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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

how do i get to A&E?

318 replies

hurtmyankle · 09/03/2018 16:08

not AIBU but posting for traffic

I've fallen over about half an hour ago and heard my ankle crunch, can't put weight on it and in a lot of pain, taken paracetamol and got it raised but really am in unbelievable pain and think I need to go to A&E, my DP says i've just fallen over and i'm being silly but i'm not so He's gone to work.

I can't get a taxi and have no family here to call to drive me so how do I get to A&E? If I ring 111 can they arrange transport? The hospital is only a 2 minute drive from me but I can't walk Confused what is the best thing to do?
Sorry for asking here but my DP is useless and my family are all away

OP posts:
8wheelsgood · 09/03/2018 19:24

God you lot are unsympathetic. I thought I had dislocated my ankle while out somewhere, the satff made me stay still and called an ambulance without me knowing. I rang my husband to pick up the kids, posed for a photo with my friend while on the floor and went on Instagram and Facebook as I was bored and not in that much pain.
I had shattered my ankle bone. I was in hospital for 2 weeks and not able to walk for 14 weeks. Years later I still limp.
I was told that if I had stood upright and tried to put weight on it I may have lost my ankle as the tendons and everything were so twisted and out of place.

It. Did. Not. Hurt.

liz70 · 09/03/2018 19:25

Bloody hell, it's getting that way that you're made to feel bad for calling an ambulance if you're anything less than lying in a, pool of blood with your head hanging off, attached only by a flap of skin. Hmm Fuck knows what the guilt trippers would have made of my own broken ankle experience. I needed ambulance, helicopter (first ambulance crew couldn't walk safely back to the vehicle on the cliff top terrain), then ambulance from helipad to a & e department, where I was seen immediately) . I must have cost a fortune. Perhaps I should have hobbled down the cliff back to town and got a taxi instead. Hmm

Glad to hear you're being seen to quickly, OP. All the best. Flowers

Icklepickle101 · 09/03/2018 19:30

Paramedic here.

Today I got called to a woman who hasd snapped her false nail and this is by no means uncommon. I would be overjoyed to turn up to a actual injury like a potential broken bone.

Yes we have life or death emergencies to deal with but the call operators prioritise and a dodgy ankle would come along way behind a heart attack.

Original poster
hurtmyankle · 09/03/2018 19:30

Well it is broken! I've been given a bandage cast type thing around my ankle and I have to see one more person then i'm free to go home. It was super quick today compared to usual waiting times, the a&e is absolutely packed this evening aswell but full of people mainly drunk Hmm

Thank you for all the lovely messages, those that were harsh I think maybe didn't read my posts properly and instantly thought I wanted to call 999 or have someone send me money.

OP posts:
Original poster
hurtmyankle · 09/03/2018 19:32

liz70 oh bloody hell! I once dislocated my knee and required three ambulances and a helicopter ( that i didn't even go in ) for some reason!

OP posts:
liz70 · 09/03/2018 19:35

"I got called to a woman who hasd snapped her false nail"

How come the call operator didn't screen out such a time waster? Confused

Gilead · 09/03/2018 19:35

Glad you know what's happened and it's being seen to Spice. I do think you should apologise to user, I mean you can type, after all, you were obviously trying to mislead! Wink
Hope you get home okay.

Loonyluna16 · 09/03/2018 19:35

Oh ouch :( I take it you'll be in the bandage cast till the swelling goes down. Poor soul hope you get some decent pain relief xx

liz70 · 09/03/2018 19:37

It's good to hear that you don't need surgery, OP. Smile

Ginorchoc · 09/03/2018 19:38

Now you just need to get rid of the broken husband.

Justaboy · 09/03/2018 19:40

There is or has to be a grey area as to what is a life threating 999 incident to one thats worty of hospital attention, and where ambulance transport if needed is justified.

Theres no hard and fast rules either there is some doubt as to the severity of the injury here and it might be best to not move it more that is absolutly necessary to prevent further damage not to suggest walking on it or anything like that.

Call 111 and see what they say if you haven't already. Painfull as it is it's not likely to be life dependant but could if not treated promptly lead to a bigger longer term problem.

Charolais · 09/03/2018 19:40

I mentioned my horrendous crushed/broken ankle above and have just realized not all ankle breaks are the same. Some mentioned little pain or being able to walk on their broken ankles, but that wasn’t the case with me.

I landed on my head and was knocked out, thankfully, when my ankle was crushed. When two men tried to lift me up to take me to the hospital, I remember my foot flopping down as it wasn’t properly attached to my body anymore. They saw it and called an ambulance. It wasn’t something I could walk on that’s for sure. Not at all. When I tried to sit up I started to puke and then passed out for some reason.

Certainly couldn’t walk that one off. lol.

JustVent · 09/03/2018 19:41

OP I’m sorry to hear it’s broken.

I really do think you need to kick DP into touch, he wasn’t there for you at all, minimalised your pain and situation and totally ditched you.
I would be rethinking things with regards to that relationship. Especially if you are too worried about calling him for help and have to call a friend you haven’t seen in over a year.

I hope you heal well.

QuestionableMouse · 09/03/2018 19:41

@user1497718723

I bet your magic diagnostic skills could save the NHS a fortune. They could send you photos and you could work your magic. No one would have to go to hospital ever again.

You're giving terrible advice and being a twat at the same time.

BlankTimes · 09/03/2018 19:42

Flowers for you OP, hope it heals quickly and the pain's not too bad.

OddS0ck · 09/03/2018 19:43

Now to deal with the partner problem...

Seriously, he told you that you were being silly and went off to work leaving you alone with a broken ankle.

MNHQ
FlissMumsnet · 09/03/2018 19:45

Thanks so much to everyone who's posted; we're just nipping in with our usual reminder..

We'd always ask everyone to remember that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are - and remind folk not to give more to another poster, either financially (in cash or gifts) or emotionally (in time or care and support) than they'd be prepared to lose if things went wrong.

liz70 · 09/03/2018 19:45

I managed to turn myself over (didn't fancy lying face down in the mud), get a couple of co codamol out of my bag and take them, then attempt to call an ambulance with my mobile (signal too weak, unfortunately). I can't have been that bad! Grin (Dislocation and trimalleolar fracture needing plate and screws, fwiw)

HelloCanYouHearMe · 09/03/2018 19:46

Charolais my break wasnt anywhere near as bad as yours sounds, but me throwing up and feeling incredibly dizzy and lightheaded is what made me think my foot was broken when I fell down the stairs carrying DS.

It didnt even hurt that much - i was weight bearing and it wasnt overly swollen either but id broken my 1st and 2nd matatarsal.

Biddie191 · 09/03/2018 19:46

Ouch!
Glad you were seen quickly - the NHS staff are amazing, they were fantastic when my daughter broke her leg.
Hope you're not in too much pain, and that you can cope OK with being off your feet for a while.

Icklepickle101 · 09/03/2018 20:02

liz people lie. The call was for an entrapment which had led to query broken hand.

Turns out she’d caught her nail in her purse and it had broken slightly.

Skyechasemarshalontheway · 09/03/2018 20:03

Glad you were seen quickly. Sorry that it is broken though.

Original poster
hurtmyankle · 09/03/2018 20:11

still waiting! thanks again for nice messages

how do i get to A&E?
OP posts:
Schlimbesserung · 09/03/2018 20:12

Only two nights ago my friend's 89 yo mother had fallen down the stairs. She'd been lying there for hours (normally quite independent). Punctured lung, broken leg, cuts and bruises everywhere, and a bleed on the brain. She waited over two hours for an ambulance...

Where I live (the further reaches of Scotland) 2 hours is quick. When I needed an ambulance because of a premature labour with abnormal presentation, I had to wait an hour and a half for doctor then another hour for an ambulance to the local (small) hospital, then another three hours for an ambulance plane. By that time, the cord had prolapsed and the baby was dead.

I wouldn't blame anyone for calling an ambulance if they couldn't get help any other way. I'm just envious of people who live in places where calling 999 makes much of a difference to the outcome. I despise the timewasters and hoax callers though.

Flockoftreegulls · 09/03/2018 20:12

Just think about how shit your DH is going to feel now.
Not at all suggesting that you should milk this for all its worth Hmm

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