Mum (her name is Beryl) has been treated for about 20 years for her arthritis at Furness General hospital in Barrow-in-Furness.
She would be prepared to travel further afield for a second opinion.
I know Derek McMinn in Birmingham, but Mum really doesn't have the resources to have any operation privately (and neither do I have the money to pay for her privately at the moment, unfortunately).
It is so sad that they left her on steroids for so long. She put on over 3 stone in weight and her skin got paper thin. My sister and I had to eventually insist that she was weaned off the steroids. She had just about become wheelchair bound - at least a couch potato and stair lift candidate. She has lost the weight now and is back to 8 st.
When she was out visiting me in Turkey last winter she went to physiotherapy there and improved tremendously. They were aghast at the treatment she'd had over the years in the UK. She was actually on local TV out in Bodrum and made all of the local newspapers there
. Mum is very intelligent and her mind and sense of humour are very lively. She never complains, even though her pain is often very bad.
She has waited many months for some appointments at Furness General and in one case - over a year. They actually sent her an appointment, to keep up with their targets I expect, then sent a cancellation as they were reorganising, then "forgot" to send her another appointment.
I thought we were getting somewhere this summer when Mum's apointment with the orthopaedic consultant actually came round. I took her (travelling back especially!) and she saw a doctor who at least gave her some time. Then he decided to give her cortizone injections in both knees and told her to keep a diary of her pain and excercise and she'd be sent another appointment in 2 months.
For 3 weeks she was brilliant. She had a whole new lease of life. Got up out of her chair, walked up the stairs, walked to the park and the shops - on her own and did exercises religiously twice a day. I understand that, if done regularly, these steroid injections will further wear away the very small amount of cartilage she has left.
She has just been for the follow-up appointment and that is where they told her she was unsuitalble for surgery - because her knees won't straighten.
She has been told they will do cortizone injections 3 times a year - so her best prognosis is that she'll have 3 weeks every 4 months where she gets a life back - and even that will degenerate..... Not good!
Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about this and thanks to the other 2 people who've replied so far.
United States
