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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be angry & upset that DH didn’t want me to go to hospital?

324 replies

ThisWayDown · 26/12/2018 13:04

I’m in South Africa for a holiday with DH and DC. No family here but a friend. Today at the beach the waves were strong. I got knocked over by one and my knee gave way with a loud snap. I tore my anterior cruciatr ligament (ACL) 15 years ago when someone skied into me and had a reconstruction - it tore again some years later and I needed another. The way the knee sounded and hurt and not being able to stand on it made me really worry that I’d torn my ACL again.

DH helped me stand up and hobble over to our towels on the shore. He then said “we’re not going to A&E”. He was being slightly lighthearted but also totally serious. He said that’s because we went to A&E our last holiday due to a hand fracture I turned out to have.

We took the kids to get some dinner before heading back to our rented flat. As we went home on the bus, my knee became increasingly painful and in my view was swollen. DH said “oh shit” when I told him I was in pain and seemed angry. He said he was upset that I may have injured myself. He was caring but when I said I wanted to go to A&E he seemed to shut down, which he often does. He thought it was in my “best interests” not to but to get back to the apartment and rest and decide tomorrow, as it was “highly likely” that I wouldn’t need treatment and that the hospital wouldn’t be able to do anything. And the kids needed to get home. He thought I was being unreasonable going.

He’s not a doctor. I was angry that he’d - yet again - put what he thought should happen above what I did. He thought I should wait to the morning. When we got off the bus I told him to take the children home and I would call my friend to take me there. She didn’t answer. I said I’d take a cab. He said he wasn’t leaving me but he didn’t want to take the children to the hospital as that wasn’t in their best interests, so it was “an impossible situation”. He wanted me not to go. I said I was in considerable pain and I strongly suspected it was torn, and that I couldn’t believe he wanted to override that. We had a huge argument at the bus stop, in front of our kids SadBlush They wanted to come to the hospital. Eventually we all went in a cab.

The triage nurse sent me to wait to see a doctor. My family stayed with me for a while but I sent them home so the kids could go to bed. My friend eventually called but had been drinking so couldn’t drive over to see me.

My DH said again while here innA&E that he hadn’t wanted to go to A&E as we went on the last holiday. I said I didn’t realise there was a quota, regardless of whether someone needed treatment or not Hmm I am so upset that he wanted me to delay hospital treatment to the next morning or, better yet, not seek any. I am so livid and heartbroken by his irrationality, callousness and rigidity (again) that I put my friend and not him as my emergency contact and told DH I’d let the kids know how I was getting on but not him.

I strongly suspect he is on the autistic - one of our children is - and so does our ASD child’s psychologist and the couples therapisf we used to see. He agrees that he has traits sometimes but when pressed will deny he has it and refuse to seek a diagnosis or accept that some of his thinking and actions are, er, different and frankly come across as selfish and uncaring. He says he was worried about me, just felt it was much better for me if I slept on it and decided on A&E in the morning. I said that wasn’t his decision to make.

We’ve had a lovely holiday so far but I am so down with him not respecting my opinion and thinking it’s aporopriate to think he knows best. I’ve been waiting for hours to see a doctor and, apart from my children who have been so sweet and caring, I feel utterly alone. AIBU to think he’s BU?

OP posts:
ThisWayDown · 28/12/2018 08:46

Jesus Christ. I completely agree the priority was to get my kids home. But DH was capable of doing that on his own. I was planning to go to A&E by myself and kept saying he should take them home while I went by myself. It was DH who didn’t want me to go alone, he thinks it would have been very wrong of him to have let that happen.

OP posts:
Cheby · 28/12/2018 08:46

In the end, your OH was right, you injured yourself but not to the point that it required immediate urgent attention

How the fuck do you come to this conclusion? She had torn the ligament, it did need immobilising to protect it and she did need serious pain relief. It did need urgent attention.

Honestly, mumsnet is absolutely fucking ridiculous when it comes to a&e. Posters are falling over themselves to say you should never attend a&e no matter how serious the injury.

I mean, someone upthread actually said you should go to a pharmacy to buy a full leg brace and crutches for an injury that had left you in serious pain and unable to weightbare. It’s utterly laughable.

Poster: My arm has fallen off and I’m bleeding heavily.
Half of mumsnet: Tis but a scratch! Have a paracetamol and woman up. 😂😂

swingofthings · 28/12/2018 08:47

swingofthings, there is no scenario in which "waiting for the morning" is best for an ACL injury. OP got a brace and painkillers, so of course it could have waited until the morning. I would have posted differently if the outcome had been OP being rushed into surgery that evening.

If you can't put weight through a leg after an injury, there is a high chance of needing immediate treatment and you were quite right to go to A&E
Indeed but OP manage to get from the beach to get some dinner and then get on the bus, so clearly managed to put some weight down and wasn't in such agony that it required immediate urgency.

I certainly did NOT expect him and the kids to come with me - quite the opposite
I don't think I implied you were expecting him to come with you on the opposite, I understand that it's your OH who wasn't too happy with you going on your own.

If, as I suspect, you meant to say that DH was right that it wasn’t so serious it couldn’t wait until morning, you can fuck off
Yes, that's what I implied and considering your reaction on this post, I can understand why your OH feels he is walking on a tight rope with anything he says. I couldn't cope with a partner like that but each to their own.

XXcstatic · 28/12/2018 08:47

Plus, whatever pain I am in my priority is always 100% my children, DH & I are as one on that.

Have you discovered the Sanctimommy FB feed? You'd fit right in.

Personally, as a doctor, I'm struggling to see how having a mother in agony from a potentially serious untreated injury is in any child's best interests.

Cheby · 28/12/2018 08:50

Jesus Christ. I completely agree the priority was to get my kids home. But DH was capable of doing that on his own.

No OP, it wasn’t. Don’t undervalue yourself like this. You were injured and in serious pain. The priority was to get you to hospital, DH could have sorted the kids out at the same time, they’re not mutually exclusive. And even if they were, you were still the immediate priority. It wouldn’t harm them to come to a&e for 30 mins with both their parents in a taxi, get you settled and then go home with their dad. It’s not like they would be harmed by simply walking into an a&e department. At worst they would have been a bit bored.

What if one child was injured? Would the priority be to get the other one home first then deal with the injured child? This thread is fucking ridiculous.

TenForward82 · 28/12/2018 08:51

OP, stop defending yourself to these strange posters. The rest of us get it. Flowers

ThisWayDown · 28/12/2018 08:52

@XXcstatic - great advice. Unfortunately I forgot to ask the GP about this today but I’m potentially seeing the orthopaedic surgeon the GP wants me to see on the 2nd so I’ll ask him or else by some lovely stockings from the chemist.

@DeepanKrispanEven excellent point, I’ll try this, thank you.

OP posts:
beerandchocolate · 28/12/2018 08:54

YANBU. I had a husband who is only supportive when it didn't inconvenience him, and who was unable to understand anyone else's point of view or emotions or thoughts.

It's very painful being in a relationship like that. You can never get through to them because they only have room in their heads for themselves.

TheStoic · 28/12/2018 08:54

Would you honestly have been OK with him leaving you to go to Emergency by yourself? 100% ok?

Why do you think HE thought it was the wrong thing to do? Because he thought you were over-reacting? Because he was genuinely torn between what was right for you and what was right for his children?

XXcstatic · 28/12/2018 08:55

OP - ask the orthopaedic surgeon too. The stockings may not be enough by themselves. I don't mean to worry you - a DVT is preventable - I just don't want you to get one unnecessarily.

ThisWayDown · 28/12/2018 09:01

I can understand why your OH feels he is walking on a tight rope with anything he says

@swingofthings you’re making things up now ShockGrin Why do you think he feels this?! He doesn’t. Now, as you said in an earlier post, is he still angry at me. We’ve been having a perfectly nice last few days. There is no tension, other than in my knee, boom boom.

TenForward is right. I’m done defending myself to certain posters.

OP posts:
XXcstatic · 28/12/2018 09:03

OP got a brace and painkillers, so of course it could have waited until the morning. I would have posted differently if the outcome had been OP being rushed into surgery that evening

Blimey, this thread has brought out some thickos. It's not just a question of what the diagnosis actually was, it's a question of what diagnoses need to be excluded.

If the OP had had chest pain, gone to A&E to rule out a heart attack, and it turned out to be indigestion, would you be telling her that she had been wasting A&E's time?

There are some soft tissue injuries that need immediate treatment - the OP needed an A&E assessment to determine whether she had one of these. The fact that she did not does not mean that she was wrong to get the assessment.

Ocies · 28/12/2018 09:05

FWIW - with your medical history I think it was entirely the right thing to seek medical attention straight away. It's so discombobulating when this happens on a much looked forward to holiday regardless of all the other issues.

OP - look after yourself and I hope your journey home isn't too uncomfortable.

BollocksIsNoACompleteSentence · 28/12/2018 09:06

ThisWayDown I really feel for you! Not just your poor leg, but I have a DH who sounds like this, in that he abhors any situations that he feels are "dramatic" (but is genuinely a good kind man otherwise). Is your DH the same about himself (if that makes sense?) I can count on one hand the number of times DH has even seen a GP in over 20 years.

From my point of view, the crucial fact is that my DH is aware that he is like this and makes an effort to not go to the extreme as he instinctively wants to ("pick your hand off the floor, minor injuries will do. Maybe just the chemist"). We also kind of temper each other as we are both at opposite ends of the "drama scale" Smile

In some ways I see it as a benefit as he is always calm in a crisis and it reduces teenage DC dramas Wink I think it's really very important though that he does show his concern/love in other ways eg if someone is home from a hospital trip he is the kindest man you could hope for. I also want him to show this side of himself as an example to the DC to help them learn that displaying emotions is important but people do it in different ways. I hope that makes sense? It does to me Grin

From your OP it doesn't seem as perhaps your DH has the self awareness about himself and doesn't make the effort to show his feelings or meet you halfway on something? My DH might disagree with me that something needs a hospital trip and may eye roll but wouldn't be actively unkind to me, especially if I was the one injured.

Ironically I have a condition that manifests itself very dramatically (epilepsy/tonic clonic seizures) which also demands unscheduled A and E visits and I find it enormously reassuring that DH is always low key, but crucially he remains kind. He may come across to others as unsympathetic in an immediate crisis as he is so unemotional, but I know it's just his way of dealing with it and I also appreciate it's actually a really hard situation for him as he finds things like this so difficult.

I think this is what's key, we all have different ways of responding to things but we have to at least make an effort to respond in a way that doesn't make others feel worse at our own expense. I'm probably explaining this really badly. It's not necessarily about the instinctive avoidance of any drama, but how you deal with these instincts that makes the difference, IMO.

If your DH isn't open to even considering your feelings and compromising, it would make a difference to me. If he recognised though that you feel he is hurting you and being unkind - and made an effort to rectify this it would help.

This is really long and probably makes no sense to anyone but me, sorry!

DeepanKrispanEven · 28/12/2018 09:08

Plus, whatever pain I am in my priority is always 100% my children, DH & I are as one on that. We would see getting them safely home as a priority

So, TheNavigator, why on earth would the children be unable to get back to the hotel safely if OP went to A&E?

Why drag your kids to A&E? Get them home, then decide what to do. I am team DH on this one, I am afraid.

FFS, why is it so hard to read the OP's posts before commenting? She has made it perfectly clear that she had no intention whatsoever of dragging the kids to A&E.

beerandchocolate · 28/12/2018 09:09

What a load of nutters on this thread. What, they've watched a full series of casualty in 1980 so they can diagnose over the net that OP was totes unreasonable to go to A&E?

Meanwhile, from the bit of the thread I have seen, people claiming to be actual doctors say she was right to go.

And what is this bollocks berating OP for going to A&E too many times on holidays? Don't you people understand statistics? Sometimes one person has a several accidents. It's not a weakness on their behalf, just the way life works out. Y'know like a few people get several substantial prizes on the lottery but most get none. These things just happen.

ThisWayDown · 28/12/2018 09:11

Having said I wasn’t going to defend myself anymore but I’ve just seen your post Stoic and you ask a resonance Q or two -

Yes I was genuinely fine going on my own to A&E. I’ve done it before; a long time ago when sent by out of hours doctor in middle of night for an issue to do with the cancer I didn’t yet know I had. On that occasion, DH memorably asked the doctor if it couldn’t just wait until the morning and the Doctor simply gave him an incredulous look and shook his head. There is form for this, you see. There was no Q of DH coming with me as the kids were asleep.

I am an independent person who (unlike DH) has lived in several countries abroad so going to a ‘foreign’ A&E doesn’t bother me.

DH just really believes it would have been wrong of him to let me go alone. To the point that he is upset that I can’t understand this. It seems to be his own code, not to do with my reaction. He was genuinely torn.

OP posts:
BollocksIsNoACompleteSentence · 28/12/2018 09:11

I also think the "this was a medical emergency and you should have gone straightaway" v the "I think you would have been fine til morning" fighting is completely missing the fucking point!

The point isn't who is medically correct, the point of the thread is how Mrthiswaydown's reactions made OP feel and the wider issues. Her knee will (hopefully) be repaired and fixed, it's her marriage that is the issue? Or so it seems to me anyway. OP will get medical advice from RL doctors, she doesn't want this from the thread, she wants MN wisdom on whether her DH is being a dick, or not!

Sorrry thiswaydown to talk about you like you're not here btw.Wink

ThisWayDown · 28/12/2018 09:12

Typo: should be reasonabke question not resonance

OP posts:
DeepanKrispanEven · 28/12/2018 09:14

swingofthings, there is no scenario in which "waiting for the morning" is best for an ACL injury.

OP got a brace and painkillers, so of course it could have waited until the morning. I would have posted differently if the outcome had been OP being rushed into surgery that evening.

Swingofthings, the fact that OP was given a specialist brace still does not mean this could have waited till morning. The risk of a further tear and if the leg is left unsupported is a very significant one, as it can lead to permanent long term disability - particularly given OP's previous history. And can you explain how OP was supposed to know what treatment her leg was going to need at the point of making the decision whether to go to A&E or not?

Could you also explain what on earth the benefits of waiting would be also? OP has already made it clear she didn't expect her husband or children to go with her. Basically the risk assessment was between waiting and risking exacerbating the injury on the one hand, and going against her husband's wishes on the other. Surely it's a no-brainer?

ThisWayDown · 28/12/2018 09:14

Grin Bollocks

OP posts:
AtrociousCircumstance · 28/12/2018 09:22

Fucking HELL! Why are posters giving you such a hard time? You’ve really hurt yourself, your husband was an unsympathetic self-focused arse about it (plus absolutely full of shit: as if it was caring to disapprove of you seeking medical care when you’re in serious pain Confused) and in no way were you inappropriate in front of your kids.

Your H was inappropriate in front of your kids - he modelled uncaring cruel behaviour.

Get well soon OP. Flowers

bastardkitty · 28/12/2018 09:27

@swingofthings you’re making things up now - you could have left off the 'now' - that's standard behaviour.

Christmas seems to have brought out the goady fuckers in a tour de force. Not really sure why MN isn't taking the opportunity to have a blocking spree. I agree, their arguments are immensely stupid but the aim is goadyfuckwittery.

bengalcat · 28/12/2018 09:28

Not read the whole thread but with your history of ligament issues x 2 it would be entirely reasonable to go straight to A and E at the time of injury .

TheStoic · 28/12/2018 09:29

DH just really believes it would have been wrong of him to let me go alone. To the point that he is upset that I can’t understand this. It seems to be his own code, not to do with my reaction. He was genuinely torn

Do you think it’s just a difference of opinion, or more fundamental than that?