Pre-Op Assessment

So it was off to Wythenshawe hospital yesterday for the pre-op.  This consisted of an ECG, blood tests and a chest x-ray all of which went smoothly.

However, I have also been getting terrible pains in my abdomen (never rains eh?) and wanted to get these checked out before the operation in case they hampered it in any way.  It seemed sensible to me to do this at Wythenshawe because this is where the operation is to take place.  So far, so good...

However, my assessment was "nurse-led" and, it appears, Wythenshawe has no doctors available unless you have an appointment.  My nurse (Caroline) did her best to try and find one but they were all either in theatre (despite being shown as "on call") or at other hospitals.  In the end I had to go to A&E in order to find a doctor.  Again, it seemed sensible to go to Wythenshawe A&E because if this was a separate thing that required admission I would at least be in the right hospital.  And how busy could A&E be in Wythenshawe on a Monday afternoon?  Of course the answer - as my good friend and constant companion Denise (an ex-Wythenshawe resident) pointed out - is very busy indeed.  We even had to queue to register.  Eventually got seen by an A&E doctor who couldn't help me and had to call on a specialist from - you guessed it - the Department I had been in for my nurse-led assessment.  Total fucking madness.

Anyway, Mr Prasaad (who I saw at MRI a week earlier) says he thinks its all connected to the cancer and so the abdominal thing shouldn't prevent the surgery going ahead.  Still means I'm not sleeping but its only for a few nights.

Can I just say at this point thank you to Denise.  She accompanied me the whole time we were there (about 5 hours in all) and was unfailingly cheerful and helpful.  I'm sure this won't be the last time I thank her on this blog.

She has a day off today but I will be visited later by the oxygen nurse, Sara and Gill so won't be bored.  Will also try and catch up on some sleep and pack my stuff for hospital tomorrow evening.

That's all for now.  Will update later if anything exciting happens.  J x