Diary Of An IMpatient INpatient

[Arthur Little]

................. 's me!

Sunday 7th June: ... awoke with vague feelings of abdominal discomfort - which persisted throughout the rest of the day.

Monday 8th June: Felt well enough, initially, to go into town with my wife to collect a prescription from the pharmacy with whom I'm registered and do a spot of shopping. However, seemed we'd to queue a bit longer than usual outside the Tesco Metro ... to the extent of our being forced to abandon the later mission when I became unwell again. Indeed, while waiting at the bus stop, the symptoms I'd suffered 24 hours' previously had recurred with a vengeance so I had to make a quick dive behind the shelter and stood there retching until the bus arrived. Then, the driver refused to allow me to board, due to ongoing co~vid rstrictions, saying I'd "need to call a taxi instead" ... ... which, of course, was pointless, since taxis AREN'T equipped for bank card payments.

One helpful bystander tried calling an ambulance, but got nowhere and, eventually, anoother person came to my wife's assistance in escorting me round the corner to a nearby Clinic/Health Centre, where I was placed in a chair while an ambulance was (this time) successssfully contacted to transport me to the Royal Infirmary's A&E.

Alas, though, my wife wasn't permitted to accompany me there for the reasons already mentioned. At PRI, it was "all go" as I lay writhing on a trolley being poked, prodded and asked seemingly endless questions before it was decided I would be transferred through to *Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for further investigation.

Once *there, I underwent ANOTHER barrage of tests and was linked up to various tubes &c ... including an intravenous glucose drip feed and informed I would be given a CT scan the following morning.

Tuesday 9th June: Relieved to find the painkillers I had been given "worked a treat", and apart from being roused occasionally to enable staff to take my temperature and monitor my blood pressure, I'd slept and had a fairly peaceful night. Results of my scan and a routine co-vid test BOTH proved satisfactory, and I was happy to learn I should, (hopefully) be going home next day.

Wednesday 10th June: Collected by my daughter-in-law, as we don't own a car.

[Dave_]

................. 's me!

Sunday 7th June: ... awoke with vague feelings of abdominal discomfort - which persisted throughout the rest of the day.

Monday 8th June: Felt well enough, initially, to go into town with my wife to collect a prescription from the pharmacy with whom I'm registered and do a spot of shopping. However, seemed we'd to queue a bit longer than usual outside the Tesco Metro ... to the extent of our being forced to abandon the latter mission when I became unwell again. Indeed, while waiting at the bus stop, the symptoms I'd suffered 24 hours' previously had recurred with a vengeance so I had to make a quick dive behind the shelter and stood there retching until the bus arrived. Then, the driver refused to allow me to board, due to ongoing co~vid rstrictions, saying I'd "need to call a taxi instead" ... ... which, of course, was pointless, since taxis AREN'T equipped for bank card payments.

One helpful bystander tried calling an ambulance, but got nowhere and, eventually, another person came to my wife's assistance in escorting me round the corner to a nearby Clinic/Health Centre, where I was placed in a chair while an ambulance was (this time) successssfully contacted to transport me to the Royal Infirmary's A&E.

Alas, though, my wife wasn't permitted to accompany me there for the reasons already mentioned. At PRI, it was "all go" as I lay writhing on a trolley being poked, prodded and asked seemingly endless questions before it was decided I would be transferred through to *Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for further investigation.

Once *there, I underwent ANOTHER barrage of tests and was linked up to various tubes &c ... including an intravenous glucose drip feed and informed I would be given a CT scan the following morning.

Tuesday 9th June: Relieved to find the painkillers I had been given "worked a treat", and apart from being roused occasionally to enable staff to take my temperature and monitor my blood pressure, I'd slept and had a fairly peaceful night. Results of my scan and a routine co-vid test BOTH proved satisfactory, and I was happy to learn I should, (hopefully) be going home next day.

Wednesday 10th June: Collected by my daughter-in-law, as we don't own a car.

Another dodgy Vindaloo?

[imagine]

Glad you turned out well Arthur

[Arthur Little]

Glad you turned out well Arthur

Thank you, Stewart. ... although still not 100%, I'm feeling a hell of a lot better than I was a week past Monday and, at my own insistence, have since received a letter from my GP explaining the hospital's findings in a bit more detail.

Unknown to myself, I had been rather anaemic; therefore, in order to determine the cause of some rectal bleeding, the hospital is arranging for me to have a sigmoidoscopy as an outpatient.

[Arthur Little]

Unknown to myself, I had been rather anaemic; therefore, in order to determine the cause of some rectal bleeding, the hospital is arranging for me to have a sigmoidoscopy as an outpatient.

... shan't be holding my breath ^ while waiting, however.

[Arthur Little]

... shan't be holding my breath ^ while waiting, however.

Damned good job I didn't! Anyway, I've to report to the PRI Endoscopy Suite at 9.45 hrs tomorrow morning to have the procedure ... after starving myself - apart from an early breakfast - and ingesting the contents of two sachets of a powdery substance called 'Picolax' in a cup of cold water to empty my lower bowel the day before in preparation.