I waited for the doctor to come and see me...and waited...and waited. When the nice man with a white coat and a turban finaly popped round my curtain he got 6 medical staff to log-roll me onto my side so he could run his finger down my spine while I said "no" for no pain or "YES" if it hurt. This log-rolling thing was to be standard practice during the next few days...but more about that later.
As Doc pushed my spine, I was supprised at how many "No's" were coming out of my mouth. All down the middle of my back it was "No, No, No". I was waiting for a yes because I didn't want him to finnish and say 'Well, your not in and pain at all then are you.' And then he pushed my lower neck. "YES".
Then Doc went down the line of, 'Does it hurt more: 1...or...2' [pressing my neck in very specific places.] "1."
'Now, 1...or...2'
"2." - It was just like being at the opticians. Well, ok not really.
Apparently the fact that I felt the pain in a specific place wasnt really a good sign so I was to wait for my X-Ray (one of several).
About an hour later I was wheeled into X-Ray where they took two shots from different angles and then wheeled back to my spot in A&E.
More waiting.
Doc comes and tells me he isn't 100% happy with the X-Ray but it doesn't show very much so ima need another X-Ray. Ok Doc.
More waiting.
Another X-ray. Doc comes and tells me he's going to look at the latest X-Ray with a bunch of specialists now. Oooh, specialists, eh? This sounds like it could be more than bruising :/
More waiting.
Doc comes back. 'We arn't happy with your X-Rays so you are goings to have to have a CT Scan. Just wait here until they are ready for you' ... yeh sure, I'm hardly going to run for it am I.
More waiting, [you're probably getting board of this 'more waiting' business - sorry.]
So they wheeled me to the CT Scanner room and log-rolled me onto another bed thing. 'Whom, whom, whom, whom, BEEP' [yeh, thats the CT Scanner...not me :P] It didnt take too long, I quite enjyed the change of scenery. The hospital ceiling was starting to bother me.
You guessed - more waiting.
And then the bad news.
'I'm sorry to tell you this Millie, but you have fractured your neck in two places.' He must be joking. 'You're going to have to stay here over night and you'll have an MRI scan tomorrow to give us a clearer picture so we can decide what course of action to take.'
"Stay overnight? Can I sit up?"... haha, stupid question. But thats all I wanted to do. And for the next three days, I was lying flat on my back, head taped to the fluorescent blocks, neck brace intact. I was so frustrated. The 1st night was the worst. I was put on a ward with a number of other patients - all old ladies. The ward was so understaffed at night that the lady opposite me never got attended to as she groaned and mumbbled through the night, the lady down the room from me muttered for hours and hours - I don't know what about. The person next to me - she didn't seem to be bothered by anything - how could she be when she was snoring like a BEAST. I have never heard anything like it in my life! So neadless to say I got no sleep that night. The most frustrating thing about it was that I couldn't SEE anyone. I couldn't get out of bed to see if I could help anyone. No one could help me.
The morphine was starting to make me feel sick. I rang my call bell because I was terrified of chucking up with my head strapped down - surley I would drown in my own sick.
No one came
I tried to let the feeling pass but it didn't, so I called out. No one came. My calls didn't even seem to concern the other ladies on the ward. I felt so isolated and any minute I was going to drown - surley. It all sounds so over the top. But this was definatly a low point during the whole hospital experience. AT LAST, the nurse came. "Calm cown, calm down...I only took a few minutes" Yeh, OK thats great but I'm about to be sick here. I wouldn't have minded nearly as much if I could have sat up. Fortunatly I didn't puke and I got about an hours sleep before my parents came back in the morning. I opened my eyes to see them
and chundered. (sorry to be blunt)
THIS was the low point. I don't want to describe it too much but there was only one way for the sick to go and that was down my face, round my neck, into the brace and into my hair. Yuck.
THANK GOD they moved me to another ward that night where the staff were much more aware of what was going on around them and they prescribed me anti-sickness drugs.
To move this swiftly along... I had my scan. More "Whom, whom, whom, BEEP"ing and they still couldnt decide what to do with me. Another night in the hospital...more bed pan usage, more hospital ceiling etc etc. And the next day brought with it news that I was getting transferrerd to B'ham Royal Orthopedic. Sweeeeet.
