The wait goes on, and on

The last few days, nothing remarkable has happened. This has been the warmest February month on record. For several days now the skies have been as blue as they would be if we were on the Costa del Sol. It's a small consolation in the midst of much uncertainty.

Wound clinic visits, daily walks and shopping have whiled away the time until my next appointment with the colorectal surgeon to assess progress made after the operation. The wound nurses are certainly pleased with the progress I've made so far. I hope the surgeon thinks the same. I'm still waiting for a response to my letter of enquiry to the surgeon about the date assigned ten weeks post-op instead of four weeks as stated on op day. I feel sure this is an error, and if it isn't, need explanation for the delay, and advice about how to cope with a half finished procedure. Being kept in the dark about exactly what was done in surgery on top of this confusion, is disturbing to Clare and myself. 

This morning, on the way to celebrate the midweek Eucharist at St Catherine's, I popped into our GP surgery to see Debbie, the practice manager and ask if she'd be willing to enquire on my behalf. It's not clear who is responsible for the follow-up, as the surgeon meant to operate on me handed the job over to another team member. Who in the hospital booking administration is responsible for what or responsible to whom? I thought Debbie had a better chance at finding out than me. She checked the surgery records and found my operation discharge sheet, which states the follow up op is to happen in eight weeks, as I was told, but nothing about the interim checkup at four weeks, although this was written my discharge leaflet by the nurse in charge.

When I got home after the service, Clare said Debbie had phoned to say that she had made contact with the booking clerk responsible, and found there was no record of booking me in for anything. She emailed copies of all the post-op documents to the clerk, who promised to take it up with the surgeon. No idea was given of when or how we might find out, however!

After lunch, another wound clinic visit, then my first post-op acupuncture treatment and a walk into town to buy some shoe insoles. I caught the bus back instead of walking, as a wave of tiredness hit me unexpectedly. Half an hour's sleep in the chair before supper was enough to restore me. Bouts of tiredness when you're not physically tired can be an after-effect of anaesthetic for some time after. I'm tired also at being preoccupied by this ailment and all the hassles surrounding treatment.