went to Dunnets Head the most northerly part of mainland Scotland. I actually walked up a small but fairly steep hill. This really felt t he beginning of doing something I really want to do! @Legin do you know Dunnets head?


Out of order - last week I forgot about my hip and let my grandson aged four climb on my back for a " horse ride" just acting silly and then I remembered my hip. My leg ached for two days but thank goodness nothing worse.

So I feel that I am on the homeward stretch fingers crossed

Karen x
 
I love your speedy comments can imagine a healthy coppers speeding through shopping centre, yeeeeeeeeeeha. Aye I know it I was there and it had a runny nose. We all do things esp with gkids. Mine has me doing all sorts, I say to him but im old he giggles and says no your not pops then wallop

Legin THR Sep 14
 
Couldn't help but smile when I read about your walk - that IS an accomplishment, both physical and mental. So happy for you!!
 
Hi @copsham

Wow you are doing so very well. I'm so pleased for you. The walk up Dunnets Head sounded lovely. It's been so long since I've walked any distance.

Thanks for tagging me on on @legins thread. I thought it best to reply on mine. Then tag you in on yours to see how you are? I'm trying not to derail anyone's thread.

I'm praying that cancellation comes up. I may phone them on Thursday. If nothing doing then I'm going up to the caravan on Monday for a couple of weeks.

I hope that you are keeping well and hope that we so get to meet up as we discussed before at some point soon x x x

Love Nana moon 27 xoxox
 
copsham said:
He did not ask me one question about pus, pain, stitches, temperature etc. I tried to begin a discussion with him about my concerns but he left closing the door behind him. The physio apologised for him!!
Click to expand...

I hate prudish people who look down on you and treat you like you are a piece of dirt on the bottom of your shoe.

copsham said:
Dunnets Head the most northerly part of mainland Scotland.
Click to expand...

What My fathers family came from Wick and I spent many a holiday up there but would prefer to see it now. Have to admit I can't remember this but really hope you are enjoying your time up north.
 
Thank you @forbesy you summed that doctor up nicely!!

We drove through Wick on Saturday. A beautiful area wished we could have stayed longer and wished I could have walked further - oh well may be next year.

@Nana moon 27 I still get confused with this forum. I just thought; should I reply to you here or somewhere else? then thought but is this forbesy's thread or nana moon's thread - went back to the top to have a look and found it was mine!

x
 
@copsham ... here are some guidelines that I hope will help you.

You should always provide updates on how you're doing on your own recovery thread. By the same token, please don't ask about a member when you see them posting on someone else's thread. That tends to derail the thread and is considered off topic. When posting, try to limit your comments to how you are doing or relate your experiences to someone else going through the same thing. Personal chat pertaining to family, friends, trips, or work (unless it's related to working after surgery) should be done outside of BoneSmart using Facebook or other social sites or via private messages.

Since BoneSmart is a medical forum, we must maintain it as such and minimize social posting. We are actively trying to reduce the chat on BoneSmart right now and we depend on good members like you to understand and help us with that. If you have any questions, please ask. All this said, our members are important to us and we want to keep to our main goal of helping you get through your surgery and recovery.
 
Update
Stitches
Oh dear on Saturday I said that my internal stitches had stopped coming out, then yesterday three more teeny stitches came out, living the middle of my scar with a scab again. I could really do without this as I am desperate to get back swimming (crawl) and sure it would do me good.

Complaint to hospital
Had a meeting yesterday about my complaints and concerns. Found out that there were several system failures that due to my multiple allergies and acute anxiety should not have happened. This includes:

1. After pre op assessment my notes should have been flagged up for specific attention by the ward sister - this did not happen.
2. My anaesthetist should have been alerted re my allergies - this did not happen, although she/he had access to my notes
3. There should have been a discussion with me re my allergies and the necessary responses on the ward- this did not happen
4. There should have been monitoring when given something (codeine) that I have had a severe reaction to - this did not happen
5. There were two occasions when a critical incident form should have been completed but it was not.

SO I went in scared that i would die under general anaesthetic, then all of the above mistakes were made. I have learnt that if i ever go into hospital again that I would insist on a meeting to discuss my specific needs, rather than going with the flow. Having never been an inpatient before I just did not get control of the situation to reinforce my different needs.

The only good thing was that the Managers seemed honest about the above shortfalls and spoke about what they have done already and what they proposed to do. Although I am usually quite cynical I think they were sincere.

Infection in wound
This seems to have nearly, nearly gone thank goodness. When I saw the consultant I asked what the result of the swob was, taken three weeks previously. He said that a swob was not taken and was not recorded as having been done. Did I really imagine he said this? Did I really imagine him squeezing pus out of the would in three places ?Did I imagine him using like a little dip stick and putting samples in plastic phial's? I don't think so!

I just need to keep away from medics for the next 40 years. I can feel my anxiety rising just writing this. Wheeew!
 
Oh @copsham how terrifying especially when you've never been an inpatient before. That's dreadful. I am so shocked at what you went through. I'm glad that they were honest though and admitted their failings. At least you know now in your heart this should never happen to anyone else. Well done on your bravery x

What the heck is going on with your consultant? You even posted on here about he did test etc x uggghhhb x

I felt really anxious reading this. It must have been so terrible to experience.

Love Nana moon 27 x x x
 
I cringed when I read your report about the hospital. Good for you for letting them know what had happened to you. And, good for them for owning the problem. Hopefully your speaking up will help those who follow you.

I had a different experience in the hospital ( it was good). But, in reading your thread I started thinking that one of the things that worked toward my positive experience was the fact that the hospital was all "teched - up" with their computer systems. Prior to my very first appointment I was mailed a very detailed intake form to prepare beforehand. At the appointment I was interviewed by an Intake Specialist who transferred the information from my form onto the computer. The next step was an interview with the Os's Nurse who doubled checked all of the info. Among other things I was asked about allergies and any problems with specific drugs. For me, that included Prednisone and Valium. I was then given instructions on how to access my Medical Records from home. I set up the access and doubled-checked the info. later. And, that computerized Medical Record has been a wonderful tool for me. I can e-mail my OS; all of my appointments are listed; all of my tests/results are placed on-line within 7 days. The hospital( State supported) interfaces with my local health system (Private NonProfit) so my PCP can send and receive reports. The local health system is also "teched-up" but my PCP is the only provider with whom I communicate at present.

At my PreOp Class I was told that I would get tired of three questions as I proceeded through the surgical system: 1. What is your name? 2. What is your birthday? 3. Do you have any allergies and if you do what are they? Sure enough, I got those questions at every turn. At the PreOp with OS, the Nurse asked the 3 questions; at the PreOp
with the Anesthesiologist I was asked the 3 questions even as the questioner was looking at the computer screen; every single person I was in contact with as I was waiting to go into the Operating Room asked the three questions; and every Nurse on the hospital floor where I was located, asked the three questions. Some of them would laugh when they asked me and say that they bet I hadn't heard the questions before! In addition I had a couple of those hospital bracelets with blood info. and allergy info. It never bothered me that the info. was being checked but I'll confess to you that I had no idea how important this could be until I read your post. I now appreciate so much more the redundancy of the system I encountered and I think I'll be on the lookout if I am not asked the questions in the future. I'll just volunteer!

But, here's a question for you: how "teched-up" was your OS's office and the Hospital? Do you have computer access to your Medical Records?

Once again, thank you for detailing your experience here on BoneSmart because it has helped me to think about areas in which I need to be watchful. Really appreciate your sharing on this. By the way, I think I would push on the "forgetful" Consultant for the results on your test. Is there any paperwork associated with it?
 
I am so sorry to read about all the mistakes that occurred with your hospital stay. I think you've approached it all in a good way, though. Your input and pressure on them for explanations hopefully will cause some changes. And you now know that you'll need to be actively engaged in any future visits with doctors or hospitals.

It's sad....so many times we want to count on our healthcare professionals to always do the right things and think about all the issues. But, these folks are human....most these days have heavy workloads....and the reality is that we have to assume a much more active role in order to get the quality care we deserve.

Good for you for what you're doing.

Those pesky stitches should ease off soon. As far as the infection goes, how does your incision area look? If you are unhappy with your consultant's attention to it, you could talk with your GP. I'm going to tag @Josephine to see if she has any additional comments on your latest update. Hang in there!!!
 
@HollyB asked "Is there any paperwork associated with it?

Answer is I have just collected a copy of my medical notes. Following the meeting yesterday they were very helpful when I asked for a full copy of my notes. I feel relieved to have my notes and feel that I might be able to make sense of it all.

Thank you so much everybody for your support. SO MUCH APPRECIATED!
 
@Jamie thank you for your post. My incision was finally healing nicely. Then yesterday bits of stitches came out again. This was with a bit of fluid that did not look infected i.e. clearish and whitish. Later some yellow pus tiny amount came out I bathed the wound with salt water and put a dressing back on. Will look at it tomorrow and see what is happening and decide whether to go to GP or not. I don't feel as panic struck as the first time this happened.

So I am going to look at my notes, try to make sense of my experience so may well be asking lots of questions soon. Thanks again!
 
Have just tread my hospital notes - they create more questions than answers!!

Have decided to take up just big issues like why I was given no anti emetics until I was really, really sick! I need to work out how to be constructive with the issues that I need to take up.

It was weird reading my hospital notes, so much covered up, not recorded, does not make sense. Despite this it feels good not to have a huge gap (4days ) in my life!
x
 
You know, I wouldn't read too much into things not being recorded - it's not so much covered up as just forgotten. It can and does happen in the hurly burly of busy ward rounds and clinics.
 
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Hi @copsham

I agree about being constructive but your were clearly that before. Your meeting went so well because you were so well organised. I know you'll do this fine x x x
 
@Josephine thank you for your comment. I am not concerned about lack of recording for the sake of it. I am concerned because, for example I want to know what material was used for my internal stitches but it is not recorded!
 
Shocked, lack of recording because forgotten.
Having been senior and head of care in units for young people that would have triggered inquirey, possible disciplinary action and the close scrutiny of the care commission. I have seen staff staying 30 mins or more after shift end to ensure all recording has been completed as they saw it as part of their professional codes of practice. I will add that full recording also protects staff if questions are asked about any particular event.

Legin THR Sep 14
 
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