Tuesday 15 March 2011

A trip to the paediatrician

Yesterday,  Jack and I were at our local hospital as he had a paediatric appointment.  When I picked him up from school he was threatening a seizure but he waited til we arrived at the entrance to the hospital to take one.

I quickly dealt with it but he was quite sleepy after.  We didn't have long to wait before we were seen.  It wasn't our usual doctor as he retired but I did know this doctor so it wasn't too bad. He asked about the curve in Jack's back, asking did I think it had gotten worse.  It doesn't seem any worse to me but then he showed me the x rays from 2 years ago and I was quite shocked to be honest.

Jack's spine twists one way, straightens for a bit, then twists the other way.  Most unusual apparently but that didn't surprise me in the least as with Jack, nothing is ever straight forward. The doc then showed me a front view of the top half of his spine, taken about 6 months ago, when he had a chest infection and they were looking at his lungs.  It just looked just as horrible from the front.  He suggested that Jack get a x ray of his spine at our next appointment in 6 months time to just see if things are actually worse.

source

He also referred us to another doc to discuss the results of Jack's HP test as it wasn't his particular area of speciality.  Jack is on meds for reflux but he doesn't really have a lot of it.  What he does have is reflux, brought on by a seizure and he then ends up swallowing half of what he brings up thereby aspirating it into his lungs. It's a constant battle to keep his lungs clear and not easy to do either as he fights me if I use the breathing mask.  Who needs to go to the gym when Jackyboy is around!  In fact, I do often wonder why I am not remotely thin!!!! 

I took the opportunity whilst there to show him the infection around Jack's peg site.  It's pretty red and raw and no amount of sudocrem is shifting it. Turns out it's a fungal infection so he wrote out a prescription for me.  While he was doing that, he was leaning on some hospital notes.  The physiotherapist, Liz, who was also there commented that "they were all Jack's notes".  I couldn't believe it cos there was a hell of a lot of them.  I said "I wish I could get a photo of that" and she replied "why not? You got your camera?".  "Yes, I do actually" I replied, causing her to laugh.  So I whisked it out and took this picture.

Jack's medical notes
The nurse even gave me a tape measure and his notes are 8 inches high!!!!!  Thirteen years worth. Nearly.

That would take some amount of reading don't you think? I was a bit blown away by the scale of them!

The doc made us laugh when he commented that "most women would tell you Jack, that 8 inches is good!" When it was time to go, the physio, Liz, gave me a big hug cos I had just mentioned that her referral for Jack to attend the hospice, had been accepted. She is such a lovely lady.

You don't normally gets hugs on the NHS!!!


20 comments:

  1. Poignant but with a little laugh therein xx

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  2. Ahhh, but the NHS hugs are just for the special people!!

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  3. Aye Linda, I always try to find something funny in everything. It's what keeps me going :)

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  4. Wow Lynne I was amazed by the stack of Jack's paper too. I captured a shot of it into my pictures to see later on as a reminder of how much he has been seen by doctors. A lot of trees.
    Have a great rest of the day and say "HEY" to Holly & Jack for me.
    Odie

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  5. Wow Lynne I was amazed by the stack of Jack's paper too. I captured a shot of it into my pictures to see later on as a reminder of how much he has been seen by doctors. A lot of trees.
    Have a great rest of the day and say "HEY" to Holly & Jack for me.
    Odie

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  6. Re: "most women would tell you Jack, that 8 inches is good!"

    I may have my mind in the gutter as usual and mis-judging most women, but I think that most women would say that 8 inches is more than is required. I only had 7 at my best and never had a complaint.
    :-)

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  7. Odie - Pretty amazing eh and aye you're are right about the trees. Eeek!
    IWBY - lol yeah I is the girl!!!
    Don - no your mind was not in the gutter, it's not the size of it that counts, it's what you do with it!!! ;)

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  8. that is a big stack of records...

    i am glad you got a hug! and when it is a hug from an usually standoff-ish type, it just means you are a people magnet!

    but we all know you are charismatic, the rest of the world is still catching up!

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  9. That sure is a big pile of notes!! Glad you got that NHS hug. I'm sure they're only reserved for very special people!

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  10. I don't know how big my medical notes are nowhere near 8 inches I'm sure. I do know the curve in the spine I have one but it isn't that noticeable. I hope Jack gets better.

    hahaha 8 inches good.

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  11. Simply awesome. And here I thought my generation was the first to master dry wit. Seems I was wrong. ;)

    Regards, Aron
    check my site

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  12. If that stack is the "notes"...I'd hate to see the full report!!! Hope all is well at your house :-)

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  13. Bruce - you say the nicest things :)
    Thisisme - hugs are great
    Ditz - here's hoping that your curve stays not so noticeable.
    Aron - lol you sure are
    Chief - I know, shocking. We are all good :)

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  14. Lyndy - Pooldad and I got big smiles from this today. Such a great sentiment :) and a nice end to the visit.

    You guys are truly inspiring. Those charts are intimidating, but you guys do IT! Bravo.

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  15. I was going to take a picture of my daughters big stack of records yesterday just for you, but they hauled them away while I was digging in my purse for new batteries! Note to self: fresh batteries in the camera any time I leave the house.

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  16. Skippymon -Glad I made you guys smile. Even I was shocked by the size of those records!
    Kellie - awww that's a pity, I would have liked to see that :)

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  17. Nice comment from the Dr! I laughed out loud at that one! I have a dirty mind though, so it doesn't take much to make me giggle like a 12 yr old boy. I'm sorry to hear about his spine. Hang in there!!!
    : )

    Elle
    http://LYLASandCo.com

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  18. Elle - I have such a dirty mind too! lol

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Laughter is the best medicine and it's free. Thanks for visiting my blog and I look forward to hearing from you.

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