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After a relatively short flight (we arrived an hour early), being whisked through customs (being in a wheelchair is good for something) Ellie and Bob picked me up (they didn't expect me to be so early so we didn't connect immediately), I was home by 7:30 or so. I'm now unpacking, eating dinner, and will open some of my mail. But I'm pretty tired so don't feel like writing more right now. Doc appt at noon tomorrow and finally I'll take a real shower and wash my hair for the first time in a week. I figure if the leg gets wet, my doc will be taking off the bandages in an hour or so afterwards anyway.
Thank you everyone for your concern,your well-wishes and just for BEING HERE.
Thank you everyone for your concern,your well-wishes and just for BEING HERE.
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welcome home!
And yeah -- my first trip to London I came home in a wheelchair and although being whisked through customs was nice all I could think about was "no more hospital....home!"
You had us all very very worried.
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You picked a good day to fly home.
It's been much less pleasant all the time you were gone.
Love, C.
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Re: welcome home!
Hospital Brittannia (http://tinyurl.com/b3ooou)
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Hope you heal soon and that the recovery period isn't too much of a hassle. I can sympathize with the real shower.
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Take care of yourself.
xx
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My take on the hospital and my treatment:
I feel I was lucky and unlucky. It's possible that IF I was given oral antibiotics when I first went to the minor injury dept at St Bart's on Tuesday, further infection might have been forestalled. But of course, there's no way of knowing that. By the time I was given those antibiotics on Thursday, the wound was, um....opening. Never having had such a wound before, I don't know if the nurses who put antiseptic on it,, bandaged it, and gave me oral antibiotics were being too conservative or not.
Once the wound was looked at on Saturday at Whitechapel, the A&R (US ER) people knew immediately that I needed stronger stuff--iv antibiotics. The wait for a bed was no longer than it's been in the US.
Many of the nurses were excellent throughout my stay. Some were indifferent or not very bright, just like in any hospital. The biggest problem that I experienced was lack of communication among staff and with the patients and their families. I saw this time and again throughout my week in the ward (of 8 beds)-not just in my case but with the other patients. This in fact is part of the reason that the head of the hospital (St Barts/Whitechapel) was forced to resign earlier in the week.
The second problem was the waiting for the surgery. Yes, I realize that it was not an emergency compared to other cases coming in but lying in a bed with a bad open wound and being told two days in a row that you'll have surgery when there's an opening in the list and being on "nil by mouth" those two days (no food, no drink)--the second day 24 hours with no hydration (they forgot), plus
1) seeing the young woman in the bed next to me wait for TWO days to be discharged because they couldn't find the doctor to sign off,
and worse
2) the fact that a day or two earlier that young woman was screaming in pain because an incompetent nurse was removing the dressing from her abcessed leg improperly and without sufficient anesthetic
3) the elderly woman kitty corner from me who could not swallow comfortably was not seen by a specialist for days and when she finally was given stents to help--she was in pain for at least a whole day before she was given sufficient pain meds.
I've always heard that one most be proactive in hospitals and have an advocate, the above incidents are appalling. I feel lucky that I was surrounded by friends and that I had a few very good proactive nurses who pushed till they got answers and committments from the surgeons/doctors.
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You're gonna need to change your bio!
I'm very glad you made it home safe, and here's to continued good (and hopefully more prompt) medical care.
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Thank you. I wish I could take an allergy pill for my nose but until I talk to my doctor tomorrow I'm afraid to (it might interact with the antibiotics).
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