@FarmGirl78
To go out. To keep active which was what she's been told by medical professionals. To accept that there's nothing (for now) that anyone can do. To seek help only if anything changes which warrants a visit to A&E. To cheer herself up by discussing something else other than her condition. To not waste NHS time and resources which could be time allocated to someone else who really does actually need it.
I've been off work with a sudden onset unforseen condition for past 4 weeks. I'll be off indefinitely. I'm in pain, so much even seamless knickers are too much to wear, I can't sit up because of pain. I can't stand up because of pain. It hurts to lie down but I can just about manage it. You know what distracts from it? Phoning friends and relatives when needed to discuss ANYTHING BUT MY CONDITION.
Its a shame that OPs relative doesn't realise that her actions are quite so much to other people detriment.
Sympathy, FarmGirl - it sounds horrible, whatever the problem is.
I just think it's dreadfully sad that someone FEELS they are suffering to this extent (and none of us can judge on the validity of her discomfort, as we only have the info on here to go on) and that they are suffering enough to willingly sit it out in A&E. Whether or not it's a drain on NHS resources, her family or the call handler at the end of the phone at 111.....the point is that this woman is clearly very, very worried about her health and it seems all she is getting back is her family moaning that she needs to buck herself up. How can her actions be to the detriment of her family? If the OP and her relatives are that pissed off with what she is doing/not doing, then I'm jolly glad they aren't the ones who are going to be looking after me if and when I should need it. I don't know anyone who actually WANTS to mope around at home feeling ill, or spend hours in A&E, so the fact she is doing so very likely means she IS unwell, or at the very least needs to speak to someone who can reassure her properly, rather than "we'll see when we can see you, in the meantime go and enjoy life". I had an accident many years ago, and for weeks afterwards, I knew something was not right. Not just from the amount of pain I was in, more than I just knew somehow. After 3 weeks of being told by my GP (and A&E) that I had probably just pulled a load of muscles and I should stay as active as possible, it wasn't until I lost all control of my bowel, bladder and legs that somebody said "Uh oh, this is bad" and 4 operations later, I spent the next 5 months flat on my back in hospital, not even being allowed to turn over by myself, let alone sit up. The long road to partial recovery back home was even harder - but I found talking about my relentless pain and complete dependence on others helpful. Distraction techniques didn't work for me, the pain was too horrific to try and pretend it wasn't there. To the opposite, I found talking about it and addressing it somehow validated the pain and made me cope with it slightly better. I'm certain I was a drain to my friends and family during this time, but thankfully none of them felt the urge to publicly ask if I was being unreasonable for being ill, or if they were being unreasonable by moaning about me. And they certainly did NOT ever suggest I should pull myself together! I'm eternally thankful I had such a loving, understanding and patient network around me. My point is, nobody knows their own body better than the person walking around in it - and sometimes sixth sense plays a part. Rather than frustration being bandied at this lady, someone needs to talk to her to find out where this sudden change of character is coming from.