Accidents Do Happen But Today Was A Total Disaster...

Mum and myself were picked up around lunchtime and dropped outside the Radio Therapy building, you could not get much closer...the driver walked Mum in and she had a slow motion fall but so slow he caught her, when she was sat in a wheel chair waiting her turn I discovered Mum's big toe on the right foot was bleeding badly.

We spent the next five and quarter hours in A&E and they took so long over the treatment even though the Radio Therapy department said they were willing for us to go back for our appointment, in the end they cancelled so we had no contact with that department and all Mum got out of it was a fractured toe.

And due to various mix ups with transport to get us home and various members of staff assuring us that a car or ambulance Mini-bus was ordered and was coming it was obvious that most of the time no transport had been ordered. And therefore we sat in a waiting room for two and a quarter hours waiting for some way to get home.

Many of the staff were busy(I know that)and most were polite and caring in attitude but much of the time it was as if the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing.

An example, I was given a white piece of paper for an x-ray to be taken of Mum's toe. She was parked next to the room where x-rays are done. I assumed that I had to wait my turn and hand the radiographer the piece of paper with Mum's details...

I could've still been waiting it turned out I had to walk along a corridor to another reception desk and give them the piece of paper...No one told me.

Even up to 4.15pm the Radio Therapy dept was ready to see Mum and then they cancelled.

Now what if Mum had been on her own?

Knowing Mum was there to be seen in a hospital department and had been specially travelled in I am sure they could have fast tracked Mum through the system.

I was not impressed and Mum was getting quite worked up/frustrated in the end.

I do hope tomorrow works out better.

Update:Tuesday 08 November 2011Unfortunately...I thought Mum might be in hospital for other reasons this morning... a restless night perhaps due to yesterday...I found her upside down in bed three times and...she fell out of bed twice!!!

The last sounded nasty but I had the foresight of putting a large, thick old duvet(or maybe they are called Continental quilts)down the side of the bed as I used to for such possible falls and this morning she is moving ok and seems to have suffered no damage.

Its too big to attempt to get in the washer(or wash by hand)and really could do with a good wash but if it does the job of keeping her safe, I'll use it.

I may buy another new one yet...crazily just for this use. Not for putting on the bed! We have some light weight one's that work and keep us warm even in winter and they probably could go in a washer because they are thinner(the tog rating is much less)but these are really padded.

At present the important problem(the radio therapy)seems to have taken less of priority. We don't need all the extra stress on top.

Must get up in an hour or two and start all over again...but this time Mum will hopefully be seen as planned and get her treatment tomorrow. They'll have to try and fit in the missing day from yesterday and add it onto today. Or move the appointments back a day so Mum's RT finishes Wednesday next week instead of Tuesday.

Today was supposed to be a case of checking details taking yesterday to see they match what they have programmed into the machine so treatment can start on Wednesday. And Mum should be marked up already.

Update:(Same Day)Now, it appears all Mum's treatment has been cancelled...rearranged to start again from Monday(hope the delay of week doesn't change things too much to the success of the treatment)

So yesterday was a wasted day. All she did was injure herself and end up cold and confused because of the waiting. Approx 7 hours and no treatment and what was done for her toe could've been sorted in an hour.

So instead of the nice time of 2pm Mum now is being seen at 10.30am each day Tuesday-Friday and a final session the following Monday so we'll be leaving here approx 8.30am each day.

Except for another of the appointments like she missed yesterday on the Monday which is at 2pm.

I keep being told that Mum is weak but she must have some strength somewhere to cope with the kind of day she had to endure yesterday at the hospital and through the night.

Not expecting any of the above Mum wasn't hungry before goingto the hospital so thought she eat when she came home...she survived this day on half a slice of toast a cup of tea...thinking about it...I had the same(well, I had a slice of toast)

I'm still trying to decide why the rest of Mum's treatment for this week has been cancelled and rescheduled, she was sort of prepared for it and in the mood but will she be next week?

I may say a lot on my blog but I rarely kick up a fuss and take the least line of resistance. Others go in blazing and demanding this that and the other. They are not liked but do they get what they want or are we who say very little but are liked and seemly ignored the silly one's?

I mean 3 hours to get to the point where they said "You have a fracture" and dressed the wound. And nearly 3 hours for transport to get home. Forgive me if I have said this already but why could Mum not be fast tracked through the system as she had travelled especially for treatment and why did they not clean the wound, when the blood was not there any longer it looked as different again.

I did go back and ask what was happening a couple of times but you feel awkward sometimes doing so, you almost feel apologetic and you are getting in the way.

Its a bit like the stories you hear where someone has a horrible meal and when the waiter asks if everything is fine, everyone says that it is.

What a carry on...