I wonder why staff from different
DHBs don’t talk to each other when they have a patient in common?
I also wonder why, when you suggest
to someone that they do, the person your're talking to can immediately find any number of reasons why
they can’t, or why it’s not a good idea.
For a whole host of very good reasons, of late I’ve
been involved with three DHBs: Auckland, Hawkes Bay and Mid-Central. At various
times during appointments at each of these DHBs, I’ve been asked questions – or
I’ve asked questions - about procedures, tests and scans that occurred at other
DHBs. In pretty much every case, the question’s gone unanswered. A lot of times,
I’ve been very tempted to explain to the person I’m talking to, how phones,
texts and emails work. But, to my credit, I’ve held my tongue.
Now, even though I’ve been involved
with the medical profession in New Zealand for a long time, my actual knowledge
of medical processes, terms and nomenclature is less than zero. I know this
‘cause just about every time I try to use a medical term, the person I’m
talking to corrects me. So, not only don’t I know the correct terminology, I
use incorrect terminology. I wonder if this is causing me to ask less
questions then I should.
Turns out; getting rid of the
cancerous tumor in my face was the easy bit. Even though the surgery was a big
deal (I was worked on by two surgical teams for eleven hours) all the stuff
that’s come after is proving to be much more of a challenge. Both to me and to Denise.
Last Tuesday we had to go to Palmy to
have the Radiation Mask made and for a couple of scans – one of which was a CT
Scan of my head - and then last Friday, I had to have another CT Scan of the
same area in Hastings. Now there are probably any number of good reasons why the
same CT Scan can’t be used by both doctors, but I’m buggered if I know what
they might be. It’s not that I’m worried about the number of CT Scans I’ve had.
According to Dr. Google the compound effect of multiple CT Scans is negligible.
It’s more that it seems to point to inefficiency and waste in our medical
system.
Listen to me! I wonder if getting my
brain fried is leading to me growing a social conscience. Let’s all hope not.
Anyway, I had two appointments last
week. The first one was with the Hand Therapist to have a special glove fitted.
Now just to backtrack a bit – it
seems you only get to see the Hand Therapist if you are referred by someone. Interestingly,
no one’s ever said anything about this, so I can only assume that the referral
was done by the Physio from Auckland that fitted me with a wrist support soon
after the operation. But if you want a referral apparently you can just ask
your GP for it.
It’s basically a compression sleeve
that’s used to reduce the scaring and the swelling from the donor site. It does
this by forcing the blood and other fluids away from the site. It seems to work
quite well. After wearing it for a couple of days the swelling just below my
elbow reduced quite a bit.
The Therapist used a special paper “thingy”
to measure the circumference of my arm every four centimeters from my elbow to my
wrist. This was sent to “Stralia” and a week later the glove turned up.
You can see how the inside of the
sleeve has little “bobbley” bits. These apparently do most of the work.
So, then it’s on to the next appointment.
This one with the Eye Specialist – and, guess what? We found another Gremlin in
the system. Turned out that everyone – the booking clerk, the receptionist, the
nurse at the clinic – all knew about the appointment. The only person “they”
forgot to tell was the Specialist. Gotta say, she looked a little surprised when
she called into the clinic about three-quarters of an hour after our
appointment time and saw us sitting there.
Anyway, after a while rearranging
some things we got to talk about my eye. Now, to be fair, we actually already
knew how the discussion was going to go, ‘cause we’d received the CT Scan
results before the appointment. Thanks again to “Manage My Health”. (This
really is a great tool for doctors and patients.) It seems one of the major
issues with my eye – but not the only one - is that the lower eye muscle is “catching”
on the mesh that makes up the lower orbit of my eye – or, there’s scar tissue
catching the muscle as it tries to move. Either way, it’s a problem that doesn’t
have an easy fix. So, the next step – an appointment with the Maxillofacial
Surgeon. Hopefully between the two of them they can work out a way forward.
As if things aren’t complicated
enough… I’m supposed to start Radiation Therapy next week, but that might not
be a happening thing now. We got a call from the Radiation Centre in Palmy the
other day and they want to see me again before they lock in the program. Apparently,
the Oncologist is having trouble with the planning – whatever that means. I guess
I’ll find out soon.
Hopefully the Radiation Therapy won’t
be postponed. Seems it will cause damage to my eye anyway, so, it would be good
to get past this so we know how bad things will actually be, rather than just guessing
what’s going to happen.
Do you know how confusing it is to buy an eye patch? There’s any number
of patches you can buy for kids, from Jack Sparrow types to Frozen types. Not
so much available for big kids. I picked up a couple of cheap cardboard ones from
the chemists. But seems there’s not much call for them, unless you’re into
Cosplay - I wonder if I could get one from the King of Asgard. He probably won’t
need it anymore.
Anyway, I think I’ve found one on
Fishpond, so we’ll see what turns up. When I’m inside I can use my glasses with
the right side covered but when I’m outside, any sort of breeze gives me grief,
and it’s looking more and more like it might become a permanent, or semi-permanent,
thing.
So, now looking forward to another
big week of appointments. Maybe by the weekend I’ll have a better idea of what’s
going to happen. Time to stand tall and just shrug it off. I’ve decided
if I don’t have control over things going forward, what’s the point worrying
about it.
I know you are already, but remember
to keep being kind.
🥰🥰🥰 big, warm, sloppy hugs
ReplyDeleteThanks you two. Right back at ya.
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