Well Im back after a few weeks in dock having a bit of internal reconfiguration carried out.
At the present rate of progress, getting fit again, it looks as if I will not be heading for the hills this any time this year. Still Ill have no excuse if my kit isnt in good order when I do.
This was my first experience of using the National Health Service in any major way. It did seem more process centred than person centred. Take pain control; ward rounds are at roughly 6 hour intervals and the medics idea is to dispense strong pain killers, with associated medicine to counteract the side effects, at those times. The approach I wanted was to take less powerful pain killers, with no side effects, more frequently but only when I could feel the previous dose wearing off. The professional concept was to prevent any sensation of pain at all; Im not sure thats necessarily a good Idea (how do you know when to stop taking the pills?) pain is my body's way of telling me to stop what I'm doing. Having discussed this and explained the approach that I felt was right for me I was told not possible due to the implications on nurses time.
They do seem to have a resource problem at the moment. There was I expecting a physiotherapy department to guide my rehabilitation. The only input they gave was to watch me going up and down a short flight of stairs and say it was safe for me to go home. For the rest, Im left to my own devices. I did have a shufti at the army fit web site (offer of a personal fitness plan?) but its not aimed at people as unfit as I am at present.
Its good to be back, though.
At the present rate of progress, getting fit again, it looks as if I will not be heading for the hills this any time this year. Still Ill have no excuse if my kit isnt in good order when I do.
This was my first experience of using the National Health Service in any major way. It did seem more process centred than person centred. Take pain control; ward rounds are at roughly 6 hour intervals and the medics idea is to dispense strong pain killers, with associated medicine to counteract the side effects, at those times. The approach I wanted was to take less powerful pain killers, with no side effects, more frequently but only when I could feel the previous dose wearing off. The professional concept was to prevent any sensation of pain at all; Im not sure thats necessarily a good Idea (how do you know when to stop taking the pills?) pain is my body's way of telling me to stop what I'm doing. Having discussed this and explained the approach that I felt was right for me I was told not possible due to the implications on nurses time.
They do seem to have a resource problem at the moment. There was I expecting a physiotherapy department to guide my rehabilitation. The only input they gave was to watch me going up and down a short flight of stairs and say it was safe for me to go home. For the rest, Im left to my own devices. I did have a shufti at the army fit web site (offer of a personal fitness plan?) but its not aimed at people as unfit as I am at present.
Its good to be back, though.