My 24 Hours in A&E

 In all my 33 years of life, I have never ever been admitted to hospital for an overnight stay. I've been to hospital for an out patient a few times and I was taken to A&E about 10 years ago after experiencing chest pains while at the swimming pool with my niece and nephew.

However, that all changed on Thursday 8th April 2021.

A few nights before, I had just came out of the bath and Simon had came into the bathroom to get something when he noticed a swelling in my groin area. How do I best describe where the lump was? Well, it's on my pubic area on the right hand side. For about a year and a half, I was experiencing some pain there and had even visited my doctor about it. I was told back then to take pain killers or use a heat pad on it if it got sore. They didn't appear to be too worried about it back then. Now, there was an obvious lump which was sore to touch. 

I wasn't able to get in contact with my doctor until Thursday morning. I rang first thing on Thursday morning at 8am and was on hold for nearly half an hour. I finally got through and spoke with the receptionist who I gave my symptoms too. I then had to wait for my doctor to ring me back. The last day I had to ring my doctor, I didn't get phoned back until 4:30pm so I wasn't holding my breath about being called back right away. I think I only waited 10 or 15 minutes for my doctor to ring me back. I managed to get an appointment for 12:45pm but I had one slight program - I had to work so needed to find someone to cover me while I went to the doctors. 

I headed into work but I was worried sick about my doctor's visit. I left work at 12:30pm and went straight to my doctors. With Covid, it's a very strange experience. I was lucky to be able to see my doctors at all as they weren't seeing people unless it was an emergency and my surgery was doing covid vaccines. I got taken straight away where she examined me and confirmed I had a hernia. She then went to write me a letter of recommendation for me to take to A&E with me. I was absolutely boiling and nervous. My Doctor returned with my letter and a card with a number to ring to get an appointment for A&E. I then picked Simon up a form so he could register for my GP surgery. I raced to a local garage to pick up something for lunch then went back to work to have lunch. 

I rang the phone first number to get an appointment at A&E. I then went back to work and awaited a triage nurse ringing me back. I only had to wait 15 minutes before someone called me back. I got an appointment for 3pm. Now, I was really scared and in a bit of a tizzy. 

I was allowed to leave work so I raced home so I could pick up my headphones, tablet and phone charger. I didn't get to speak to Simon as he was in a meeting with work. I was so scared and hated having to go to the hospital on my own. I wasn't allowed to take someone with me due to covid restrictions. I drove myself to the hospital which was about 20 minutes away. I got parked easily but I hadn't a clue where I had to go. The A&E department was no longer beside the main entrance. I went over and asked an ambulance driver where I was to go but he didn't know. I went into the reception area of the main entrance and asked there but the A&E department had now moved around the corner. I walked there as quickly as I could. I went inside and checked myself in. The lady at reception wasn't very friendly and I didn't appreciate shouting my details to her, for her to hear me. 

I was only sat down a few minutes when I got called to see the triage nurse who checked my details and blood pressure. I was then taken to the ED Minor's department where I handed a nurse my paperwork. I had to get a cannula put into my arm to get blood tests done. I found this a little strange and didn't like it at all. I'm not good with pain or injections. Some people get the cannula put on the top of their hand but mine was at the arm joint. It bloody hurt. I went to wait in the waiting room but was called to see another nurse who took me into one of the treatment rooms. She examined me again and asked me some questions. I then had to do a urine sample for me to ensure I wasn't pregnant. 

I then went back into the waiting room where I kept myself occupied for a while by playing on my tablet. There was no phone signal but there was free wifi, thankfully. I was called back in to see the nurse again who informed me that my bloods had all came back clear (thank goodness) but they wanted me to go for a CT scan which wouldn't be until 7pm. I also got a Covid test done which was just swabs taken from my nose. This was the first time I heard the mention of me being admitted. I was definitely freaking out now. I just wished I wasn't on my own. I just wanted the cannula out of my arm, to go home, have dinner and a nice hot bubble bath. As I waited again, Simon video called me which was nice. I got all emotional though, especially when he went into the spare room to see my little friends. 

I finally got called for my CT scan after 7:30pm. I've never had a CT scan done before so was scared. The lovely nurse walked me around to the correct department. Once it was my turn, the nurses asked me more questions and explained what would happen. I would have some dye injected into my cannula and would experience some hot flushes and feel like I had peed myself. Lovely. I laid down on the bed with my arms above my head. I didn't have to undress or anything, just pull my trousers down slightly and lift my bra up a little due to the underwire. I didn't experience any hot flushes but I definitely felt like I had accidently peed myself which was not a nice experience. The CT itself was fine and over very quickly. The nurses spoke to me through the speakers to make sure I was ok. Once down, I walked back to the waiting room.

I then got to meet with a surgeon. This is where things got even scarier for me. The surgeon examined me, trying to push the hernia back in again. It was very uncomfortable. I was asked the same questions I had been asked several times before. Then the bombshell was dropped; I was being admitted over night with the possibility of surgery that evening or the next day. I felt sick to my stomach. My hernia wasn't serious but he wanted to operate before it got anymore serious. Damn Covid restrictions for making me go through all of this on my own without moral support from Simon or even my sister Vera. I knew I wouldn't have surgery that evening and I was allowed to eat and drink until 12am. I wasn't even hungry and hadn't thought about food. I didn't even crave a cup of tea or chocolate. Once I was back out into the waiting room, I plugged my phone into charge and video messaged Simon back again to tell him they were keeping me in overnight. He ran around packing me an overnight bag. 

My next worry, was my car. If I was getting surgery, I wasn't allowed to drive for a week and my car was parked in the hospital car park. Simon was driving himself up and my family lived out of the way and I just wanted Simon to get there ASAP. My brother David phoned and he agreed to come up with his wife Joan to collect my car and take it to my house for me. While I waited on Simon, I got chatting to the two women in the waiting room. I was very grateful for this as I'm not an outgoing person who just starts talking to people. 

Simon finally arrived and I rushed outside to see him. I burst into tears as he hugged me tightly. We waited outside on David coming to get my parking ticket and car keys. We didn't have to pay for car parking as I was staying overnight. I had to go back inside as they were taking us to our ward.....or so I thought.

Simon and I went back to the waiting room at the ED minor department. We weren't there long though as we were moved around the near the main A&E entrance and made to wait in another waiting room. In the end, I had to wait until after 3am for a bed. Simon stayed with me the whole time which I was very thankful for. It was a very long and boring wait. I couldn't bring myself to eat anything but Simon got me a bottle of juice. I had to wear my mask the whole time which was really starting to annoy me. My bottom was getting really sore and I couldn't get comfortable on the horrible seats. 

Me waiting

At around 3am, I was finally taken to a room with was in the paediatric ward. I reluctantly said goodbye to Simon. I did have my own room which was fine. Plus I had Winnie the Pooh and Tigger on the window. Once the nurse left me, I burst into tears and brought Presley and Leah Monkeys out of my bag to hug tightly. I composed myself and got changed into my pyjamas, removed my make up and put my phone onto charged again. I finally got into bed and tried to get comfortable and warm but I only had a light sheet on my bed. I was freezing and that was with my dressing gown on. I also paid the bathroom a visit but there was the worst smell in there that nearly made me sick. 

Sleep did not happen and if it did, it wasn't for very long. There was a lot of noise outside my room with nurses talking and machines beeping. Leah and Presley stayed in my bag but kept watch.

 Leah and Presley

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I was woke up just before 6am by a nurse called Ruth who checked my blood pressure. Which was probably sky high due to her scaring the life out of me. I then washed at the sink in my room and put my pyjamas back on again before being connected to an IV drip. I began to read Robert Iger's book (Previous CEO of Walt Disney) while I waited on some news. Only now I was beginning to get hungry and got jealous of hearing the breakfast doing the rounds, knowing I couldn't eat anything. The waiting was the worst and not knowing what was happening. The nurse made me remove all my jewellery except my wedding ring. Getting my belly bar out wasn't easy.

At around 10:30am, I had a visit from a surgeon who did a quick check up on me but my stomach wouldn't stop rumbling. He made the decision there and then to send me home as he didn't think I'd be getting surgery that day due to too many emergencies. It was such a relief but would prolong my agony longer. I was taken off the IV drip and allowed to get dressed. I had to repack my bag again. I couldn't get hold of Simon as he was in meetings. He didn't get up until half 11. I was finally allowed food and was brought a cup of tea and some rich tea biscuits. I was very glad to be getting home. Simon and I left and went straight to KFC to get me something to eat. 

I honestly thought I would collapse in a heap and fall asleep when I got home but surprsingly, I was fine. I think it was whatever was in the IV drip that kept me going all day.

At the time of writing this, I don't know when I'll have my day procedure surgery but I have an appointment on Friday 16th April at the hospital.  I am not looking forward to getting surgery and I have to take it easy until I do.

All in all, my experience at A&E was a scary one but everyone was really nice to me. I felt that everything happened really quickly but I do think there was no point in me being kept in over night. I should have been able to go home, get a good night's sleep in my own bed and go back again the next day.