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Need a shoulder - support - and help please


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Life kicks you at times - and then kicks you again.  I'm feeling so upset - just need to chat to anyone and a bit of support please.

My husbande (yup, the dozy one) - fell in the bathroom Tuesday afternoon. I found him lying on the floor, totally dazed and out of it - very confused.   He'd had an afternoon nap, got up, went into the bathroom - and must have slipped and hit heas head.  He couldn't get up, and I couldn't lift him.  He shuffled on his bum back towards the bed but couldn't stand up.   I called the emergency services.   They turn up, examine him, try to talk to him - he's not making any sense and became rather aggressive.   They took him in the ambulance to the hospital at Villeneuve.

I saw him on Thursday afternoon;  he's still confused; the hospital have run some tests, and on Friday (today) said they were going to run an EEG (brain scan) and an ERM (?).   I had phone call this afternoon to say that all the scans and tests have come back negative - can't find reason for his dizzy spell or confusion. 

But then the doctor dropped the bombshell;  my husband had FALLEN OUT OF BED on Thursday night.   None of the medical staff noticed anything wrong;  the doctor said they only became aware -

THAT HE HAD BROKEN HIS HIP BONE -

AFTER they had looked at the scan images..................

The doctor has said that they will operate on Monday (Monday !!) to repair his hip bone.

I am devastated;  he went into hospital - physically - in good shape; strong, fit, healthy - and now he's broken his hip bone....................

And I'm terrified for the long-term physical effects;  I am also terrified of what a general anaesthetic can do (last time he had op for prlostate (benign) - I was able to insist that the op was done under Sedation, not a GenA - because I'm aware of the bad effects of a GenA on the brain, and that patients recover much quicker after an op performed under sedation.

I don't know if I will have the right to insist that the op is done under Sedation; and I don't know whether to pursue any legal action of 'lack of care' - I'm so, so upset over what the hospital has done to him.

And if I say I'm in tears of despair - really I am, and I have no-one I can talk to..........

I'm so worried.....any one got broad shoulders !!!!

Chessie

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Very sorry to read about what's happened to you and your husband,   awful thing to be going through.

My only - very well worn - advice is to tackle one thing at a time.    Most important thing is to get both of you through the operation and its aftermath,   only then should you think about the other contributory factors.    In other words one thing at a time,   and look after yourself as well.

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Very sorry to read about what's happened to you and your husband,   awful thing to be going through.

My only - very well worn - advice is to tackle one thing at a time.    Most important thing is to get both of you through the operation and its aftermath,   only then should you think about the other contributory factors.    In other words one thing at a time,   and look after yourself as well.

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Thanks for replies.

It is possible to have hip surgery under sedation rather than GenA - with epidural.  My concern is that this is a 'repair' emergency type operation, rather than the care and planning that takes place for a major hip replacement; and yes, hip replacements can be done under sedation.  I know, surprising isn't it - but read the medical articles - in fact patients recover much better after having an op under sedation rather than the full GenA.   Which is why I'm so worried about the GenA aspect of this whole wretched mess.

D Lister - thank you for taking the time to send me a private pm; sadly I cannot 'read' your pm - don't know what the problem is, but maybe someone can tell me how to 'read' a private message.  Always could do so in the past - but not now !!

Chessie

 

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I don't think it's you. When I originally wrote to you the software wouldn't allow me to enter any text, just attachments which I now find even I can't open. I've rewritten much of what I wanted to say into our 'conversation' which you may or may not be able to pick up. With the number of gateway errors and timeouts I'm getting on the forum at the moment it wouldn't surprise me if you couldn't pick that up either.

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I don’t think I answered very well before I meant they would use epidural/ spinal as well as sedation,not just sedation 

Hip repairs are VERY common and there are various types depending on the site of the break Hemi Arthroplasty Dynamic Hip Screw etc. So don’t worry that they won’t be as set up to give adequate care. A repair isn’t as extensive as a full replacement and are often quite quick especially if a GA isn’t used

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D Lister - thank you for your lovely pm; I did manage to read it in the end - but now I can't work out how to reply !!

Martin - 963 - thanks for those supportive words - love the support that we get on this forum - kind words go a long way, don't they.

Riggers - thank you also for your comments above.   I found them to be immensely reassuring;  I know I had become very distressed and upset at what had happened to OH - in hospital for heaven's sake.   But you have also helped me 'pick myself up' !!

The plan is that OH has operation on Monday.  I asked the staff today if they knew what time - but it's a Saturday, and there didn't appear to be a Dr available when I asked if I could speak to one.

Here's the big problem; hospital visit tomorrow - Sunday - no guarantee I'll see a Doctor.  Operation on Monday.  How do I ensure the op is carried out with sedation and epi - at 'patient's rep' request.  I can talk to the nurses but I'm not sure how much weight my verbal message would carry.  If I type out a note requesting the op is sedate/epi, sign it - and ask that it be handed to the Dr on Monday morning, or included with OP's notes - anyone know if that would guarantee the surgeon got the message ? 

Why do I do this to myself ?

Chessie 

 

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I am due for a minor op in mid-May, and just completed a set of "pre-admission" forms, through which I nominated my wife as being responsible for me and to authorised to make decisions on my behalf.

I think that if your husband is capable of doing the necessary paperwork that the hospital/doctor will be obliged to get your agreement for any and all procedures they propose to follow.

This being a Sunday, and Labour Day makes it difficult, but if you can contact your own doctor, infirmière, or even dial 115 (SAMU), you may be able to get advice.

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A word of warning,it may not be possible to insist that the op is carried out under sedation/ epidural,anaesthesia is a very exact science and the anesthetist may consider it best done under GA I don’t want to worry you but sometimes in medical matters things aren’t as simple as we would want 

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Shortly after I clicked on "Submit Reply" for my post above, the connection timed out, creating an error message.

I had navigated to this topic by opening it in a new tab from "All activity", so closing the error message took me back to that tab.

There was a message at the top saying new posts had been made, and when I clicked on it my new post appeared.

On returning to the topic, the post still appeared in the "Reply" box.

I suppose this is the reason for so many double posts, but I was able to clear the box in the knowledge that my post had been registered.

Keeping "All Activity" open in a tab may be a handy procedure to avoid annoying double posts

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Rigger - thank you for the info;  it is something I had also considered.   I know that the sedate/epi route is not 'normal' here in France.  I ran into similar problem when OH had to go through paperwork prior to his prostate op.   There was a degree of resistance to my request for the S/E route - but they did agree to do the op with S/Ep.   This time, because of the weekend, and the holiday - I am unable to find anyone to really talk to about this.   Am beginning to feel maybe I should row back on the idea, and leave it to the medics - even though I'm deeply worried about a GenA.  Because he fell in hospital, out of his bed and found on the floor, it is possible that more damage was done to his hip bone putting him back into bed because the staff would not have been aware at the time that he had broken his hip in the fall.   I don't know how easy it is to do further damage to a broken hip bone by being moved after having broken it.  

Oh dear, I'm getting into a state again.........!!

Chessie

PS - SSomon - interesting tip; maybe should be posted in Techno section as well, but good advice for us all.

 

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13 minutes ago, chessie said:

 ........... because of the weekend, and the holiday - I am unable to find anyone to really talk to about this.

 

Maybe I should have put my remarks about double posts elsewhere, as maybe you missed my suggestion in the previous post:

 

2 hours ago, ssomon said:

 .......... This being a Sunday, and Labour Day makes it difficult, but if you can contact your own doctor, infirmière, or even dial 115 (SAMU), you may be able to get advice.

 

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Chessie,

You may not see this until it is too late, but they have significantly improved GA over the years.  Comparing the 4 GA ops I've had (2000, 2017, 2019, 2021) each time the receovery period has been reduced with much less discomfort, in fact, after the last in Nov 2021 (second hip replacement) I was so good after it I was amazed, having remembered how I was for the previous hip replacement one in 2017.  So your worries about GA may not be needed.

However, I totally understand your worries, given what you have told us about OH's health already. 

Prayers winging your way ...

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Thanks to those who sent private messages - I've seen them, but damned if I can work out how to reply.  But very many thanks - really appreciated the help and support, from everyone, private and on here.  It's why I love this forum and the posters here ?

Apart from the support, the practical information is always useful for others to remember - as in progress re GenA, and other posters' personal experiences.

His op went fine;  I did ask for Sed/Ep rather than GenA, unless medically contra-indicated, and the Anaesthetist agreed - but not yet found out what they did.

Hope to talk to his consultant tomorrow to find out next stage.

But again, very many thanks - love the big shoulders and support - you're all wonderful virtual friends ?

Chessie

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