1 December 2015
What a nasty last three months of the year. It started back in October when
Murray and I, along with a friend from Darwin went up to Newtown to look at
shops and do some shopping. We got as far as the bus stop that goes back to
Sydenham, I sat down in front of the church up there and do not remember
anything until I woke up in the emergency ward at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
(RPA). I ended up in the intensive care unit (ICU) for several days while they
sorted out my problem. I do not recall a thing from my blackout up till they
woke me up in Emergency. Murray informs me I had the best medical
assistance going as most of the nurses who stopped to help where going to
work at RPA. They (the doctors) decided I had syncope (pronounced sin-kapea), after some more deliberations, it was decided to have a loop recorder
inserted in my left chest above the heart to record what my heart was doing
and why I was blacking out. I was awake for this little operation and I called it
my black box recorder as it is black and sits under the skin and I wear a small
monitor that I press when I feel my heart doing strange things, I hope to have
control of this and we find out what is going on.
Well, we get over the above problem and in early November, only to have two
more mini blackouts in a row at home, I was bit more with it and I told Murray
to get an ambulance and we go to RPA. I was put in a ward with patients with
weird problems. I was eventually diagnosed with having Urinary Tract
Infection. I was prescribed a whole lot tablets and as it seemed to improve, it
was decided to discharge me on Sunday evening with a script to see my local
pharmacy to get filled as that section at the hospital was closed. Those tablets
were a big mistake they only made things worse, so I decided to only take 7
days’ worth and ditch the rest. So now, I’m having little black outs and lots of
dizzies thanks to the above two problems.
The third incident happened on Sunday, 6th December I woke up with more
pain in the chest than before. After enduring it for several hours I decided that
this may have been caused by an allergy to the past medication. I packed a bag
of I items needed for hospital and caught a bus up to near RPA and logged into
emergency until they found a bed in a ward I called the enigma ward as the
hospital did not seem to know what to do with us. After explaining the last two
visits to the hospital and the possible allergy to the medication, it took the
doctors 8 days to sort my problem out, they had decided after many scans and
other tests I had gall stones in my bladder (funny, it was the same day the
Gauls were attacked by IS*), and they would have to remove part or all of my
gall bladder. Well that was done on Sunday, 13th, around midday and they took
the lot out by doing key-hole surgery. Now I have three problems, little dizzies,
small black outs and a sore chest. I hope the new year brings me better health.
On Tuesday 15th they marched in and said I was going home, they don’t like to
keep you in hospital long after surgery. So here I am feeling sorry for myself
and hoping I will get over the pain quickly.
Well that’s my story for the past three months; I have hardly been out of the
house. I have left my Christmas cards too late this year, so some of you will not
get them until the Festive Season is over, those who do congratulations the
postal service was working.
So to all of you Merry Christmas and may the New Year 2016 be a very good
and prosperous year.
Regards Peter Smith
*Gauls were the name the Romans gave the people of France and western
Italy about 1500BC. The day I was informed about my problem I saw via TV the
horrific images of what the Islamic terrorists were doing in to the people of
Paris while being wheeled to my ward. Terrible.