Post 419: Physio Appointment PM Follows a Runaround
Although later today there’s going to be a therapist delve into my right shoulder, which is easing nicely since my little operation five or six weeks ago.
But before that I had a possible phone call from the GP, or that’s what I hoped.
Two days ago I asked Anima for a doctor’s check-up to pick up where Carlisle Hospital left off and thought, rather than ask anyone about my sky-larking in the border territory of Northern England in Carlisle, I’d ask one doctor in particular, who is my new favourite doctor in this whole new surgery experience where everyone’s new.
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(I now find out that the Carlisle Hospital Trust that looked after me so well is firmly at the bottom of the league of English trusts and was put into special measures earlier this year.)
I have to say that I found my experience was good apart from the A&E wait — but that could happen anywhere.
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Because I left the hospital in Carlisle earlier than I ought to have (and way before they had finished with me), I asked for a printed hard copy of the discharge summary and, cheekily, I’d asked also for the blood test results to be printed too. I hoped this information would speed up any further action my doctor might take.
In fact, the bit on it which explained where they had got up to in finding out how bad my heart attack was filled the whole box on the sheet, so when I did finally get to see the doctor later in the day, the summary was very helpful.
But as I was talking about the Anima process and not the hospital in special measures, this is not the first time I’ve had an Anima reply that went along the lines of, “We are going to call you back, but we have no idea when it could be.”
Back in the old days that would have been met with a scream and a realistic expression of frustration when you think about tethered landlines.
“Do you expect me to wait around all day for you to call back?” was a normal reply, obviously.
But nowadays, with the ease with which our cell phones can pick up a call almost anywhere, it’s OK to ask a patient that.
It was cleaning day, but as I knew my Darling was still in bed, I thought I could get downstairs to help out and scuttle around the downstairs of our home, and I missed the first call from the surgery.
Oops!!!
However, I picked up the second call a quarter of an hour later.
It was my preferred doctor and, after I got through explaining half of the data about my heart, she said, “Stop! Can you come in and bring the hard copies in about an hour?”
“Yes, of course,” I replied happily.
“I’ll fit you in between my patients this morning. Goodbye,” she finished with.
An hour later we rattled through the hard copies, summary and pill changes etc., then turned to my blood pressure.
That was checked and, just to prove I haven’t got white coat syndrome, it was found to be 102/66.
This set off adjustments to my new pills, with Ramipril reduced from 2.5 to 1.25 and Furosemide from 2.5 to 1.25.
Other than that, a letter will be written to cardiology for me, and she will need a blood test in a week to check on my kidneys.
I’m sorry you have to read in so much detail about this minor issue, but there’s little else for me to talk about.
Later, when I got to the physiotherapist, I was put through my paces and given some exercises to do, but in the evening, after all those stretches and pushes, I was in agony on my left side — left shoulder. Yes, the left. The other side to my frozen shoulder.
It has got cancer in it and clearly doesn’t like the pulls and pushes, so I’ll have to be careful.
Other than that, my Darling still looks pretty unwell, but there are signs of improvement, thankfully.
So take care.
Sleep well.
