a suitable case for treatment

Up early (before 6.00am ) to wave goodbye to Michele as Anniemay takes her to Heathrow.  Then I go to Oxford at 7.00am for an assessment at the John Radcliffe hospital to see if I am a suitable case for treatment - my heart procedure is scheduled for next wednesday.

We’ve often had early appointments at Oxford so I leave in plenty of time because the roads are usually very busy and we crawl the last 5 miles.  Usually.  But not today.  I arrive 50 minutes early.  

For most people this would be a nuisance or a waste of time; for a blipper it’s an opportunity.  I spend about 20 minutes wandering around the grounds looking for likely subjects.

A pleasant surprise when I eventually make my way back to the main entrance; it’s had a facelift and there’s an M&S cafe just inside the doors.  So time for a cup of tea and a chance to go over my notes.  I always take a file of notes with me.  I know more about my condition and the various treatments I’ve had - particularly dates and times - than they do.

The specialist cardiology nurse who will undertake the assessment informs me that she’ll be joined by a trainee today.  After the paperwork we get down to the nitty gritty; ECG, blood pressure and blood tests.  The first two go smoothly enough.  The blood test proves a bit more challenging for the trainee.  She eventually finds a vein, extracts some blood and proudly holds up the vial for inspection by her colleague.

Senior nurse; “it’s meant to go up to the line the top”.  I look across; the vial, about 2” long, has about a 1/4” of blood in it.  

Trainee; “oh”. 

It’s the way she says “oh” that makes me smile.  She seems genuinely surprised that what she has extracted from my arm is not enough.  It reminds me of the Tony Hancock ‘blood donor’ sketch in which he thinks a finger prick is sufficient quantity for a blood transfusion.

Do I mind if she tries again?  No I don’t mind.  Everyone has to learn how to do this.  No amount of lectures or diagrams can equate with sticking a needle in a live arm.

Senior nurse; “it’s still not up to the line”.  

She’s close, but not quite there; about 1/4” too short.  They go into a huddle as they try and decide what to do.  I can see that they are reluctant to ask me again.  The trainee asks if they can top the second vial up from the first one.  A reasonable question and one that Anniemay asks when I recount this tale.  But apparently not - there’s a risk of contamination between the containers.  They stick with the ‘not quite there’ sample.

Senior nurse; “we’ll just have to hope for the best.  Fingers crossed.”  I’m puzzled; fingers crossed for what?  

I have an examination of all the pulse points in the body - ankles, groin, wrist and neck (both sides) - and am eventually pronounced fit for the procedure.  So it’s all systems go.

I check the images in my camera before I leave and decide that the front of the Children’s Hospital might be a suitable case for treatment.  I turn the faffing control up to 11.