Health report and the end of 2009
Not good - but could be worse! Is our current conclusion.
I'll start in reverse order of seriousness to get the easy one's out of the way....
Les - Grounded - failed aircrew medical with leaking heart valve - not serious, but coupled with a dodgy left hand and a weakening right one, I decided that my flying days were over, advertised my plane and sold it to two Russians.
Danielle - Serious debilitating back pain back in May - reported to local (Luxembourg) GP went straight into the Luxembourg Health System and a had a back operation to fix a disc within 3 weeks. Fixed major problem but still had some pain in bed but now virtually OK.
Chris -
Chris had a back operation in France as reported earlier, but unfortunately in late November, either that disc or another slipped and Chris ended up in severe pain again. He couldn't even stand, let alone walk. He had to call the GP to his home - This time they whizzed him straight into Kings College Hospital by ambulance. He spent 2 weeks in hospital having various tests, pills, bed rest and physio. He is now out and back in the office apparently pain free? We are waiting to see what happens long term since his symptoms are similar to mine after my first operation in the RAF. I used to end up back in hospital virtually every year until 1980 when my back was eventually fused. However, like a good Quigley he didn't waste time in hospital - see BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8406337.stm
Jill - Jill had a spinal fusion of the first two vertebrae in May 2004. This had worked well for 4 years, but suddenly she started getting back pain again which gradually became more severe. Sadly the original specialist had retired and gone back to South Africa, so she had to see other specialists. They advised various things and proscribed various treatments and a course of injections. This achieved nothing except wasted NHS time. After over 12 months the situation was becoming desperate, she was getting nowhere except having to sit in endless waiting rooms to see a specialist's deputy. Eventually she asked me to accompany her to one of the appointments. With me present Jill reckoned that the specialist took more notice, informed her that she had had a back deformity since birth which with age was obviously getting worse and would probably need an operation to fuse her whole back. First, however, she would need an MRI scan (surprise, surprise - in military terms it had only taken over 1 year to decide to do a detailed photographic recce of the target to see where the enemy was positioned - before that he was using old maps, guessing and bombing randomly in the hope that he hit something - what a waste of time and resources!)
After the MRI scan we returned in late September for a further consultation (After one was cancelled the day before it was due! - Causing us to waste a journey from France) The specialist then declared that Jill would have to have at least a further 5 vertebrae fused, but it would be 3 to 6 months before he could do this as he was the only back specialist in the whole of North Yorkshire and Teesside! (Covering York, Harrogate, Middlesbough, etc!). he explained that it was a very serious operation and may take 6 weeks to recover.
| At this time Chris had recovered well from
his operation so Jill made an appointment to see the French Specialist who had
operated on Chris. We took all the latest X-rays and scans for him to
review, in addition he organised more X-rays on the spot, consulted with the other 3 back specialists
in his team (There were 4 just in Pau alone!) and came up with a
similar diagnosis to the UK man, but thought that fusing just one
additional vertebrae and inserting some special material between the next
one might do the job. However, he was uncertain until he could actually
see the condition of Jill's back. If Jill wanted him to do it he could do
it the following week except it depended on him finding the right
screwdriver to remove the existing metalwork from Jill's back. They did not use
this device in France so we would have to find out exactly what it was via
the NHS in
England. On the basis of finding the tool we agreed to go ahead with the
operation in 3 weeks. ....
The UK specialist was helpful, in identifying the system holding Jill's back together, but admitted that the NHS had not kept the records so they weren't sure which supplier had originally supplied the metal work and screwdriver! Eventually by some detective work they found the sales representative who sold the original kit to the Hospital. He was able to look at the X-rays and identify the kit used and therefore the make and type of screwdriver required. This took a few weeks, but enabled the French specialist to acquire the tool just in time! Right - An X-ray showing the original metalwork screwed into Jill's lower back |
|
| Jill went into Hospital in Pau, some 100 Km
for our French house, on 17th November and had the operation on the 18th.
Unfortunately when they opened her up they found that her back was in a
worse state than anticipated so in addition to removing the existing
metalwork, they had to fuse 5 more vertebrae. This was far more severe
than we were expecting. She spent 2 days in intensive care, were she was
well looked after but heavily sedated. On the 3rd day it would appear that
the communication system went wrong.She was taken directly out of
intensive care for a X-ray. Not normally a problem if handled properly,
however, in this instance it wasn't. The female radiographer tried to move
Jill from her hospital bed to an X-ray bed on her own. An impossible task
with Jill in severe pain. Eventually after she realised from the screams
that all was not well she went for assistance and came back with one man
in normal civvy clothes. Between them they slid Jill on to a board and
eventually managed the X-rays. Jill was then taken to her room still
in severe pain.
Jill reports that the nurses did not seem to realise the severity of her operation, if they did she believes that some (but not all) had been trained by the Gestapo. Some were superb and caring, but I have to say they appeared to be a minority. For example on one occasion whilst I was visiting, Jill was (and still is) having trouble keeping some of medications and some foods down. A nurse was in the room issuing pills, Jill was vomiting so I grabbed a bowl. The nurse ignored what was going on and kept talking telling Jill which pills to take & when! I just couldn't believe how callous she was!!!! The doctors, both the back specialist and the anethstatist, were excellent in their aftercare, they both visited Jill every day to see how she was progressing and adjusted drugs as necessary. |
Jill's new metalwork after the operation |
|
Jill was scheduled to stay in the Hospital in Pau for about 2 weeks and then transfer to a Nursing Home for rehabilitation, however, she hated the hospital so much that when the Doctor came to discuss her leaving hospital and transferring she begged to come home. I figured that looking after her for a week or so wouldn't be as bad as driving one hour each way and sitting for 2 to 3 hours making small talk so despite an inquisitive (Your mad) look from the doctor, I agreed to look after her.
The first night at home was a nightmare, morphine dehydrates you, you drink lots of water, you need to visit the loo lots. As Jill couldn't walk without a walker that meant me being the walker since we didn't have one! So the first night home we were both up for a walk every two hours. By the next day I was wrecked for as well as looking after Jill, organising a walker and other kit, collecting her drugs, organising a physiotherapist, cooking I was trying to run a UK business from overseas. I was starting to believe that this nursing caper wasn't as easy as it looks. Especially when my French communication skills are little more than zero! The biggest organisational disaster was a failure of the Physio to turn up. He/she was supposed to come daily for the first 10 days. Despite my making several visits to the local Physio centre and phone calls from Danielle all resulting in promises that someone would be there tomorrow - no one turned up for 11 days and then they came just twice. During this time Jill had not improved at all. She was still in severe pain plus other side complications were occuring that needed me to ask Danielle (in Luxembourg) to call a Doctor in on two occasions. The local doctor was excellent. He attended quickly each time we asked and examined Jill thoroughly. He and the Specialist at Pau both recommended that Jill went to a re-habilitation centre. Initially Jill refused saying she could not face being in a French "Colditz" again.
|
Eventually after 3 weeks at home she conceded that she was not getting any better, worse on some counts, and that formal treatment in the recommended re-habilitation centre would be a good idea. In addition, I was starting to struggle to cope with all the demands being placed on me. Originally the plan was for Chris to come out for a week in early December so that I could go home to sort out my business. Unfortunately that was when he ended up back in hospital so I was unable to go. Anyway the upshot is that Jill is now back in hospital in Banére de Bigorre for Christmas and is likely to be there for a further 4 weeks unless we take her the 13 miles over the hill to Lourdes for a quick miracle cure!
Right - There are compensations for the 50 minute drive to the hospital - the scenery. Bagnére is in the valley 5 miles down the road from the point where I took this picture Christmas Eve. |
|
Pic du Midi Dec 1944?
The final day of 2009 - 31st December
After a mostly enjoyable 2009, despite the family's health problems, especially Jill's and fairly traumatic start to the winter, I am pleased to report that although Jill is still suffering severe pain she is definitely improving. The regime at the rehabilitation hospital in Bagnére de Bigorre is pretty severe, but the treatment has already got Jill on her feet, although she still cannot walk without a wheeled "walker". The facilities at Bagnére, although somewhat dated, are excellent, especially the heated swimming pool which Jill finds the most relaxing. Needless to say I am now under pressure to install the heating systems in our pool. (As a matter of interest at 12.00 Hrs today the temperature in the shade down their was 16oc, whilst the thermometer showed that it had peaked at an incredible 28oc yesterday [Even warmer than Sydney!] - the down side is for the Skiers, for snow is melting up on the mountains).
The weather is glorious (unlike for my birthday bash) - I only hope that this is an omen for 2010 .......
|
Looking South towards Spain from our balcony 10.00 hrs 31st December 2009 |
The sky above us - aircraft to and from Spain |
A Happy, Healthy and Wealthy New Year to everyone
Les Q