Do We Have Too Many Nurses?
I have used the NHS a lot in the last three years, what with the death of my wife and son to cancer and a couple of strokes.
In many cases I have had appointments with doctors and other healthcare professionals and whereas a few years ago, they would have had a nurse or a technical assistant to work with them, now they usually work alone with sophisticated equipment.
I am on Warfarin and at my previous surgery, a nurse used to take a blood test once a fortnight, which was sent to the local hospital for analysis. Now, my new GP does it himself with a small instrument that gives results immediately.
So is technology taking over from nurses?
To illustrate this BBC Breakfast has just shown how to use a heart defibrillator. It all seemed fairly simple and very much led by an intelligent machine.
Disabled Access to the London Olympics
I am not disabled, although it is probably true to say, that for a time after my stroke, whilst I was in hospital in Hong Kong, I needed to be moved everywhere in a wheel-chair. I do suspect though that if I had been in a top hospital in the UK, like Addenbrookes from the start, they’d have dispensed with one pretty quickly. It’s not to save costs, but there is thinking from the Norwegians, that it is better to get people up and on the move sooner rather than later after a stroke.
But I do think I appreciate the problems of people with disabilities a bit better than I used to. So when Liz put a comment on the post about the London Aquatic Centre, I thought I’d investigate a bit.
I started by typing the title of this post into Google. By the time you try it, you might get better information than I did. The only thing of value was an old political statement from Boris, saying that the access will be the best. He would say that wouldn’t he!
There was also quite a few paid for Google entries trying to sell disabled-friendly accomodation in London for the Olympics.
On the other hand, when I applied for my tickets, I could have applied for wheelchair friendly seats, if I had wanted to. So at least the ticket ballot is disabled friendly. I suspect too, that the venues will have an appropriate number of seats for the disabled, as we have lot of experience of building stadia with them in mind.
Getting to the Olympic Park probably falls into two time periods; before the Olympic Park is completed and after it’s opened.
I’ll deal with the first one now, as why shouldn’t those with limited mobility want to go and view the construction site, as I have in the last couple of weeks? After all lying my hospital bed in Hong Kong, being able to watch the Olympics on television was a hope, rather than something for which my odds of seeing for real,are only a little bit less than say Lord Coe’s.
The Greenway, that I used to access the viewing site is absolutely flat and I think in my current state I could push an average man in a wheelchair from the station at Hackney Wick to the Olympic Park. As with all new London Overground and Docklands Light Railway stations, Hackney Wick has full wheelchair access using lifts. At a weekend, there is quite a bit of free parking in the Victoria Park area, which is not far from the start of the Greenway.
The ViewTube has pretty good disabled access, so you could get a good coffee and a snack.
The problem would come in getting off and on the Greenway at the Pudding Mill Lane end. It is still very much a construction site and although the DLR station has a lift, it might not be easy to negotiate your way through.
Another word of warning is that the best views of the site are at the other end of the Olympic Park to Stratford station.
So don’t go there!
Obviously, once the Olympic Park and the Eastfield Shopping Centre are open, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
How To Fit Trainers
I have been in need of a new pair of trainers or tennis shoes for some time. I’ve bought two pairs and they sit in my cupboard unworn, as they are so uncomfortable. My trouble is that I have small but wide feet.
I saw my physio this morning and he recommended going to Runners Need in Kings Cross, where you can try out your new shoes on a treadmill before you buy them.
I went and was impressed, as when the video they took of my feet was played back, I could see that my legs were straight and correct in the shoes that the assistant thought would be best for me. They actually didn’t have my proper size, so I’ll have to go back to get them, when they have got them in.
It would seem to me, that if you are buying a pair of shoes for running or walking, that this the way to do it. With my horse-racing experience, I know that this sort of analysis has been done with horses, to try to predict performance. Before you buy a horse to race, you would always trot it up and down to see that its action was correct.
Now I am not disabled, but I do have a slight balance problem after my stroke. There are also people who have got bad backs or need or have had hip or knee transplants. I felt it helped me and I could feel that the walking shoes I tried, which had a bit of support, were rather better than my worn out tennis shoes. So would others benefit?
The Sun is Healing Me
I’ve now had four days of reasonable sunshine and I can feel my body repairing itself.
Strangely the closer to the brain, my pain is, it seems to go away first. My face and tooth pain improved, followed by my arm and hand, then the bottom of my spine and my left leg. None of these injuries were stroke related, but after the stroke I got a lot of pain in old injuries. Perhaps the stroke ruined the wiring and the sun-induced vitamins are creating new pathways.
I don’t know, as I’m no expert.
But my typing is certainly better since I’ve been in Greece.
My Arm is Giving Me Some Trouble
mMy left humerus was broken by a bully at school and for the last few days, it has been giving me quite a bit of trouble. Or that’s what I hope it is. My left hand was terrible yesterday and I had difficulty tying up my shoe laces. I also couldn’t get the souvlaki off the skewer. But after a good night’s sleep it seems to be a bit better. I’m actually using the shift key with my forefinger easily this morning. Usually I make a few mistakes and have to correct them. But today it seems alright. It could also be better because the Caps Lock key on this computer isn’t so easily mis-hit. Who needs the key anyway? I never normally use it.
I suspect that as I haven’t had any physio on the upper arm and shoulder for nearly two weeks now, that this is the problem.
I’ve Only Got a Gammy Left Hand!
My left hand is getting better, but I still have a degree of pain and lack of control in it, because of the stroke. But then Sarah Storey doesn’t have one at all.
But that didn’t stop her winning gold in the cycling at Manchester last night.
I think it decided what event I want to see in the cycling at the 2012 Olympics.
I’ve now registered for tickets.
If I do get to go, I’ll cycle there along the Regent’s Canal or through the parks. I may take the second option, as I can’t swim.
A Coeliac’s Questions About Warfarin
My cardiologist, reckons that if I can keep to the Warfarin regime, then I won’t have another stroke and his advice is also reflected by other doctors.
I also asked my stroke doctor about the new drugs coming in, more out of curiosity than anything else, and it seemed he was not in favour of them, because we’re still uncertain about the long-term effects of the new drugs.
Of late though, I’ve been feeling wretched a lot of the time, with what is best described as flu-like symptoms and a very itchy skin, a rash and bad dandruff in my beard, just like I used to have before I went gluten-free. My toenails are bad and brittle although my fingernails have improved since Christmas.
I had put it all down to North London’s version of man-flu and the general cold and bad weather. Athough on some trips out of London, like the one to Barnsley, I seemed to feel better.
So I looked up the Mayo Clinic’s web site on Warfarin side effects. I’m not a great one for some health web sites, but this one is generally fairly reliable.
But it did seem that some of my problems could be down to the Warfarin. On the other hand they may not be.
But I think I might make one or two modifications to my lifestyle and go and see my doctor and my dentist, as some of my pain may be down to a tooth, I broke thirty years ago. It hadn’t given me much trouble until the stroke.
One modification I have made is to make the house cooler. This seems to have improved the flu-like symptoms, but my feet are now colder. And I’ve never ever worn slippers and won’t start now!
So it’ll be interesting to see how things work out.
One question though, is what is the best time to take Warfarin? I ask this as I normally take it about six in the evening and the itch seemed to get bad after I took it yesterday.
Beating IKEA
I ordered two bookcases from IKEA and they came this morning, courtesy of a cheery man from Parcelforce. They are now made up and installed in my living area.
Two IKEA Billy Bookcases
At least they look quite square, even if they don’t match my dresser to their right. But then they were only £80 the pair and they were capable of being put together by a man with only one good hand, dodgy eyesight and not-fully-working brain. It could also be that in the words of the song, I’m getting better all the time.
So perhaps IKEA’s designs are not that bad. I would put in little improvements to the design of these bookcases, but mainly because it is quite easy to confuse which way some of the panels go. I’ve put together quite a lot of flat-pack furniture in my time and compared to the best, this scored about 6 out of 10.
A Solution to Pavement Obstacles?
Nothing annoys me more as I walk around, than blocked pavements and badly designed street furniture, such as the obstacles I described in this post. Bicycles chained to railings in cities like Cambridge are a problem too and they hurt when you bump into them.
I have thought about carrying a can of orange spray paint. it would probably get me publicity, but I would probably get arrested too.
So what is needed is a simple card label on the end of a loop of orange ribbon or cord, that could be easily slipped over the offending article. The card might say something like.
I have had a stroke and can’t see too well. Because of this, I nearly bumped into this obstacle that you kindly placed to injure me. In this case there was no harm done, but please move it before you hurt someone with limited mobility or vision.
I would put a suitable e-mail address on it for a response.
You could also sell advertising on the back for charity.
Strange Affect of a Haircut
Last night a friend cut my hair. It had got a bit long in the last few weeks, but it has had the surprising affect of making my scalp feel better and less itchy.
How strange!
But I’m not complaining
The Anonymous Widower 