Another day...

... another walk-in centre, the one that had the d-Dimer testing machine. Only it didn't, as I discovered after waiting for triage again, repeating all my details which don't seem transferable between the computers of different health authorities, and waiting again for the blood test which was located at the end of the longest corridor ever (or so it seemed with my gammy leg). Having Googled DVT I was by now quite anxious about the possibility of a sudden pulmonary embolism or stroke, which would be the final straw after all that's happened over the last two years. The very nice nurse said they would take the blood sample and send it urgently to Whiston Hospital for analysis, and would get back to me within two hours, during which time I should go home and put my leg up. I would probably be given high-dose anticoagulants for 3 days pending further analysis.

I didn't go home, I went to #1 daughter's instead (nearer the hospital) and we distracted me by going to Ikea for lunch, a mirror and a shoe cupboard (as you do). While we were there the nice nurse rang me to ask if I were resting with my leg raised ("of course" I said, the tannoy announcement about Ikea bargains plainly audible in the background). She said my levels were 998 (under 500 is safe) and the hospital medics wanted me to come in at once - it was possible I'd have to stay in. Convinced I was about to expire I was somewhat traumatised. #1D got together an overnight bag for me just in case, and took me to the hospital, where we waited, and waited, for triage - where I was asked all the same questions. I was fitted with a hospital wristband with my name on, and an alergies one (NSAIDs and ACE-inhibitors), and sent to the waiting room, down, of course, an incredibly long corridor. A couple of hours later I was summoned down the long corridor again to see an incredibly young doctor who looked a lot like Polly in Fawlty Towers, which made it quite hard to concentrate on what she was saying, which in fact wasn't much. I needed a Doppler scan to check the blood flow in my leg, and was sent back to wait. Another hour later she came back and said Radiography was now closed and was fully booked the next day, so I should come back on Sunday. I said can you give me something for the pain in my leg and she went away to check. Some time later she came back to say the Pharmacy was closed. Went back to #1D's house where I had a sleep and a nice meal and lay with a bag of frozen peas on my leg for an hour in order to numb it enough to drive home. Before bed I took a good slug of the oral morphine I'd saved from brain haemorrhage days. Happy times they were by comparison with all this NHS mismanagement.