Thank you MrsEricBana and everyone else, your kind words are very much appreciated.
Gonna write this update/vent..well done if you make it to the end!
Got there today and dd been nil by mouth as per instructions of dr last night. The thing on her eye was bigger than ever (photo)...the consultant saw us in the corridor and asked how she was.
I explained about last night and what was said. She agreed that it looked much bigger than yesterday.
Then she examined it properly in her office and told me that there is no pus point on the cyst (but she says there was yesterday, and the yellow part has not changed so I've no idea what she means)..therefore surgery would be unhelpful as she would need a big incision and the whole sac digging out and no guarantee it would not come back.
She then said it will probably still need an op but to wait for the inflammation to go down first so they can see what they are dealing with.
It is all the complete opposite to what they said before and a cop out purely because the paediatric surgeon is on holiday. It's so bleeding obvious!!
I asked her about the eye disease that this one leads to...(she has what they call “pre septal” but if untreated or antibiotics don't work then it progresses to “orbital”; this can cause blindness, brain abscess and sepsis and is a medical emergency)
The original child doctor on the ward and the a&e doctor last night both said they should treat her to prevent this from happening (it is standard procedure to treat the pre septal stage ASAP to avoid the second stage...which is most common in young children and particularly girls apparently) because if it develops to orbital then it’s IV drip of antibiotics and it's quite serious.
To me, the consultant decision to let the situation continue seems like an awfully big risk to take with my dd health because all signs are pointing to the fact that the first line of oral antibiotics are simply NOT working.
The cyst or whatever is causing the cellulitis and the cellulitis needs to be halted.
Her response to my fears was: "well if that happens it happens”
I was fuming!!
Also "what do you want me to do? She’s already got antibiotics".
She then asked me to continue to use warm compresses as it may pop (despite saying 5 mins earlier the pus spot had gone and it was all turning solid..again contradicting herself)
She also advised to watch for it coming bigger and to return to clinic if I was concerned.
I argued that it is bigger and that she had already agreed this in the corridor...and I am concerned and I am back at clinic but nothing is being done!?
Then after telling her about dd dizziness etc last night she said
"well don’t children often fall over anyway” and shrugged her shoulders.
Followed by "what else do you want me to do? I’ve told you I’m here and to come back if you’re worried”.
She was really unhelpful, argumentative and quite intimidating tbh.
I went to the desk and asked who or where it is I go to to organise a formal complaint. I told them
I was really not happy about how I had just been spoken to and how my dd had been cared for this past few days
The receptionist looked for a PALs leaflet whilst a nurse who overheard me butted in and offered to go and get the clinic's sister in charge.
I spoke with the sister and made it clear how I felt and told her everything that had happened. She went and spoke with the consultant and came back to say that she can't go above her decision not to operate...I said I totally understand that but I'm still not happy with the way I was spoken to but most of all the way in which the story keeps changing. The care has been totally inconsistent and unfair on my dd. The other drs said it needed incision and were happy to go ahead but since the theatre slot problem it appears to be a fob off tactic and it's simply not fair.
My dd is so uncomfortable and even if the cyst thing is hardening well I'm sorry but it shouldn't have been left to harden should it...this could have all been resolved so easily the other day.
She was very sympathetic but clearly powerless to go above the consultant.
So I then went over to the PALs office in the main building. There is a note on the door apologising that it is closed and to ring or email instead.
What a complete shit show.
I know we are very lucky to have the NHS and I know how much strain they are under but when it comes to your own child it's so frustrating and soul destroying...I absolutely cannot do anything else.
So now we have 2 options:
- It will get better; the antibiotics will work (despite being used for 48 hours with no improvement thus far)
- It will get so bad that she will need emergency care, her eye will close up and she will need admission and IV drip and whatever else.
I'm praying it's going to be no.1
Dd is so tired out, she's currently asleep on the sofa which she NEVER does.
And as an aside...the cyst thing is looking very yellow now..so my guess is if she had been put to day surgery it would have been able to be popped easily anyway and all this "no pus point" shit was just a fob off.
Thank you for reading. I know I might sound like it's an overreaction, I don't know, I'm not one to complain usually, can anyone recommend anything else I can do/people I can contact?
Thank you 