04/10/23 Stanmore, NHS...

 Next chapter in my long-running saga...

My appointment at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore (Middlesex) is now less than a week away, on Monday. The original appointment letter, which I have somehow mislaid, said that another letter with more details would arrive "closer to the time". It hasn't arrived, and considering the combined inefficiencies of the NHS and the Royal Mail, quite possibly never will.

So I 'phoned the RNOH and after a couple of false trails got through to somebody at Joint Reconstruction who could answer questions about my appointment. "Yes, he confirmed, 2:10 on the 9th, see you then."

"Hang on," I said, "can you tell me the name of the doctor I'm seeing and give me a room number so I know where to go?"

Long silence...

Eventually, "It's Mr.Gerrand."

"OK, can you give me a room number please?"

Another even longer silence......

"It's not here, it's in Bolsover Street." That's the RNOH's other site in central London, near Regent's Park and Harley Street.

"Thanks for telling me, otherwise I'd have turned up at the wrong hospital."

The Bolsover Street place, I've since discovered, is the RNOH's Assessment Centre. At least that makes some sort of sense.

I went online, looked up Mr.Gerrand, and found both a 'phone number and a name and email address for his secretary. Obviously I wanted confirmation that the appointment actually is for Bolsover Street not Stanmore, so I rang the secretary's number. The recorded message gave a different name and said she was secretary for two completely different doctors, not including my man. So I left a message anyway asking for a call back to confirm the appointment. It might happen. And there again it might not.

Now going to try an email to a secretary who quite probably no longer exists. Or no longer works for Mr.Gerrand anyway. Also got to cancel the "Just Park" parking space I had booked just a couple of minutes walk away from Stanmore station.

Never a dull moment...

A bit more about the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital saga:

Looking up Dr. Gerrand online, I found this link to the Daily Mail back in 2014. I had no idea things like this were being done nine years ago. It also fits with what my local orthopaedic surgeon said when referring me to Stanmore, that some such implant was probably the best way to go.

Dr.Gerrand in the DM 2014

15/09/23 Negative

I had the X-ray after that fall exactly eight weeks ago. At the time I was told three to four weeks for the results. My GP said six to eight weeks. So today I 'phoned the surgery - yes, the result is in.

No sign of recent fracture or healing. Which doesn't really surprise me, as apart from occasional twinges, the pain subsided quite quickly. I didn't ask how long they'd had the results - (a) I'm not sure I really want to know, and (b) if it's more than a couple of days I doubt I'd get a straight answer...

GP wants to talk about it, so 'phone appointment on Monday. If that result is all there is to it, I'm not sure I see the point. Will find out on Monday.

01/09/23 Cars, not myeloma

Yet again, there's just nothing new to say about my myeloma or my hip or anything else of medical note, except a bit of an Upper Respiratory Tract infection that hit just after the Writtle Jazz Festival. As usual with these things, the cough is still hanging on...

We had a (very) minor collision while my car was parked – fully inside the marked space – in a motorway service station car park. While we having a coffee inside a Citroen Berlingo drove into the space behind and didn’t stop in time. When we came back the Berlingo was right up against the back of my car, and the driver was in the back. She reversed away, the plastic panel below the boot lid popped back out, but the middle of the bumper below was left sticking out by just a millimetre or so. I tried to push it back but being reluctant to push too hard and risk more damage, failed.

Took the car to the Chelmsford dealer (a large national chain) for another job and asked them to quote for the bumper. They said the centre bracket was bent and needed replacing with a new one, and that meant removing and re-fitting the entire bumper. £30 for a new bracket, £163 for labour, and £18 for a box of rivets. Total including VAT £253.

Looking for a second quote, went to a well-known accident repair place in Chelmsford, which we’ve been happy with for a couple of small jobs in the past. Man got on the ground, had a look up, took some photos on an iPad, and said there’s no centre bracket there, what you need is a new bumper. We’ll email you a quote.

Quote didn’t arrive, receptionist on phone said we have to wait for the estimator to have a look.
Quote arrived. No mention of bumper replacement. Materials £30 – exactly the price of a new bumper bracket, and surely way too low for a complete new bumper. Total £262, and obviously the Estimator, who had at least half a dozen photos to look at, disagreed with the first man…

Did what I probably should have done in the first place and went to the small garage in the village where we used to live. He took a look, agreed that there is no centre bracket, and used his long experience to deliver a couple of well-judged thumps. The bumper is now perfectly back in place, at cost of precisely £0 – although I did give him another small job to make it worth his time.

So who can you trust? Very obviously it’s the main dealer that comes out of it worst. Draw your own conclusions…

12/08/23 Back again...

 I got into the habit of blogging at night after my shower but now I always seem to have other things to do. If it isn't the Facebook group demanding time it's something else, even if that something is watching Hamilton on Disney+ for the umpteenth time. I've become a little obsessed with it. Anyway, finished it last night so...

Good news is that ether my hip wasn't as damaged as feared, or it's healing well. Mobility is well on the way back to normal and pain is now minimal. But still waiting for the x-ray results!

Had a couple of days in Dorset - stayed at a McCarthy Stone place in Ferndown, and as owners that costs us just £25 a night. Same anywhere in the country. Upheaval of going away is lessened because we no longer have the (much missed) cats to worry about, but I'm still ar from keen on it. And now I have a CPAP machine to carry around as well. Weather could best be described as variable.

Much time occupied lately with my new main PC (this one), which suddenly died completely. No lights, no beeps, nothing. Too long a story to tell in every detail, but eventually and by accident found a couple of connectors inside had come loose. Put them back, and everything restored to normal! But not good for the build quality, inspection, and quality control of the people who've built all our computers to my specifications for some fifteen years now...

Some photos in fairly random order:

Kingston Lacy House

Old haunts - Sandbanks. I remember it from before the property values went crazy

Old school

Excellent risotto (background)

With my sister in their garden

Sue and me with friends at Kingston Lacey

On the Observation Wheel at Bournemouth Pier

Overlooking Poole Harbour

The (local) Writtle Jazz Festival

19/07/23 NHS success and 100%

Two posts in two days!

Following on from yesterday, just posted this on the Facebook myeloma group:

You may remember that I have a large myeloma-induced lesion / cyst in my left hip, above the socket. That means I'm at high risk of a rather nasty fracture, and I have an October appointment at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to explore surgical options for repair. All very well until I tripped over a paving slab yesterday and fell heavily on the side of my left hip. "Oh s**t", I thought on the way down, "I've destroyed my pelvis altogether..."

Fortunately not that bad.

A couple of kind people helped me up and spotted the hearing aid dislodged from my left ear. I sat on a handy low wall for a while and  - slowly and carefully - made it back home. Then the adrenalin faded away and it started to hurt, partly in the left groin - just like the pain when I fractured my hip years ago that led to finding the lesion and my MM diagnosis, if a bit less acute. Lots of other pains here and there, and walking around the flat very slow and difficult. I took some ibuprofen and decided to leave it overnight. Soft tissue damage (definitely!) or something worse (possibly)?

No improvement to speak of this morning and thought that a precautionary X-ray or CT might be a good idea so 'phoned Orthopaedics at my hospital (Broomfield, Chelmsord) as the consultant there had told me to get back to him in event of any problems. Naturally he's off on holiday and his secretary's on annual leave until next week. 

The receptionist I spoke to wanted to ask colleagues and said she would call back. And inside five minutes she did, with three options for me. Call the RNOH and ask to bring the appointment forward, try again with the secretary on Monday, or call my GP and get him to arrange an X-ray. 

So I organised a cup of coffee and a few biscuits to sustain me through a long "Your call is important to us, you are number 38 in the queue..." and rang the GP surgery.

Answered inside five minutes, and offered an emergency appointment (with my own GP!) in forty minutes.

Met my new GP for the first time - absolutely lovely man who immediately issued a "Super-Urgent" X-ray request which should produce an appointment in a few days. He gave us a second copy of it to take to A&E if nothing by Friday. He suspects a pubic ramus fracture (and so do I, although not a major one).

I asked the doctor if he was familiar with myeloma. He said yes, had diagnosed it maybe ten times and we had a quick conversation about paraproteins and free light chains. He also said he thought I had been completely right to decline transplant!

So - although I haven't had that X-ray yet - an absolute 10/10 for the NHS on this - both hospital and GP. The NHS may well be broken but it isn't dead yet.

The new CPAP mask I bought recently is a big improvement. It's quite some time since I had one of these!

18/07/23 Fall

 I put this in the Walter House residents WhatsApp group his afternoon...

---------------------------------------------------------

Uneven pavement warning! After Xxxxx's recent adventure...

Went for a walk this afternoon, intending to do once round the Cathedral and back. Got past all the raised paving slabs on the left side of the road ok (feel I know them all by name by now), then tripped over a slightly raised one near the Recruiting Office. Went straight over forwards, despite the stick in my right hand, with a bit of an anti-clockwise twist and landed hard on the side of my left hip.

The bad one which doesn't have a lot of bone left in it....

Moment of sheer panic...

Two very kind people - middle-aged woman and young Asian man - rushed to my aid and helped me back to my feet. The lady found my left hearing aid, which had been dislodged from my ear. Without her, I would almost certainly not have noticed it had gone and would now be starting a claim on the insurance. No harm done, the hip is intact but a few muscles are complaining and I have a small graze on my little finger. The automatic fall detection on my personal alarm (Careline365, not the McCarthy Stone one) worked and connected me to the call centre while I was still on the ground, which I think is pretty good. I'm being cautious and cancelling my Tuesday boules night in Brentwood for this week.

The moral of this story is to watch out very carefully for those raised paving slabs. There are too many of them and a moment of inattention...

Nevertheless, walking is healthy exercise and good for you. Sometimes.

"Be careful out there."

--------------------------------------------------------

Followed by:

--------------------------------------------------------

Thanks all for the comments and concern. Some muscle pain on the left side but nothing worse, I think. Moving around rather gingerly and have just taken a couple of ibuprofens.

---------------------------------------------------------

Now wondering whether I should contact Orthopaedics at Broomfield - or even my so far unseen new GP - to see if a precautionary X-ray or CT might be advisable... Will see how it feels in the morning.

12/07/23 Still in remission...

 It's been a long time again, but very little of note has been happening. Life in the new place is settling into a steady pattern, we've been out for a few meals and I'm playing regular boules again at Ongar, Epping, and Brentwood where last night I paired up with a Frenchman and we beat another English-French pair 2-1, which makes up for Monday when my side lost by the opposite margin. Haven't been back to Birchanger yet as the drive is now a bit longer than it used to be, but do intend to make it a few times before the season ends.

Had a 'phone consultation with my new consultant today - nothing new in the bloods except a message that I should hydrate a bit more. I'll try, but I'm not good at it. Good news is that the CT of my hip showed no sign of new disease. It's just a matter of waiting for October...