The Random Thread

[Weka]

H&M opened up here yesterday (first in NZ). Tell me, is it worth the hours drive to get there? Zara also opens up but next week. Think of maybe making the track in a couple of weeks after schools gone back.

[Kaz]

Yes, I think so Great for basic tees, layering up sort of clothes. Zara is fabulous but a bit more expensive than H&M.

[JoM]

Weka, I love H&M for myself and their clothes for children are fantastic, reasonably priced and well made (well, they were a couple of years ago when my two still fitted in them). Actually I bought something recently for my friend's daughter and it was lovely quality.

[JoM]

The last few days. Sunday the drive up to Manchester was great, we were there in under two hours. Back home was horrendous. It took 4 hours to travel 70 miles, two hours were taken up getting between the Manchester airport and the M6 slip road (to get on the motorway that end, not off at this end).

Yesterday Joe had a dentist appointment and it's two buses there and two back for us. We went to get the first bus and it didn't turn up, that bus would've given us 25 minutes leeway before we had to get the next one. Another was due 10 minutes later so by then we had 15 minutes leeway, that bus was running 16 minutes late so we'd then miss our connecting bus and the next one would mean he'd be late for his appointment. I rang the dentist and there were no other appointments available so back home we went.

Today we got to the hospital and checked in at 9.55 for his 10am appointment. Usually patients are weighed shortly after checking in and the update is added to their notes and then taken through to the doctor but that didn't happen today, I wondered if it was because he's 16 and they assume that they may have stopped growing by then. Come 10.45 we were still waiting. I said I was going to check to see what was happening but John said to hold fire so I did. Reluctantly. One of the nurses who was doing the weighing came over and asked if we'd checked in as she'd noticed that we'd been seated there for a while. It turned out that Joe's records hadn't been put in the correct place by the receptionist so he'd been missed for weighing and therefore they hadn't gone through to the doctor so he'd also missed his time slot. It wasn't even as if it was a busy clinic, there were just three people ahead of us when we arrived.

Anyway, she weighed him and we sat waiting again. By 11.10 my levels of patience were below zero so after asking at reception just how much longer we had to wait and getting a shrug of the shoulders in response it was off to PALS that I went. I've already got them helping me with a complaint re the cancelled appointments. One of the assistants went around to outpatients while I spoke to another. I met the first assistant on her way back from outpatients as I returned to John and Joe. She said he'd been sent in to see a doctor. He must've been in there for five minutes tops and was coming out with a form for a blood test when I got back there but John had asked her a few questions we needed answering and she was going to speak to the consultant and if we went back after he'd had his bloods done she'd see us again with answers.
Got around for a blood test and there were 17 people ahead of us. Bear in mind it was now 11.30 and Joe had to get back home, get changed for college, have a 30 minute bus journey and be there for his class at 1pm.

At that moment the outpatients sister came over. She'd obviously been alerted and took me into a room to take down all that had happened and she apologised profusely. She then took Joe straight in past the queue for his blood test. She'd arranged for us then to go straight back to see the consultant, and indeed he was waiting for us when we got back. He was incredibly helpful, as he always has been whenever we've seen him, and is such a lovely man. However, because of what we were asking him, rather than this being a routine annual appointment, we've now got to wait for an ultrasound appointment for Joe and another for him to see a haematologist at Stoke.

[meriad]

Crikey Jo, that sounds rather unorganised.... Glad that you managed to get all the appointments done though; did Joe make college in time?

Hopefully the other two appointments will happen soon and without any continuing saga; good luck! x

[Workingman]

Jo, I am so glad you went to PALS, they are so useful, aren't they?

When my wrist problem (motorbike accident) dropped into a black hole at LGI I used PALS. Within days I was transferred to Harrogate and have had great treatment ever since.

Hopefully Joe will now be flagged up as having had appointment problems in the past and will not suffer the same crap again.

[JoM]

Frank, it surprised me just how proactive they were! I went around to see them because I was going to explode at someone if I sat in the waiting room much longer and as there's an ongoing complaint I thought I'd be able to just add to it there and then rather than phoning later but the one lady was straight off to outpatients to see what was happening and once she'd had a word things happened quickly! The consultant apologised several times throughout the appointment and it wasn't even his fault.

We've known him for years though and in the past, when the boys were younger and more able to take time off school, we've helped out by taking them in for a day for medical students to practice their diagnostic skills. They've even been used in practical exams on occasions.

Ria, he did thankfully but only because John dropped him off in Stafford on his way into work.

[Osc]

What a palaver Jo, I may have missed it, but why does Joe need the ongoing appointments?

[JoM]

Osc, he has an hereditary blood condition (thanks to me!) which isn't anything to be concerned about but it does cause an enlarged spleen which eventually becomes redundant, anaemia and gallstones. He does have gallstones but they're not causing him any problems at the moment *touch wood*. There's no treatment as such for the condition but at some point he'll require a splenectomy and will possibly have his gallbladder removed at the same time.

Of course, having an enlarged spleen is dangerous, especially if he plays any contact sports. His immune system isn't as it should be either so any cold or infection he gets can hit him twice as hard.

What we wanted to ask today was if it was possible for him to have surgery sooner rather than later. More as a preventative measure as one day he will have a lot of pain from gallstones and will then have to go through the whole palaver of waiting for appointments, being referred for surgery etc and that can takes months, months of tremendous pain. The enlarged spleen is also a concern, plus he's tired a lot of the time now. Quite normal in teenagers I know but this is quite excessive with Joe and often he'd come home from school and go to bed for a couple of hours before dinner.

I had my spleen removed at the same time as my gallbladder 14 years ago, keyhole surgery wasn't possible so I have an attractive 6" keloid scar right down my middle. Had a two week hospital stay as well, although the first five days were due to severe pain from gallstones requiring morphine.

[Diflower]

Jo weirdly I have another online friend with what sounds like the same hereditary condition, I thought of you when she first mentioned having no spleen.
She has a son, and also pushed for him to have the surgery earlier rather than later. He did, and she's glad it was while he was still under her control so to speak.
She was worried once he was away from home he would ignore symptoms and not take proper care.