Blogs by Karen L Wilson
Health Issues and Other Matters
10/7/2011 10:26:15 AM
Describes the consequences of the fall that I had late July this year and the crisis in health in Tasmania regarding the Government's axing of elective surgery.
After the fall:this week I finally got to see my neurosurgeon after waiting five weeks for my appointment. She asked me if I wouldn't mind a medical student sitting in on the session. Since my daughter is a doctor and I remembered how vital it was for her getting practical experience I couldn't say no. Firstly the surgeon asked what my current symptoms were. I explained that I had tingling in my right arm that was the signal for waves of pain to flood over my right back and flow over my arm and hand. Previously I was told to take take Panadol three times a day.The medication failed to give me any relief. She asked more about my pain. Then she manipulated my arm into different positions to observe at which angles my pain was exacerbated.
Next,she opened the huge envelopes that contained my ex-rays and MRI scans.There were so many! The student came over as she pointed out areas of concern. As she was talking in medico-language I couldn't understand much of what she was saying. What I did hear was that parts of my brain had atrophied. These areas were shown as little white circles on the MRIs. Bad news!
The doctor told me I could have suffered some ischemic strokes in the last few years or the damage may have occurred with too much imbibing of alcohol. She asked me if I had been drinking alcohol when I had the falls? My answer was in the affirmative.
In the meantime she prescribed Gabapentin capsules to help me with the pain; I would need to see a psychologist who would give me strategies to deal with my pain and consult a physiotherapist who would use evidence-based techniques to bring physical relief to the sore areas in my body. If these strategies didn't help I may need surgery. I also have to see a rheumatoid specialist.
In Tasmania it is bad news about the 60 million dollars cut from the medical budget. These cuts are now being put in place. Among the types of major surgery affected are hip, shoulder and knee replacements, ear, nose and throat surgery, hernia repairs, cataract surgery, colonoscopies, varicose vein surgery and prostate procedures. At the Royal Hobart Hospital, so far, 1200 elective surgical procedures have been postponed.Even though Tasmania has the highest suicide rate in Australia another 2.4 million dollars has been cut in mental health. These cuts will continue until 2014. All these cuts because the Labor governments threw money around on stupid projects such as sponsoring football events shelling out money to finance the Tasmanian logo being placed on jerseys for a Melbourne team plus giving exorbitant payouts to incompetent directors when they resigned from positions. An appalling situation! The Government spent millions of dollars supporting the unpopular Gunn's Mill and then more millions providing compensation for lost jobs.
On the home front we have had to deal with the recent loss of our beloved dog Max (see events "Vale Max"). I am halfway through writing a story about him. Another story I have on the back burner is a humorous one about a rat falling out of the ceiling of a prestigious restaurant. It should be posted at the end of this month. In a few days we are heading off to (hopefully) sunny Queensland to visit relatives.
Our daughter and family returned from five weeks holidaying in Britain and Provence. My daughter gave me a packet of "Cote d'or nougatti" a tea towell and two tubes of handcream; my husband received a huge bottle of Glayva. Due to my medical condition I won't be allowed to share it.In that time the grandchildren had grown about two centimetres each.In all, they had a lovely time but were pleased to be back.
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More Blogs by Karen L Wilson
• Ted's Itinerary - Monday, March 18, 2013
• Entertaining Ted - Thursday, March 14, 2013
• Entertaiing Ted - Thursday, March 14, 2013
• A Hectic Week Ahead - Monday, March 11, 2013
• Whew! - Monday, February 18, 2013
• The Christmas Season - Sunday, December 30, 2012
• Post Colonoscopy Operation - Thursday, November 29, 2012
• Post Colonoscopy Operation - Thursday, November 29, 2012
• Post Colonoscopy Operation - Thursday, November 29, 2012
• Fasting for the Procedure - Tuesday, November 27, 2012
• One Day at a Time - Wednesday, November 21, 2012
• Hurricane Sandy's Massiive Impact - Wednesday, October 31, 2012
• Update of Illness in the Family - Tuesday, October 30, 2012
• Illness in the Family - Thursday, October 25, 2012
• The Price of Getting Older - Friday, October 19, 2012
• Thursdays - Wednesday, October 10, 2012
• Abduction - Friday, September 28, 2012
• More Than a Coincidence - Monday, August 27, 2012
• Notes on My Recent Cruise in Europe - Wednesday, August 15, 2012
• Mindfulness Exercise - Sunday, August 12, 2012
• Cruising along the Danube and Rhine Rivers - Wednesday, August 01, 2012
• Honouring the Life of James Gavin Paterson - Wednesday, July 04, 2012
• 10 Days to Go - Saturday, May 26, 2012
• Autumn Lingers - Wednesday, May 09, 2012
• Holiday of a Life Time - Sunday, March 11, 2012
• Compassion for Native Animals - Saturday, February 18, 2012
• A Bit of Chichat - Monday, January 09, 2012
• Christmas Time - Friday, December 09, 2011
• Health Issues and Other Matters - Friday, October 07, 2011
• What's Happening in Hobart - Sunday, September 11, 2011
• Wake-Up Call - Saturday, August 27, 2011
• The Connection between Schoolyard and Workplace Bullying - Friday, August 19, 2011
• Winter in Tasmania - Friday, August 05, 2011
• A Synopsis of My Talk at the Republic Bar on 3rd July - Monday, July 04, 2011
• The Rigours of Life - Friday, July 01, 2011
• Update on My writing and Other matters - Wednesday, June 22, 2011
• Such Is Life - Wednesday, June 15, 2011
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