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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Husband not coming home early

183 replies

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 13:38

So my husband is away for work and has 2 of our 5 children with him (at his sisters house). It's about a 5 hour drive.

I had surgery on my leg 2 weeks ago and it has opened up and is oozing.

I sent a photo to my friend who is a nurse and she said it needs looking at ASAP.

we are new to this area and know no one so I have no one to watch the other 3 kids.

i called husband yesterday at 5 to ask him to come back so I could go get it checked and sent him a photo. He agreed it looked bad and said he would come home. I pushed for when and he said well can't be tonight because it's too late and the kids are getting ready for bed. Will leave tomorrow. I asked what time tomorrow and he said by the time I'm up and all sorted it will be at least 12. He's rubbish with time so this means at least 1. As it's such a long drive he always stops so wouldn't be back here until 6/7. He said he could take me to hospital then but he thinks they'll need to do something to it and so he'll take the kids home. I asked how i would get home and he said they won't make you leave Mat 10pm at night, obviously the hospital will as they don't necessarily have beds. He was just like oh well you'll have to figure it out.

i have a check up Friday anyway and it is much quicker and easier to see a doctor from this appointment so I said if I'm not going until Thursday anyway it may as well wait until Friday. He was happy with this as it meant he could finish his work Wednesday as originally planned.

i called him this morning at 9 and he was asleep called me back when he got up at 11. He's now called me and is catching up with a friend. I asked why he couldn't have come back and he said we agreed Friday was more sensible.

AIBU to feel like an afterthought and that he doesn't care about my health at all?

OP posts:
PopcornKitten · 11/03/2026 18:36

OP, I’m sorry. Your leg looks very painful.
please impress upon your husband the need for him to travel back now. It doesn’t appear to me that the work he was doing couldn’t be postponed. If your wound has opened that much then I would imagine you have been doing too much. What was your hospital aftercare advice?

WiddlinDiddlin · 11/03/2026 18:53

You should have spoken to your GP practice and asked for a DN to come out and look at it.

I agree your DP/DH is being a massive dick, but advocate for yourself please! It's your leg thats going to go necrotic/gangrenous/fall off... not his!

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 18:57

PopcornKitten · 11/03/2026 18:36

OP, I’m sorry. Your leg looks very painful.
please impress upon your husband the need for him to travel back now. It doesn’t appear to me that the work he was doing couldn’t be postponed. If your wound has opened that much then I would imagine you have been doing too much. What was your hospital aftercare advice?

I have followed the instructions I was given, the focus was on not bending the knee too much rather than not moving and I have been as strict with that as I can, it hurts to bend it anyway.

OP posts:
Legolaslady · 11/03/2026 19:01

Did you phone your GP surgery?

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 19:08

I spoke with the wound care nurse at the hospital

OP posts:
Allseeingallknowing · 11/03/2026 19:11

WiddlinDiddlin · 11/03/2026 18:53

You should have spoken to your GP practice and asked for a DN to come out and look at it.

I agree your DP/DH is being a massive dick, but advocate for yourself please! It's your leg thats going to go necrotic/gangrenous/fall off... not his!

That would take time to arrange, even if they agreed to do it. They’d probably say she needs to go to A&E.

faerylights · 11/03/2026 19:12

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 19:08

I spoke with the wound care nurse at the hospital

...

and what did she say?

Shinyandnew1 · 11/03/2026 19:15

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 19:08

I spoke with the wound care nurse at the hospital

And?

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 19:17

Sorry I'm not trying to be cryptic just managing bedtime.

She gave me an email address to send the photo to and then very specific instructions about what to watch out for when I would need to call an ambulance. As I don't have a fever or spreading redness the chance of infection is currently low but if that changes I will need to act immediately.

i have redressed it according to her advice and as soon as he gets home I can go to the ward and they will see me. She seemed to think as long as it was today, however late that would be fine and they know I'm going so that helps. She said it would be better and she was happy to just wait a few hours rather than stress me and the kids out with emergency childcare unless my symptoms change.

OP posts:
Tableforjoan · 11/03/2026 19:24

So has dh left then?

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 19:29

He's meant to call me when he leaves and I have heard nothing yet. Will call him again in a minute.

OP posts:
Butterflywings84 · 11/03/2026 19:30

I would be so annoyed.

Velvetgoldmine · 11/03/2026 19:34

I would be fuming in your place. That picture is frightening and he doesn't appear to be putting you first. If it was him with the injury I am sure you would be doing all you could to help him. In all honesty I would find it hard to forgive him for his apparent lack of care. I hope you get it sorted out soon. Next time he has manflu leave him to it!

Tableforjoan · 11/03/2026 19:38

So he is 5 hours away. The nurse wants you to be seen today. He has not indicated he has left yet at 7:37pm.

I think he thinks you’re stupid. Sorry. As if earlier he didn’t know it was 6pm either children are known are running on hungry time. If they normally have dinner by 6pm they would have been bugging him.

Lmnop22 · 11/03/2026 19:46

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 18:25

So he still hasn't left, we just spoke and I told him the time and he was surprised, he hadn't realised it was gone 6, they hadn't had dinner yet.

Wtf does he mean they haven’t had dinner yet? He was meant to be getting up and getting gone wasn’t he??

JLou08 · 11/03/2026 19:47

I'd be upset in your situation too.
I think you and your DH need to have a serious conversation when he returns about him staying with his family and leaving you with young DC. That wouldn't usually be an issue, but if you genuinely have no one at all to call on and live in the middle of nowhere with no ability to drive, it's not suitable.

What happens if you do need an ambulance or there is a real emergency? You can't just leave the DC and they couldn't be in the hospital. There should always be someone available in an emergency if you have young DC. I don't have any help with childcare, but I know if worse come to worse there are people who could look after DC.
Your DH needs to stop visiting family/working such a long distance away until you either have a support network there or children are old enough to be left alone.

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 19:47

I think I'm going to scream. Eldest just called me cos she misses me and wanted to say hello and I asked what daddy was doing and she says watching something on tv. Apparently they're leaving soon, but he's not ready yet.

He knows I'm not stupid and I don't think it's malicious. Just a complete lack of care or awareness.

OP posts:
petiteoeuf · 11/03/2026 19:49

What the absolute shit, this thread is wild. OP, your husband is being a massive bellend and I am genuinely aghast at his 1) lack of urgency, and 2) IDIOTIC sense of time. You aren’t being unreasonable whatsoever. I hope very much that you’re ok and your leg is seen to asap

Lmnop22 · 11/03/2026 19:49

OneTwinklyBird · 11/03/2026 19:47

I think I'm going to scream. Eldest just called me cos she misses me and wanted to say hello and I asked what daddy was doing and she says watching something on tv. Apparently they're leaving soon, but he's not ready yet.

He knows I'm not stupid and I don't think it's malicious. Just a complete lack of care or awareness.

Have you said to him “I need you to leave NOW and get home because otherwise I might get sepsis and die?”

Tableforjoan · 11/03/2026 19:50

I think you want to think the best of him but he is showing you with his actions or lack of who he really is.

He managed to arrange to get there with two children and stay all week no problem on his time line.

His wife needs him medically and he just cannot be arsed. His watching tv ffs.

Tableforjoan · 11/03/2026 19:51

You’ve got randoms on the internet who seem to care more about your leg than your husband.

SnapAndFartAllDayLong · 11/03/2026 19:58

Wow he really doesn’t care about you at all!! Have my first ever LTB

Namechange2567 · 11/03/2026 20:00

He clearly doesn’t give a shit, OP! You could die with 3 young children in the house

WiddlinDiddlin · 11/03/2026 20:01

Allseeingallknowing · 11/03/2026 19:11

That would take time to arrange, even if they agreed to do it. They’d probably say she needs to go to A&E.

If OP had rung yesterday rather than dithering about, she could have been seen by a DN today. They can work fast if its necessary.

Mumtobabyhavoc · 11/03/2026 20:05

Christ on a bike some of the replies here piling in OP are astounding.
DH is a jerk for taking off;
OP should have said from the start she needed him home to carry the load until she could manage better;
Now that there is a problem DH should be getting home to help asap;
OP has a precarious situation being isolated with a DH who doesn't prioritize her or the children.