I did go home............

Visiting time and Dave wakes me from my sleep.

The guy is still with his wife at the end of the ward, Betty is asleep on her bed awaiting her husband to visit. The young girl opposite already has visitors. It gets quite noisy in here and warm at visiting time.
I start packing all my belongings into my case, don't really care how I do it, no particular order, I just want to go home. There all done and ready. I wait.

I had already been told that the pharmacy close at 2pm so my drugs will be up by then I am thinking. I am watching the clock so decide to go and ask how much longer, after all it is gone 2pm. No nurses at the nurses station, where the hell is every one I want to go home, ughhh this is so frustrating and I am no longer a patient patient!.

I pop my head into the poorly lady's room, her daughter is with her and she recognises me. We chat for a few minutes and the poorly lady (I do know her name, just don't think it would be fair to disclose it) recognised me and remembered my visit to her the previous night and thanked me, I say my goodbyes and wish her all the luck in the world and leave her room. I feel sorry for her as there is no treatment for her, just symptom and pain management is the best she can expect, poor love.

AHHHHHHH a nurse! Hi any news on me going home? I asked. It was a new Staff nurse to me, despite me having been there for two weeks we had not met before. "Oh we are waiting for the results of your INR so the doctor can come and prescribe your warfarin". I see well that should not stop me going home should it ? have my drugs come up yet? is the paper work and referral done?..... I received a negative response to all my questions. I was told that I would need to wait on the ward for all of the above and if I insisted on going home then I would have to sign a disclaimer.

I am now very frustrated and quite angry, why? what difference did my physical presence make to the above? me being there would not alter the final outcome at all. I had witnessed patients being sent home and told they could send a relative back for the drugs and paperwork, so WHY had I got to stay put?, its funny to think that if they were in need of the bed then this story would read differently.

Dave decided to take my case to the car, he needed a fag break and could see I was getting more and more frustrated, so I logged on line to take my mind off things. shortly after Dave's return the visiting bell rang and every one gradually started to leave. Its now 4pm and I am still waiting to go home. The staff nurse enters the ward and asks Dave to leave, .....WHAT! hes waiting to take me home!...... "then he will have to wait in the day room, this is a ladies ward and he cannot stay when its not visiting time" was her response.

OHHHHH OH I see, its clearly OK for one but not another huh ? hmm OK OK, I packed away my lappy and wrote my name and telephone number on a piece of paper and handed it to the nurse at the nurse station on my way out...please give that to my nurse and ask her to call me when shes ready...........

I called into the day room where Betty was sitting with her husband. I told her I was going and why, like me she flipped and commented on the lady who's husband had been there all day, bollox she said bollox to the lot of them !!!! I could not agree more lol I'm going home !

The walk down the corridor is quite a long one I cannot walk fast. We get to the entrance to meet the wife of a patient of mine and stand and chat for a few minutes when...... my Greek Doc appears, "just in the nick of time" I say !! and explain my frustrations. He tells me my INR result and agrees with my suggested dosage of warfarin. Still no sign of my tenner!! He persuades me to walk back to the ward whilst he gets my drugs and appropriate paperwork.

I know its best to exercise after surgery but hello!! can't one overdo it !!!

Finally I am on my way home, I am feeling every lump and bump in the road, every turn as my tummy follows with the gravity. But, I am finally going home, finally...............

I feel liberated!!