NEWS FROM THE HOSPITAL

I had a phone call on Wednesday 18th from the hospital saying that there is an opportunity for me to have my parastomal hernia repair surgery done at St. Mark’s Colorectal Hospital in London. I told her, as I have told the Devon Referrals people in the past, that travelling out of the area is not an option for me for practical reasons, which she understood.

She informed me that my surgeon, Mr. Daniels, was currently not at work and they did not know when he would be returning. More delays… I asked if he was poorly, and of course she was not at liberty to tell me.

She then told me that two surgeons from St. Mark’s would be in Exeter on Thursday to consult with patients and she apologised for the short notice, but asked if I would like to take up this opportunity. When I asked her if the operation would have to happen in London, she did not immediately dismiss the possibility of it happening more locally, and would consult, and phone me back.

She phoned in the afternoon to say that if it would be more convenient for me, I could have a telephone appointment with one or other of the two surgeons rather than travelling up to Exeter, to which I readily agreed. We could discuss all options then.

I told her that I was coping OK with everything and I was not in pain, and that waiting wasn’t too much of a problem.

The following afternoon I duly got my call from one of the surgeons. He said that obviously it wasn’t as easy as it might be as he was not able to examine me for himself, but only had my scans and hospital notes to go on. He said that he believed I had a true hernia rather than a prolapse as Mr. Daniels had diagnosed, but he said it was possible to have both! He asked about my general health and how mobile I was, and what my energy levels were like, and gave his resume of my history – I was able to fill in some blanks for him. He asked about my weight and height, and said that I had a healthy weight for my height. I told him I ate whole-food plant-based and was staying pretty much the same on this very healthy diet.

It appears that if he were to do the operation, I would hae to go up to London for it, which I said was not practical for me. I reiterated that I was coping OK and not in pain, and was happy to wait till my name came to the top of the Exeter waiting list. He said that since I had been waiting so long, it would most likely be pretty near the top anyway.

We left it at that.