Today has not been a good day.
Mum was admitted to hospital this morning, after an ambulance crew woke the neighbourhood at 6.30am. The GP had called them after mums kidney blood tests came back.
She presented with abdominal pain and gastrointestinal issues. More blood tests, a CT scan, and X-ray later, she’s diagnosed with a perforation of the bowel that requires urgent surgery. My father is... anti-social and lacking in social comforts. So I do the round Robin of informing family, friends and vicar.
Unfortunately she is a high risk patient. She has poor health to begin with, and is a severe alcoholic. So she has a significant chance of surgical complications or not coming out of the surgery at all. She went into surgery at 6.30pm GMT, it is now 11.43pm GMT and I haven’t heard anything from the hospital.
No news may be good news, but a heads up that she’s alive would be appreciated.
Not that I can complain. Free healthcare at the point of delivery; admitted, assessed, treated and prepped for surgery in ten hours isn’t bad going. Doesn’t make me feel much better mind you!
To make matters more complicated, my brother is serving in the US Navy. He just applied and received US citizenship and doesn’t have a passport yet. To get an emergency passport and leave he needs a letter from the hospital saying it’s life or death. Which it is. But by the time he found that out after the surgery was announced, with time differences, it was after hours for the hospital and can I find a consultant on duty to write that letter? Can I hell.
Graaaah!
*rant over*