Angina in 2000

Back in June 2000 I was on a team building weekend with my Company, having fun doing Archery, Clay Pigeon shooting, Quad bikes etc. Whilst doing Paintballing, I started to get a few chest pains, and had to stop what I was doing. That turned out to be Angina.

One evening soon after I had another bad pain and my wife called an ambulance. I was taken in to A&E in Oldchurch hospital in Romford. The doctor said that he thought it was Angina and prescribed a Glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) spray. The pain subsided and I was sent home.

At the time I was working in Stratford. Walking from the Station to the High Street, I had a severe angina attack only yards from my office. I tried walking slower the next day but I discovered that over few days I had the same pain, at the same point in the journey, no matter how fast I was walking. I used the GTN spray but it didn't reduce the pain at all. I simply had to wait for it to subside.

About a week later, I believe it was a Sunday; I had another really bad pain and again we called an ambulance and I was taken back to A&E. This time they kept me in. My cholesterol level was high, 7.1.

The surgeon said I had “Unstable Angina”, and that he thought I needed an angiogram to see if my arteries were blocked. I asked him how long the wait would be, to which he replied “About 6 weeks”. He said that if the arteries were blocked, I would need an angioplasty which would take another 10 weeks.

I thought that I would probably be dead by then, but then I remembered that I had medical insurance with my Company. This somehow changed things. In no time at all, the doctor let me know that there was an appointment available on the Tuesday; two days wait!. Doesn't money talk! lol

The Wellington

I was taken by private ambulance to the very prestigious Wellington Hospital, located in St John's Wood, North London.

I had a private room and it was a lovely hospital, but I have to say that the chicken sandwiches are about the same as those in Queen’s hospital!

On the Tuesday evening I had the angiogram via my groin, which showed one artery was 90% blocked. This confirmed that an angioplasty was needed.

Unfortunately the surgeon who performed the angiogram was not qualified to perform the angioplasty, so I had to wait another day to have the angioplasty.

The operation went well and I had a stent inserted into the artery. Recovery was virtually immediate and I was perfectly fine. Both these procedure were carried out under local anaesthetic and I was fully awake and able to communicate with the surgeon throughout the procedures. I had no pain other than the minor scratch associated with an injection.

So I was very lucky only having angina for a week.

Angioplasty 2014 - 14 years later

Fourteen years later in 2014 I was having a blood pressure check with the nurse at our GP Surgery, and she notice whilst taking my pulse that my heart had skipped a beat. After that I started to experience more missed beats and had a fluttering sensation in my chest. This resulted in me having another angiogram through my groin on February 6^th 2014 at King George’s hospital.

This showed that two of my arteries were 70% blocked and another about 30% blocked. So on 12^th March I went in to The London Chest Hospital for an Angioplasty. This time it was done through my wrist.

I had a stent inserted inside the original stent I had done in 2000, and two further stents. The procedure seemed to go well, although I did feel some discomfort/slight pain whilst they were inserting the stents during this operation. I was released in the late afternoon, and spent the evening in comfort at home, watching television.

Heart attack

About two o’clock that night I started to have a heart attack and was in extreme pain with my arms and legs thrashing about and sweating profusely. I could not keep still.

My wife phoned for an ambulance which arrived in about 15 minutes.

My wife explained to the paramedics that I had had an angioplasty that day and suggested that I should be taken back to the London Chest hospital. They said that they were supposed to take me to Queen’s hospital.

After a few minutes they agreed to phone the London Chest to see if they would take me. Luckily for me, the London Chest hospital said that they would take me as I had been their patient only hours before. I am sure that if I had gone to Queens, I would not have survived as they don’t have a cardiac facility, and they would only have transferred me to another hospital with a cardiac facility after being assessed in A&E. By then I could have been dead.

On arrival at the London Chest hospital I was taken down to theatre immediately. The stent that had been inserted inside the original stent had caught up and failed to open properly. This caused a blood clot to form, causing the heart attack. They carried out another angioplasty to clear the blood clot. I was told that I needed a heart bypass, a double or possibly a triple, and that was scheduled for 14^th, the next day. My wife had a very long wait that day.

Heart Bypass

This time of course I had a general anaesthetic, and I know nothing about the operation itself.

I ended up having a triple bypass with veins taken from both legs. I also had three incisions on my left inner thigh. I don’t know what these were for. Probably more veins. Apparently the medical team had difficulty getting my heart back into its proper rhythm after the operation so the surgeon left a wire in my chest so that my heart could be jump started if necessary.

I was kept sedated for 24 hours after the operation to aid recovery. I was on a breathing machine and a heart machine.

My wife and daughter came back up from Romford and my son came up from Cornwall to see me. Unfortunately this was during the period when I was kept sedated, so I didn't see them then. I can't have been a pretty sight with breathing tubes, cannula's and wires everywhere.

I was told that my heart had sustained mild to moderate damage from the heart attack.

One thing is sure. I owe that medical team my life.

Intensive care

I woke up in intensive care feeling like I had been trampled. The nursing staff was amazing and attentive. I had a multiple cannula stitched into my neck with tubes going everywhere. I had a cardiac pump/drain inserted into my right groin and I had dressings everywhere covering all my various wounds.

It was about this time that I discovered that there was one thing that I wish I had been made aware of: Hallucinations!

Apparently after a major operation with a general anaesthetic, it is possible, even common, to have hallucinations.

Well, I regard myself as a very logical man. So why didn't alarm bells start ringing in my head when I saw a nurse regularly appear wearing a knitted ski mask.

Why did I just accept it when I closed my eyes and saw a three dimensional wall with writing and shapes and that this writing allowed me to pull down drop down menus with my hands.

Why did I believe that a doctor had told me that I was going to die, and there was no more that they could do for me.

Why did I believe that the nursing staff was trying to kill me by reversing the cardiac drain and the urine in the catheter bag.

Instead, although I had no explanation for the ski mask, I did attempt to explain the three D wall to my children, saying that I believed that some sort of rays were being broadcast from a TV like object on the opposite wall. The TV object turned out to be a windows with slatted blinds.

I reacted to the staff trying to kill me somewhat violently by grabbing the side supports to the bed, pulling myself up, and shaking them as hard as I could, yelling ”I know what you are doing!”. It took six nurses to hold me down.

Then in desperation, I just gave up and asked to see my wife and children and said my goodbyes! They of course knew that I was fine, recovering well but was suffering from hallucinations, but they couldn't convince me of that

So even though I am a very logical man, having been a computer programmer for most of my working life, to me, it was all very real!

From Intensive care I was moved into the High Dependency Unit ( HDU) When I was sufficiently stable. It was here that I started to feel a lot better, so long as I didn't cough or sneeze of course.

High Dependency Unit (HDU)

The hallucinations had left me as the effects of the anaesthetic and drugs started to wear off.

Patients in the HDU were encouraged to sit up in bed, or sit in the chair and become mobile.

Sitting up, and getting out of bed were very painful.

Eventually I discovered techniques that helped no end.

To sit up I would roll on my right side whilst lying down, moving my left leg across my right leg and my left arm across my body to the right (this aided the roll), and then push into the bed with both hands to get my body up, and then turn my body back again whilst lifting my body into the upright position.

To get out of bed, I would pull back the bed cloths and turn on my side as previously described. I would then extend my legs to hang just over the edge of the bed. This acted as a counter weight to my body. It was then easier to sit sideways on the bed in the upright position. From the sitting position I could stand on the floor quite easily.

On the 18^th March, I achieved some short walks, the length of the ward.

There were times when I felt like progress was far too slow, and that I would never recover. These were very tough days for me and my spirits were very low.

Leander Ward

Finally I was moved into the Leaner Ward. This was where patients who were on the road to recovery stayed. It was in this stage where things really started to get tough for me. I started to wash and shower myself. Showering was a major struggle and was totally exhausting.

I was fitted with a wireless heart monitor which could be read on the computer in the nursing staff room.

I used to have chair in the shower so that I could sit to wash and dry myself.

I also had to start becoming more mobile; walking up and down the corridor and showing I could use the stairs. They wouldn't let me home until I could show I could look after myself. I was determined to try and get well as quickly as possible.

I had to wear tight stocking for six weeks after the operation to stop getting thrombosis, and they shouldn't be left off for more than 1 hour at a time. These proved to be almost impossible to get on and off as they were very tight, and I got a real telling off when I tried to do it myself instead of waiting for a nurse on one occasion!

The wire in my chest was removed at this stage as I was considered sufficiently stable at this point.

Although recovery was difficult, I was surprised that some of the patients on the ward wouldn't try to help themselves. They would get their family relatives to do even the most minor thing for them, rather than put the effort in for themselves. This was making it very difficult for the staff and themselves in their recovery.

Coming home from London Chest Hospital

About a week after the operation, on 21^st March, I was allowed home. This eased the burden on my wife, as getting to The London Chest Hospital from Romford was not the easiest thing to do.

Once at home, within a couple of days, I slowly started to exercise and walked around our little Close.

I slept when I felt I needed to, but tried to be as active as possible.

Making sure I didn't overdo it, I tried to be self sufficient, but in the early days my wife helped me to get dressed and undressed.

I avoided lifting wherever possible.

I started to improve after a few days and felt that progress was being made.

Queens Resident GP

On 26^th March the dressing my groin wound started to leak and I felt that I need a nurse or a doctor to re-dress it.

My wife phoned The National Health Service Help line (111). After a lot of heartache they eventually made an appointment for me to see the resident GP at Queens Hospital.

We went along to see him and after waiting about an hour, got in to see him.

I explained what I had had done and he removed the dressing and had a look at the wound, pressing around the area of the wound. He said that I had a haematoma and the he couldn't help me; and that I needed to go to A&E.

I stood to pull up my trousers and had a bleed out. About half a litre of blood bled on to my underwear, trousers and the floor. The doctor just stood there, leaving it to my wife to clean me up. He looked helpless. His total contribution was handing my wife a handful of paper wipes to clean me with! We asked him to get a nurse and a wheelchair so that I could get to A&E, which eventually he did. He also wrote me a note to hand in at A&E.

Queens Accident and Emergency (A&E.)

We went in to A&E and my wife saw the receptionist and registered. We saw the Triage Nurse quite quickly, in about 15 minutes.

Very quickly we were sent into A&E. However, we then waited for two hours in A & E before getting a bed. I spent this time sitting in my wheelchair with my underwear and trousers, soaked with blood.

After about five hours we got a bed, were supplied with a hospital gown so that I could get out of my soiled clothes. When we saw a doctor, he said he wanted me to stay in hospital and have an ultrasound scan the following day.

As he was leaving, I said that I needed to go to the toilet and what should I do. He said it was at the end of the ward and I could walk there.

I walked along to the toilet and as I started to bend to sit down on the toilet, I lost another half litre of blood on the floor. Without having gone to the toilet, I walked back to the bed trailing blood as I went.

Eventually the doctor returned, catheterised me, and said to stay in bed.

My support stockings were also covered in blood and we asked a nurse for some clean ones. After about half an hour she came back and said that they didn't have any in the cupboard. Later I spoke to a doctor about it, and he told the nurse to "go and find some". Eventually she did come back with some and my wife changed my soiled stockings.

By this time it was about 2 o'clock in the morning.

My wife asked for a bag to take by clothes home to clean. The following morning when she tipped the clothes out to put them into the washing machine, a handful of dead flies fell out on the floor along with the clothes. I hate to think how that bag had been stored.

Queens A & E, in my opinion, is incapable of meeting the requirements of the area it serves.

When the Havering hospitals were rationalised, Harold Wood Hospital and Oldchurch hospital were replaced by Queens Hospital. The number of beds made available were only a very few more. However on the first month of opening Queens A&E, nearly four times the planned number of patients passed through their their doors. The population of the area has grown too large to be supported properly by Queens A&E.

Having said this, I have no complaints about the rest of my experiences in Queens, both in the wards and in the theatre. I was looked after extremely well.

I stayed in A&E until the following morning when I was moved up to the Medical Ward.

Medical Ward

The quality of the nursing staff on both of the wards I was in was exceptional.

I had an Ultrasound scan which showed that I had a pseudo aneurysm, which in my opinion was probably due to my rough treatment of myself in the Intensive Care bed at the London Chest. A pseudo aneurysm is a collection of blood contained by clot that has formed outside a blood vessel following an injury. The collection is attached by a channel to the blood vessel so blood flows within it. A pseudo aneurysm may rupture and bleed severely.

The doctors considered whether to operate again or to try to avoid surgery by carrying out a procedure using Thrombin Injections.

Thrombin is an agent that causes clotting. It may be injected under ultrasound guidance into the pseudo aneurysm to clot the blood inside it. The clot is gradually reabsorbed. The procedure is performed under local anaesthetic.

To aid making the decision whether to operate or not, I was scheduled a CT scan on 27^th March.

CT Scan

I was taken down and placed on a table with one hand behind my head and the other by my side. The nurses retired behind a screen and the table started to move into a doughnut shaped structure. After a few seconds, a tube started to thrash about spewing radio-active fluid all over my face. The machine was stopped and the nurses came out. They realised that the tube should have been connected to my cannula on the back of my hand.

Somehow this had been missed. I was wiped down and given, a clean nightgown (ladies) to wear.

Profusely apologising, they repeated the procedure without further issue.

Ocean B Ward

After a shout stay in the Medical ward, I was transferred to Ocean B ward which was a four bed ward.

During my stay in Ocean B ward I had three further bleed outs. If going to the toilet required any exertion, it was likely to cause another bleed. Consequently I was permanently on a laxative.

Because I had so recently had a major operation, it was considered appropriate to try the Thrombin injection procedure and avoid another general anaesthetic.

First and Second Thrombin procedure

The surgeon advised me that he would try to inject the pseudo aneurysm in my right groin directly, and if that didn't work, he would insert a catheter through the artery in my left groin, blocking off the blood flow, which would stop the blood flow and assist in the clotting process. This was on 28^th March.

The first procedure was tried, but there was too much flow for the blood to clot properly, so the second procedure was tried.

In the meantime my wife and daughter were waiting by my bed. In all I had been away over five hours. It was very worrying for them.

The following day, another ultrasound scan show that the procedure hadn't fully worked, and that another procedure or an operation was required.

Again, I was feeling very low during this period as I thought that everything was against me and going wrong!

Third Thrombin Procedure

It was just before this operation took place on 3^rd April, when I had a massive bleed brought on by going to the toilet. Whilst the nurses were cleaning me up I passed out, luckily on the bed. I required a 2 litre blood transfusion.

The thrombin procedure was carried out without any further issues.

I must commend the surgeon for his tenacity in persisting with the thrombin procedure as it was a taxing task for him, taking a long time, but it did avoid another major operation.

The theatre nurse held on to the surgeon's mobile phone during the operation. People were constantly phoning the surgeon, trying to arrange various operations. He finished my procedure at 8pm that night, after which he had another procedure at queens to do and two further procedures at King Georges hospital. I believe that a surgeon was away sick, but my surgeon was massively overworked.

A further Ultrasound scan taken the following day showed that this time the procedure was successful.

This raised my spirits greatly as you may imagine.

Rehabilitation

Following a two week stay at The Queens, I finally came home on 9^th April, and the hard work started. This involved trying to be self sufficient. Luckily I had help from my wife for a while but then she had to go back to work and I had to take care of myself.

Because of the pseudo aneurysm, I had additional requirements compared to a normal Bypass patient.

I had to have visits from a district nurse, every day to begin with, but then every other day. This was to redress the groin wound area. By this point I had lost all inhibitions and modesty, having many different girls come and redress my groin area.

One of the hardest parts was those damned stockings. My wife had to put those on and off me. We developed a system of putting a plastic bag over the foot, then putting the stocking over the bag. The bag could then be pulled out using the hole in the stocking toe, but it was still a hard job.

For about three months I had rib cage pain, particularly when lifting, turning or bending. All lifting should be avoided to start with, but even lifting a kettle with one cup of water in it could hurt.

Turning over in bed was painful initially, and even just sitting up or getting out of bed. I think it was six months before I was pain free.

My scars healed very well, although my chest scar over-granulated, leaving a ridge down the middle of it.

Bio oil was recommended to help scars healing and to get as feint a scar as possible.

I finally got sign off from both the Cardiac Surgeon and the Vascular Surgeon around 22nd May.

Cardiac Rehab and Gym

I was invited to attend Cardiac Rehab, which is sort of an easy gym for cardiac patients. I was a bit cautious about it at first, but now, having been, I would highly recommend it .

It was a free, eight week course once per week and consisted of a dozen patients, all having had some sort of heart problem, doing simple exercises to help aid recovery. Cardiac patients are advised to express their concerns and discuss their experiences with others, and I found it very helpful talking to other patients and comparing stories and events.

I was fitted with a cardiac watch the showed my pulse rate, and each patient was given a target pulse rate to exercise to, dependent on what they had had done..

The supervised exercise consisted of a 15 minute warm up of marching on the spot, all in a circle, whist performing various stretching arm and neck exercises. Then about 30 minutes operating various apparatus, treadmill, exercise bike, light weights etc. Finally 15 minutes of cool down exercises. During the exercises, a trainer or nursing staff, monitored patients heart rate, and made sure no-one was suffering from over exertion.

For me the best bit was the talks we received. Each week, following the exercise, someone would give a talk on a relative subject, be-it healthy diet, understanding cardiac medication, how to exercise, various heart issues etc. During this time we had tea or coffee and biscuits.

I found it all very relevant to me and very helpful and informative.

After the eight weeks was finished, I went on to join a gym. The cost was £4 per session or £3.50 if you join the gym for a one off £12. I go twice per week.

Current Position

In writing down this record of events, I have found it rather therapeutic, coming to terms with the events that took place.

I now (December 2014) don’t have any pains. Sometimes I get a little fluttering sensation, and occasionally I feel a missed beat. My blood pressure continues to be low, averaging about 100-110 over 50-60.

Unfortunately because of the damage sustained by my heart, I sometimes get out of breath.

This is rather strange because I can do an hour in the Gym on a treadmill, bike, rowing machine and cross trainer without too much of a problem.

However, doing a Waltz or a Quick-step will leave me totally breathless.

Still…I am alive, and every day is a bonus.

I hope that you will find some of this record useful to you.

If you want to get better, and you are prepared to put the effort in…you will make it!

This time last year Dave went to hospital to have an angiogram on 3/3/2014 as he was experiencing problems with his heart fluttering. It was decided that he needed to have an angioplasty as he arteries were 70% blocked. He went to London Chest on 11^th March for the run of the mill procedure. We arrived early in the morning but Dave did not go down till lunch time. The procedure went well and he had three stent put in. One was inside the one he had done in the year 2000.

We left the hospital about five o’clock very tired but happy that it was all over.

We went to bed that night about ten o’clock as we were both exhausted after the long day. We both fell asleep very quickly. About two in the morning Dave woke me up saying he thinks he is having a heart attack (you wake up very quickly when someone says that)! I called an ambulance. I was very scared I was going to loose Dave as he was in so much pain, throwing himself around every time the pain hit. (I remember getting cross with him telling him not to leave me) It seemed an age before the ambulance arrived, although really it was quite quick. They arrived before the paramedics. We explained what had happened and that Dave had only just come back from London Chest Hospital that evening. The ambulance crew were fantastic and wanted to take Dave back to London Chest but had to get permission from Queens to do so. Whilst Dave was in the ambulance they were getting him settled I was running around the house like a madman getting dressed and grabbing all the things I would need to take with me (but forgot his notes from the hospital).

Once I was in the ambulance with Dave the crew said they had permission and that we were going straight to London Chest (thank goodness). When we arrived they were waiting for us, and took Dave straight down to where he had had the stents done. Once again I was left waiting. They came and told me they were waiting for a surgeon to come. I saw him arrive in his cycling shorts not long after we arrived. Eventually I saw him leave again. I was pacing up and down by this stage, very nervous. Eventually they came and said I could see Dave and that he would be going up to a ward soon, and they were keeping him in, in case he needed more treatment like a bypass. At this stage they were not sure what was going to happen.

Once on the ward things settled down a bit. Dave did not have much pain and the staff were great. About six in the morning I started making my way home as I had the great job of telling our children what had happened. (not the best job) Once all the phone calls were made to our children and family I had a shower and our daughter and I went back to the hospital, unbeknown to Dave our son was on his way from Cornwall.

It was now late Thursday afternoon and Dave was exhausted. Richard our son had arrive and Niki (our daughter) and I were sitting with Dave when the doctors came round and said that Dave would definitely need a bypass. The doctor said it could not wait, so he was scheduled for theatre the next day. They normal like to leave it a couple of weeks after someone has a heart attack, to give the heart chance to heal, but in Dave’s case they did not think they had that time to spare. They were not sure if Dave would have a triple or a double bypass. They were to do a scan later that night.

We all left Dave at six that night to come home and a very long night it was too. Too tired and too worried to eat or sleep. I could not wait till morning arrived, so I phoned the hospital during the night to make sure Dave was ok. Dave called in the morning and said it would be a triple bypass and he would be going down that morning. Obviously we were all worried including Dave. Dave did not help us as he turned his mobile off, so we had no idea what was going on. I phoned the hospital and they said he would be going down about two pm. I told the children that I wanted to go to Westfield but not to shop: just because it took me nearer the hospital from Westfield it was a ten minute cab ride.

We arrived at the hospital around five o’clock and Dave was not back. I was sitting in the waiting room outside intensive care surrounded by people all worried about their loved ones, when really all you want is to be alone with your own thought and worry in peace.

Dave finally came up from theatre about six o’clock. At least he was back. All we had to do was now wait till they had him settled. I did warn the children that he will not look good and that he will have lots of tubes etc. When I went in to see him I just cried! I think it was the shock of just how he looked and the worry! Dave was not awake and they were going to keep him asleep at least until tomorrow morning. I kissed him goodnight and told him I love him and left, the children went in and then we went home.

I called the hospital nearly every hour just to make sure he was ok. My children were great. They did most of the phone calls and text messages to friends and family, taking that burden was such a relief. It was obviously a very long night!

We were not allowed into the hospital the next morning but on one of my many phone calls to the ward they told me that Dave was waking up. Then when I called from the car as Niki was driving us up to the hospital, they said “would you like to speak with Dave”. You cannot imagine how great that was. My smile was from ear to ear! It was the best phone call ever.

When we got to the hospital that afternoon Dave was a awake. He was still connected to lots of tubes but could speak. He was convince he was dying, and was telling me that he knew there was nothing more they could do for him, and new that I knew the same! He was not making sense and wanted to speak with the children> He was saying his goodbyes! It was all very upsetting because Dave thought it was real and we knew it was not. He told me to go as it was taking too long (you cannot imagine how that felt.) We went for a walk and then went back to see him to try and explain that he was not dying and they were not trying to kill him. The lady in the bed next to Dave was very, very poorly and they were talking about her, and I think Dave got confused. We left him about seven o’clock.

When I called the hospital in the night they told me that Dave had tried to get out of bed and it took three nurses to restrain him. All very worrying! It was just hallucination, but for Dave it was very real. When we got to the hospital at two, he was acting a lot better (not great) and was feeling a bit better too. They moved Dave that evening to a high dependency ward just down the corridor where they said they will be getting him up and walking.

Dave was still hallucinating although not as much as before, but for a logical man he was not making sense. It was now Monday and Dave was out of bed. Amazing really, and was walking round the bed and to the toilet that was in the ward.

Tuesday morning Richard was going back to Cornwall but first he wanted to see his dad, he arrived at the hospital and Dave was walking up the corridor. To say Rich was happy is an understatement! He sat in the corridor with Dave for about two hours before making his trip back to Cornwall. So much easier knowing his dad was well and truly on the mend.

Dave continued to make good progress and was moved again to another ward nearer the door, getting him ready for discharge. Most things were going well although his heart still had a rhythm problem so he was monitored for 48 hours and eventually sent home on Friday 20^th March 2014.

Taking Dave home was great Niki and I picked him up in the car and life could take on some normality again. Dave was told to walk every day and each day and make each walk a little bit longer.

We stopped on the way home for a meal but this made Dave very tired and he did not eat much and just wanted to get home. Fully understandable!

Had a busy weekend with visitors coming and going, but no one staying too long as Dave is still getting tired but looked really well.

On Monday Niki came round and took Dave for a walk round our close, which he did very well. Dave was experiencing some discomfort from one of his wounds in his groin where they had to put a pump in to help his heart when he had the bypass.

On Tuesday Niki and Dave went for his walk again. I came home from work and we had had dinner before some friends were coming round. Dave said he thought his groin was bleeding and could I take a look. When I checked it, it was very red and looked infected. I phoned 111 for some assistance in what to do and they just made me an appointment at our local hospital to see a GP (not what I really wanted as I was worried Dave would catch something).

When we arrived at the hospital we had to sit and wait for 30 mins before we could see anyone. We went in to see the Doctor and he took one look and Dave’s groin and said we needed to go to A&E. Dave then bled out all over his clothes and on the floor. All the Doctor could say was you need to go to A&E, you need to go to A&E. Well I lost it then and said he can’t go like this and started to clean him up myself and told Dave to get back on the bed and all the time the Doctor was saying the same thing over and over. The doctor eventually got Dave a wheelchair and I took him round to A&E still bleeding.

We went through and saw the Triage nurse who took us straight in to A&E to see a Doctor. Here we sat for two hours, Dave still covered in blood all over his support stocking, and no one came near or by us.

Eventually Dave was given a bed and saw a Doctor. Once the Doctor had looked at Dave and said he had a hematoma and that he will have to stay in hospital. Dave said he need the bathroom and the Doctor said its ok to walk to the toilet which was just down the corridor. A cleaner bought Dave back as he had bled out again in the toilet. I complained about his stocking he had to wear because of thrombosis after his operation. They should have been white but they were red with blood! The Doctor ordered a nurse to get some clean ones from a ward. Something she could not do for me when I asked!

They put a catheter in Dave and told him he should not get out of bed and then a sister came and dressed his groin to stop the bleeding. They gave me a carrier bag to put his dirty clothes in as my daughter had been home and got him some clean underwear and track suite bottoms. Niki and I left about three in the morning when Dave was settled.

Going home I was very nervous! I thought I was being followed as this car was with me all the way home from the hospital I was convinced he was following me so I made the decision that if he turned the corner with me I was not going to go home as it turned out he was not following me and went his own way and I went home. When I got in I decided to wash Dave’s soiled cloths and tipped them out. To my surprise about 6 dead flies came out of the carrier bag the hospital had just given me! I was disgusted! I made the decision that I did not want him to stay in that hospital.

I went back to the hospital about seven that morning only to find Dave on nil by mouth as they were not sure what was going to happen. A nurse had tried to take blood and failed twice. Dave was covered in plasters but eventually a senior nurse came and managed it (just reinforced by thoughts of not wanting Dave there) Dave was still in A&E.

I rang the London Chest were Dave had had his bypass and asked if they could take him back after a lot of phone calls to and fro they agreed to take him. Dave was now in medical assessment ward still on nil by mouth. A consultant came round and confirmed that Dave was going back to London chest, so I went home to get his things sorted and asked Dave to ring me when he was leaving the hospital so I could meet him at the London Chest. Dave rang and said he was not going now as Queens was the best place for him they were the top hospital for vascular problems.

I rushed back to the hospital very concerned. Dave was still on nil by mouth and was waiting to go for a scan on his groin. They came and took Dave down for the scan and when he came back he was all sticky (they had forgot to put the drip into the cannula in his had so the radioactive liquid went all over him and they were telling me this was the best place for him was not convinced.

After nearly 24 hours they decided to let Dave have something to eat and drink, Needless to say they had nothing to give him so I had to go to Costa Coffee to get him a drink etc. about eight o’clock they moved him up to a ward thank goodness.

Once Dave was settled on the ward I went home, very nervously. I was worried about leaving him also did not like being on my own. The next day I went in and once again Dave was on Nil by mouth as he was going down that day for a procedure to seal the aneurysm in his groin. Still on bed rest! Dave went down about three o’clock at this time Niki had arrived. He was meant to be gone for about an hour or so. We were really worried when he had not come back at six o’clock and asked the charge nurse to find out what was happening, he came back and said he was still in the operating room. After yet another hour we asked him to go back and check again as to what was happening he came back and said Dave was OK and would be back on the ward soon (big sigh of relief)

When Dave came back the procedure they had carried out had not worked properly; only partially and they will discuss the best way forward. Once again Dave was on bed rest for twenty four hours. Niki and I left about midnight that evening.

I went back to work the next day and things stayed calm for the next three days.

On the Monday I was on my way to work but was concerned as I had not heard from Dave had my phone on the windscreen so I could see if he text me which he did on my way to work. I hit a keep left sign kerb with two wheels and got a puncture! Just what I did not need! I phoned work and they sent someone out to sort my car out. They changed my wheel and I was on my way but when I arrived at work the Chairman said I could not drive my car as I had embedded the rim into the tyre and the car was not safe. I then got a phone call to say Dave had stood up and had bled out again all over the floor, so I had to get to the hospital quick. The company lent me a car and once again. Heart in mouth I set off. (When was this nightmare ever going to stop!). Got to the hospital and Dave was back on bed rest and once again Nil by mouth and was waiting to see what was going to happen next. All the time this was happening Dave was not doing the exercises which were important for his hear. They had stopped some of his medication and the whole experience was very worrying.

The next day Dave got up in the afternoon and once again bled out losing about two pints of blood. This time he passed out. He was not out long but seemed like a lifetime. Needless to say he was back on bed rest and this time they called a doctor to agree a blood transfusion. Dave was given two pints of blood but his blood pressure was still very low and once again Nil by mouth as he was to have a second procedure the next day.

Dave went down about ten the next morning; his blood pressure still very low. I went down to the operating theatre with him and was really scared thought I might lose him. Dave was gone for about an hour then came back and this time they were successful yipeeeee.

Dave continued to improve and even started walking round the corridor for his exercise. We had finally turned a corner.

Dave came home and we had to have a district nurse come in every day to re-dress the groin this went on for about a month.

I am pleased to say Dave is now back to as normal as he will ever be. I have lost lots of people I loved but the pain and worry I went through is second to none.