"We should have called 999, gone by ambulance and been seen instantly. But here the triage nurse was also very lax, I now know a patient presenting with my symptoms should have been prioritised and seen instantly!!!"
So almost 5 hours later and I'm finally being seen by a young Doctor in A&E. Now let's be fair, She was on the ball. After examining me she said there was a risk I had had a bleed on the brain, but she also said it could have been a simple migraine that had escalated. Whatever she thought she was taking things seriously and I'll never forget Steve's face as she said that she was admitting me ... I've never seen his face change so much, he really did not expect it! I was kept lying flat and give pain relief by IV before being moved onto an admittance ward, where everyone looked so ill, and me? Well I was feeling better!
I was monitored over night and in the morning a Doctor informed me that he too suspected a bleed on the brain and I would be getting a scan of my head and possibly a lumber puncture later in the day. I was fed, watered, provided with soap, towel, toothbrush and toothpaste ... As I wondered up the corridor I felt well cared for.
The scan was clear, I was told there was nothing nasty going on in my head .. but a lumber puncture would give conclusive evidence of whether there had been a bleed, or not. I was happy to continue but at no point did anyone ask me if it was ok for a supervised junior to perform this procedure. It took 6 attempts and almost an hour for them to get the required sample, but due to the errors in the earlier attempts they could not conclusively predict where the blood had come from. They called it a "traumatic" sample. Still I was pretty oblivious to the errors going on regarding my care and I socialised with other patients, wondered about the ward and sat up watching TV.
On the Monday morning the Consultant came to visit, he went through everything and seemed to doubt a bleed as the the headache had not stopped me dead in my tracks .. but all the other symptoms made him suspicious and though the young doctor felt I should go home he insisted that an MRI would be necessary before I could leave. As it was Bank Holiday Monday it would not be happening that day!
At 9pm I was moved to another ward, where for the best part of the next 3 days I would continue to have visitors, sit up and chat, wonder around with new friend Sioned, make tea, have showers etc. (and even find little old ladies sat on my bed in the middle of the night!) Yes I had a headache, one which was very strange at times, and yeah I felt a little sick ... but I didn't really feel that ill!
On the Tuesday and Wednesday I saw another Doctor, he was lovely but he too was suspicious that I had had a bleed. Though I pleaded with him to let me go home on the Tuesday after initially agreeing he then advised against it as he was concerned I may have a second bleed which could be much more worrying in it severity. He would try and organise the MRI for that day .. but there was a backlog etc etc etc ...
Finally on the Wednesday at around 2pm I had the MRI ... the results would be e.mailed straight to the Ward for the Consultant to see and if there was a problem then sent straight to Walton. So why did it take 24hrs for anything to happen? Why was I left in limbo? It was around 12pm on the Thursday by the time the the Consultant informed me that I had a brain aneurysm with swelling around it. He didn't think it had bled and didn't think it was life threatening... but he would "now" send this scan for Walton's opinion! And that is when the shit really did hit the fan!
Specialist nurse Katie in Walton, who I later met could not believe what was going on. "Lie her flat, do not let her move, give her fluids and pain relief by IV. You must put a catheter on her, because she can't move even to go to the toilet. Give her this medication ..(they didn't have it in stock!)Her life is in danger, get an ambulance and get her here now ...."
The fear was overwhelming, it was like a nightmare, and it was happening to me. I had a bleeding time bomb in my head, I should have been operated on before day 4 after the first bleed. It was now day 6 .. a time where second bleeds with catastrophic consequences can occur ... and there I was wondering about the hospital, just thank god I didn't know the risk I was taking!
So a blue light trip along the A55 - a police escort through Liverpool and I arrived In Walton in time for tea!!! It was like a scene from Casualty and no one expected me to be doing so well ... Doctor Phil was lovely, he explained it all to me. They would stabilize me over night with medication, fluids and pain relief and operate first thing in the morning .... I should try and relax and sleep ... AS IF!
In the morning the Consultant was the first to come and see me, remember ....
"30% of people die at the first bleed, of those who survive and are not treated, 50% will die within a month. Between day 4 and 7 you are at serious risk of another bleed with disastrous consistences. 95% of people survive the operation, the others 5% do not, Now what do you want to do?"
So almost 5 hours later and I'm finally being seen by a young Doctor in A&E. Now let's be fair, She was on the ball. After examining me she said there was a risk I had had a bleed on the brain, but she also said it could have been a simple migraine that had escalated. Whatever she thought she was taking things seriously and I'll never forget Steve's face as she said that she was admitting me ... I've never seen his face change so much, he really did not expect it! I was kept lying flat and give pain relief by IV before being moved onto an admittance ward, where everyone looked so ill, and me? Well I was feeling better!
I was monitored over night and in the morning a Doctor informed me that he too suspected a bleed on the brain and I would be getting a scan of my head and possibly a lumber puncture later in the day. I was fed, watered, provided with soap, towel, toothbrush and toothpaste ... As I wondered up the corridor I felt well cared for.
The scan was clear, I was told there was nothing nasty going on in my head .. but a lumber puncture would give conclusive evidence of whether there had been a bleed, or not. I was happy to continue but at no point did anyone ask me if it was ok for a supervised junior to perform this procedure. It took 6 attempts and almost an hour for them to get the required sample, but due to the errors in the earlier attempts they could not conclusively predict where the blood had come from. They called it a "traumatic" sample. Still I was pretty oblivious to the errors going on regarding my care and I socialised with other patients, wondered about the ward and sat up watching TV.
On the Monday morning the Consultant came to visit, he went through everything and seemed to doubt a bleed as the the headache had not stopped me dead in my tracks .. but all the other symptoms made him suspicious and though the young doctor felt I should go home he insisted that an MRI would be necessary before I could leave. As it was Bank Holiday Monday it would not be happening that day!
At 9pm I was moved to another ward, where for the best part of the next 3 days I would continue to have visitors, sit up and chat, wonder around with new friend Sioned, make tea, have showers etc. (and even find little old ladies sat on my bed in the middle of the night!) Yes I had a headache, one which was very strange at times, and yeah I felt a little sick ... but I didn't really feel that ill!
On the Tuesday and Wednesday I saw another Doctor, he was lovely but he too was suspicious that I had had a bleed. Though I pleaded with him to let me go home on the Tuesday after initially agreeing he then advised against it as he was concerned I may have a second bleed which could be much more worrying in it severity. He would try and organise the MRI for that day .. but there was a backlog etc etc etc ...
Finally on the Wednesday at around 2pm I had the MRI ... the results would be e.mailed straight to the Ward for the Consultant to see and if there was a problem then sent straight to Walton. So why did it take 24hrs for anything to happen? Why was I left in limbo? It was around 12pm on the Thursday by the time the the Consultant informed me that I had a brain aneurysm with swelling around it. He didn't think it had bled and didn't think it was life threatening... but he would "now" send this scan for Walton's opinion! And that is when the shit really did hit the fan!
Specialist nurse Katie in Walton, who I later met could not believe what was going on. "Lie her flat, do not let her move, give her fluids and pain relief by IV. You must put a catheter on her, because she can't move even to go to the toilet. Give her this medication ..(they didn't have it in stock!)Her life is in danger, get an ambulance and get her here now ...."
The fear was overwhelming, it was like a nightmare, and it was happening to me. I had a bleeding time bomb in my head, I should have been operated on before day 4 after the first bleed. It was now day 6 .. a time where second bleeds with catastrophic consequences can occur ... and there I was wondering about the hospital, just thank god I didn't know the risk I was taking!
So a blue light trip along the A55 - a police escort through Liverpool and I arrived In Walton in time for tea!!! It was like a scene from Casualty and no one expected me to be doing so well ... Doctor Phil was lovely, he explained it all to me. They would stabilize me over night with medication, fluids and pain relief and operate first thing in the morning .... I should try and relax and sleep ... AS IF!
In the morning the Consultant was the first to come and see me, remember ....
"30% of people die at the first bleed, of those who survive and are not treated, 50% will die within a month. Between day 4 and 7 you are at serious risk of another bleed with disastrous consistences. 95% of people survive the operation, the others 5% do not, Now what do you want to do?"
