Thread 10 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of previous threads (thread 9).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

Brilliant news @MouseMinge! Wishing you many cat cuddles (and plenty of ice cream) during your recovery.

Great news that you're going home, @MouseMinge ! Enjoy all the ice cream and snuggling with the cats.

That’s fantastic news @MouseMinge! I hope you have a lovely afternoon in the sunshine. I’ve just been for a ramble myself.

Great news that you’re going home @MouseMinge and that you’re commanded to eat ice cream!

Good news, @MouseMinge I don't suppose your endoscopy was performed by a consultant named (for the avoidance of libel) M-dash-dash-dash-er? He had a couple of bashes at MrGon's tubes, so painful and so unsuccessful that I made a PALS appointment which I didn't keep as - entirely by chance? - it coincided to the minute with his eventual discharge from hospital after a successful and entirely painless job done a week later by someone else. On the way out, I ran into the very formidable head gastro consultant. Yes, she said, we are now aware of the problem. Yours isn't the only complaint and I can assure you that he'll never do another endoscopy on my watch.

Hello Mouse, I'm glad to hear that you're home, nobody likes a stay in hospital. I hope your treatment is successful and doesn't make you feel horrible.

🌺

CyanCrystalViolet · Today 12:17

Yes, I came over on Wednesday, for a month. We're moving to a British Sector job, in a few days, it's for a power cable installation.

I don't think so @Gonners but the whole thing was a shitshow in terms of what we know happened. I was initially told I was being kept in because of low oxygen saturation levels which I know was true because I saw it on the screen when they were testing it. Then I was told about the suspected perforation which seemed off because while I always know it's possible I'm also aware that if that happens they will have to fix it immediately, so I was confused but so taken aback when it was mentioned that I just accepted it. This was despite the fact that while I was then only drinking water I was being give tablets to take and then the protein shake. Surely if there was a tear you'd stop anything going down there because it would be dangerous. But no, that's what I was told.

That is not on my discharge letter. In fact it's stated that there was no perforation nor a suspicion of one. All we've got is that they couldn't perform a dilatation because both balloon and bougie failed due to the tightness. There was no mention of more biopsies, there was also no mention of them doing an x-ray while I was semi-out of it on sedation. It was mentioned that they decided I needed help with nutrition which makes no sense because although I've lost weight due to my limited diet, I'm not all bones. I'm a perfectly normal weight, not even underweight. Snoop is spitting feathers because the whole thing seems to be either them being utterly shit or trying to cover their tracks. After all, why take up a hospital bed for 48 hours for a patient who doesn't need to be a patient for that long? Yes, maybe keep me in to monitor my oxygen saturation but once that was fine on Saturday morning they should have let me go if there was nothing else wrong. The discharge letter is lacking pertinent information or they're shit doctors. I'll call my nurses tomorrow to find out more because they're not shit and they will know all the ins and outs. I hope.

Mostly, though, despite being confused I'm not as pissed off as Snoop is because I'm just glad to be home and glad to be on the chemo/radiotherapy track because that should get things sorted. Plus, that will be either here in Worthing or in Brighton, which will make my life SO much easier. Basically, it's been a weekend of what the actual fuckery. Thankfully the nurses on the ward were lovely, my fellow patients were lovely and when Snoop came in on Saturday she brought me everything I needed so I no longer felt stranded with nothing but the clothes I had on and a very shit book to read. I didn't have headphones so I absconded to Tesco, got some cheapo ones and spent last night and this morning watching Strictly on catch-up. I also spent a lot of time sitting outside the hospital. Partly to vape but also to get fresh air. I met another patient, Tom, who was my tumour twin. He's a bit further along so we got to talk about our experiences and what's going on with him. So, it was a shitshow but I'm home now and grateful to have such a wonderful friend and to be back with my cats because I am a mad cat woman.

Yay for cats, who make everything better! And Snoop, of course.

What a trying weekend, Mouse! Although you sound very stoic about it all. Thinking of you, xxx

I think the biggest difference between here and the Old Place is the extent to which MN is a mirror on the real world, rather than just some people chatting. I'm not saying that because of Mouse's awful travails, but yes, if you like, that is a part of it. All those things you already knew existed, sure, but like reading the testimony of a woman whose partner has an awful eating disorder, and the chiming experience of so many other posters, as I just have, it carries that jolt to make me realise how fortunate I am with what I have. And that's without starting on the trans widows and the brutal husbands.

I'll shut up now! 😀

Mouse, that sounds like a very strange and confusing hospital experience, what with keeping you in, the maybe perforation and then giving you tablets. Glad you met someone to compare your case with and that you're finally home again.

Glad you're home, MM, and all the best.

A French biologist writes:

The Notion of Truth in Sciences and Medicine, Why it Matters and Why We Must Defend It

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-review/article/notion-of-truth-in-sciences-and-medicine-why-it-matters-and-why-we-must-defend-it/9EB51D0BFB180F8E8D9AFE593E390335

From a special issue of European Review on "Perils for Science in Democracies and Authoritarian Countries".

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-review/issue/61F5C0A060964AF88ECAE252C4B95D92

Seem to be quite a few interesting articles there.

@duc748 I totally agree. I'd been lurking here for a couple of years only really posting on the strictly threads and occasionally an AIBU thread, but you're right. All life is here. The good stuff, the bad stuff, the funny stuff and stuff that is heartbreaking. I very much enjoy my daily wanders around a variety of threads and there is a real feeling of community on some. Here, obviously, but also SCD and MAFS. It's a good place to find yourself. Huzzah for mumsnet!

Very glad you’re safely back home with your cats @MouseMinge and that you have such a wonderful friend. Snoop sounds like an absolute star! And great that you met someone to share tumour notes with.

I'm quite shocked by a question and the descriptions given afterwards that was just on Only Connect. So, The items coming up were 1875, Dublin Whiskey, 1814, London Beer, 1919 Boston molasses. They got it on that one and so did I (yay!). They'd thought riots and so had I but on the molasses realised it was an accident that caused a flood of the "liquid" mentioned in that place. I wasn't shocked by the question actually, but when they talked about it the molasses flood was described as something that happened and then the streets of Boston smelled of Molasses for two years and it was seen as a bit of a jolly surprising incident. It wasn't. 21 people were killed and 150 were injured which is a bit horrible. I was waiting for Victoria to mention the horribleness of it but she didn't and although one of the team knew about the flood neither did he. As I said I was a bit taken aback but I'm probably being oversensitive about it.

An update on the weekend. Sorry, I meant to post this earlier but got caught up in trying to get all my chores done (got half of them done before I was exhausted and was pretty chuffed with myself for that). I spoke to one of the nurses assigned to me and she filled me in on everything. They were worried that there would be a leak because my oesophagus is so weak after multiple dilatations and biopsies. Hence the water for over 24 hours and then just Fortisip. The x-ray was to check out the condition of my oesophagus post-surgery. The weekend now makes more sense and thank goodness for nurses. I called knowing that they would explain better than any doctor ever would.

Not long after I called her I got a call from the nutritionist, who apparently came to see me while I was still off my tits from pethidine. She gave me some water and had to stop me from pouring it over my head while giggling. Drugs are great. Anyway, she was checking up that I was okay with the Fortisip which I hadn't liked in hospital but the vanilla flavour is decent and I'm getting on well with it. She was happy with how I was doing and the precautions I was taking (bowel stuff, nobody needs to know the ins and definitely not the outs of that!) She told me that a feeding tube would be a strong possibility in the future and I'm fine with that as Tom, my tumour twin, was on one and we talked about it. It's all to do with getting me better so it will be fine.

So, there you are. Things are clearer and the people looking after me are happy with what I'm doing and how I am. Hoping for less of this sort of boring hospital talk in the future and thank you all so much for caring.

That all makes a lot more sense - glad you found someone able to fill in the gaps.

The no nonsense explanation from the nurse must be a real relief. And it’s good that meeting tumour twin Tom means you’re better prepared for what’s likely to be ahead of you.

I spoke to one of the nurses assigned to me

Observed to you at birth, FFS!

I'm glad you got a proper explanation @MouseMinge!

Mouse, very glad to know there is a decent nurser to advise you and that you've got support around you. Hope you feel better soon.

😂

I’m glad you’ve got clarification now @MouseMinge. And hooray for good drugs. If propofol was sold OTC I’d be using it every night!

I'm only on page 1 but finding this so far surprisingly non-fighty and interesting. (I consider ourselves in-the-middle: more relaxed than my own traditional Asian upbringing, but stricter than DH might otherwise have been inclined to be).

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4927574-parents-who-let-your-toddlers-run-feral-how-are-your-kids-now?