We got Mum home.......we knew there would be a little wait for the treatment at the Chrisitie.
It was a time of much uncertainty. My Sister was well into the process of emigrating to Australia.
This situation with Mum had thrown her into doubt as to whether they should still proceed. I told Vanessa that she should still go ahead with their application, and if they were granted residency they should go, however she was not sure...she kept throwing the 'what ifs' up into the air.
In the end I spoke with Mum and told her that Vanessa was worried about continuing with their emigration.......Mum was horrified and said she would mention it to Vanessa. I asked her not to mention that I had said anything.
After Mum had been home for about a week, an appointment came for her to go to the Christie for an assessment.
The Oncologist who would be looking after her was Dr Hunter.
I told Mum that she was going to be looked after by a real gentleman.
I took a day off work and we took Mum over to Manchester.... the 'we' being my sister Vanessa, my sister-in-law Debbie and myself. It was like a girls day out...except it was a bit more serious.
Mum was seen and examined by Dr Hunter. X-Rays were ordered and done, blood tests were taken and then Mum was given a date to be admitted.......the admission date was in a months time.
My sister was perturbed by this. She was thinking that if Mum had cancer why were they not getting on and treating it NOW.
Dr Hunter kindly explained that the biopsy site needed to be fully healed before treatment could begin....the treatment of choice was Radiotherapy. Mum would be in hospital for a full month......having treatment every weekday with just a break at the weekends.
Vanessa asked if Mum could come home at the weekends, they said she could, but she would be very tired and not able to do much. Mum said she would prefer to stay at the hospital......she didn't want to come and stay with any of us, she didn't want our lives disrupted any more than necessary.
Well, at least now we knew what the treatment was going to be, and when it was planned for.
We went and had lunch in the hospital cafe. Mum started laying down the law. She didn't want us to visit other than at weekends. We were all in the nursing profession and she felt that it would be too difficult to make the trek to Manchester each day after our shift.
The three of us looked at one another and all knew that the silent message that was being transmitted was 'NO WAY JOSE'....though we didn't actually say anything.
The time came for Mum to be admitted to the Christie........it was a tough time for my sister because the week before Mum was admitted to hospital my sisters best friend was diagnosed with Leukaemia and admitted to the ALU at the Christie.
Mum felt bad for Cathy, she was really very ill.......Mum said she felt like a fraud being admitted when she felt reasonably well.
We looked round Ward 1.......it was scary, there were some very sick ladies in the ward. Each day we visited there seemed to be a bed empty where someone had died. I think this was when it really hit me........I had been upbeat and positive until that time......now I could see it wasn't all upbeat and positive.
We visited at every opportunity we could......sometimes it would be Debbie and me, other times it would be Vanessa and Debbie....sometimes it would be all three of us.... but, Vanessa was dividing her time between visiting Mum and visiting her best friend......who was still desperately ill.
We tried to make sure that there was someone there at some part of the day every day she was there.
We would take her magazines and little delicacies.... her appetite really went off and she looked pale and tired.
She told us that she couldn't sleep very well as there was always some kind of activity at night.
I told her she couldn't sleep because she was noseying to find out what was going on......in fact every day we visited it was like getting a nursing report on the patients who were in the ward.
I told Mum that she shouldn't be listening...she said she wasn't, and that the patients talked freely about what was happening with their care and treatment.
Mum made some very good friends while she was at the Christie.
I would take every opportunity to question the staff about Mum's treatment......most of the staff were very helpful and supportive.
There was just one Staff Nurse who was rude and unhelpful, and when she talked to me it was like she was talking to a three year old.
I told her that I had worked in the Nursing profession for more than 25 years and had probably forgotten more about patient care than she had learned.......
I also told her that I worked in Gynaecology so had some insight into Mums condition.......
and in fact Mum had had her treatment on the ward where I was the manager.
I said that if I thought any of my staff had treated a relative in the way she had treated me I would be very disappointed.
She looked very shocked.......especially as my parting shot was that I would be talking to her manager about her attitude to relatives.......and also I had seen her be unkind to patients.
A senior Staff Nurse came to talk to me about what I had said to her colleague.........she listened to what I had to say and then told me that I was probably a 'bit stessed' by having Mum in hospital.
I explained that I had seen the Nurse be rude and unkind to patients and that she had left a patient calling for a bed pan and not attended to her and then shouted at the lady when she soiled the bed.
I told her that the patients that they were caring for were very special in that they had been given life shortening diagnoses, and that some of them would never go home.
I felt they should have the very best care.......and that I was going to put in writing what I had seen. Just one member of the ward team had marred our opinion of the place.
Mum was worried that they would take it out on her........I said to Mum 'you let me know if any of them don't treat you well....... because I'll rive their arms out and beat them with the soggy end'
To be continued.....
It was a time of much uncertainty. My Sister was well into the process of emigrating to Australia.
This situation with Mum had thrown her into doubt as to whether they should still proceed. I told Vanessa that she should still go ahead with their application, and if they were granted residency they should go, however she was not sure...she kept throwing the 'what ifs' up into the air.
In the end I spoke with Mum and told her that Vanessa was worried about continuing with their emigration.......Mum was horrified and said she would mention it to Vanessa. I asked her not to mention that I had said anything.
After Mum had been home for about a week, an appointment came for her to go to the Christie for an assessment.
The Oncologist who would be looking after her was Dr Hunter.
I told Mum that she was going to be looked after by a real gentleman.
I took a day off work and we took Mum over to Manchester.... the 'we' being my sister Vanessa, my sister-in-law Debbie and myself. It was like a girls day out...except it was a bit more serious.
Mum was seen and examined by Dr Hunter. X-Rays were ordered and done, blood tests were taken and then Mum was given a date to be admitted.......the admission date was in a months time.
My sister was perturbed by this. She was thinking that if Mum had cancer why were they not getting on and treating it NOW.
Dr Hunter kindly explained that the biopsy site needed to be fully healed before treatment could begin....the treatment of choice was Radiotherapy. Mum would be in hospital for a full month......having treatment every weekday with just a break at the weekends.
Vanessa asked if Mum could come home at the weekends, they said she could, but she would be very tired and not able to do much. Mum said she would prefer to stay at the hospital......she didn't want to come and stay with any of us, she didn't want our lives disrupted any more than necessary.
Well, at least now we knew what the treatment was going to be, and when it was planned for.
We went and had lunch in the hospital cafe. Mum started laying down the law. She didn't want us to visit other than at weekends. We were all in the nursing profession and she felt that it would be too difficult to make the trek to Manchester each day after our shift.
The three of us looked at one another and all knew that the silent message that was being transmitted was 'NO WAY JOSE'....though we didn't actually say anything.
The time came for Mum to be admitted to the Christie........it was a tough time for my sister because the week before Mum was admitted to hospital my sisters best friend was diagnosed with Leukaemia and admitted to the ALU at the Christie.
Mum felt bad for Cathy, she was really very ill.......Mum said she felt like a fraud being admitted when she felt reasonably well.
We looked round Ward 1.......it was scary, there were some very sick ladies in the ward. Each day we visited there seemed to be a bed empty where someone had died. I think this was when it really hit me........I had been upbeat and positive until that time......now I could see it wasn't all upbeat and positive.
We visited at every opportunity we could......sometimes it would be Debbie and me, other times it would be Vanessa and Debbie....sometimes it would be all three of us.... but, Vanessa was dividing her time between visiting Mum and visiting her best friend......who was still desperately ill.
We tried to make sure that there was someone there at some part of the day every day she was there.
We would take her magazines and little delicacies.... her appetite really went off and she looked pale and tired.
She told us that she couldn't sleep very well as there was always some kind of activity at night.
I told her she couldn't sleep because she was noseying to find out what was going on......in fact every day we visited it was like getting a nursing report on the patients who were in the ward.
I told Mum that she shouldn't be listening...she said she wasn't, and that the patients talked freely about what was happening with their care and treatment.
Mum made some very good friends while she was at the Christie.
I would take every opportunity to question the staff about Mum's treatment......most of the staff were very helpful and supportive.
There was just one Staff Nurse who was rude and unhelpful, and when she talked to me it was like she was talking to a three year old.
I told her that I had worked in the Nursing profession for more than 25 years and had probably forgotten more about patient care than she had learned.......
I also told her that I worked in Gynaecology so had some insight into Mums condition.......
and in fact Mum had had her treatment on the ward where I was the manager.
I said that if I thought any of my staff had treated a relative in the way she had treated me I would be very disappointed.
She looked very shocked.......especially as my parting shot was that I would be talking to her manager about her attitude to relatives.......and also I had seen her be unkind to patients.
A senior Staff Nurse came to talk to me about what I had said to her colleague.........she listened to what I had to say and then told me that I was probably a 'bit stessed' by having Mum in hospital.
I explained that I had seen the Nurse be rude and unkind to patients and that she had left a patient calling for a bed pan and not attended to her and then shouted at the lady when she soiled the bed.
I told her that the patients that they were caring for were very special in that they had been given life shortening diagnoses, and that some of them would never go home.
I felt they should have the very best care.......and that I was going to put in writing what I had seen. Just one member of the ward team had marred our opinion of the place.
Mum was worried that they would take it out on her........I said to Mum 'you let me know if any of them don't treat you well....... because I'll rive their arms out and beat them with the soggy end'
To be continued.....
