Great news!

It's no secret that Australia is sorely behind the rest of the world in promoting HSCT as a treatment for autoimmune diseases.  The article I blogged about a couple of weeks ago just proves exactly how ignorant we are too.  It is embarrassing that as a highly developed country that claims to have one of the best health care systems in the world and also be a self proclaimed leader in medical research we are left wanting.

BUT it is changing.  The trial at St Vincent's hospital in Sydney is proof of this.  They have now done about 20 scleroderma patients, 6 MS patients and they have just commenced the process on the first CIDP patient.  While this is great news it can also be used to highlight the short comings of the Australian system.

A friend of mine and fellow CIDP patient Peter Langford, more commonly known as Pops (he jokes even his mother calls him Pops) has just had his chemo mobilisation.  Pops and I met on line in September of 2011 and found we both had CIDP and we were interested in HSCT.  Now I decided to go for the treatment in Chicago.  Unfortunately for Pops he couldn't afford to go to Chicago so he looked high and low for an Australian option which he found at St Vincent's with Dr John Moore.

Now about six months after I had started looking into HSCT I had gone to Chicago, had my transplant and returned to Australia.  Pops is still waiting after two years, but at least the end is in sight.  He seemed to get through his mobilisation OK too, so hopefully a month from now he will be back home recovering from his transplant.  It has been tough for him too, enduring false positive results for HTLV1 virus and just undergoing the complete battery of tests that we all have to do for HSCT.

The issue is that Pops has had to not just wait, but suffer and endure his disease unnecessarily for nearly two years whilst at the same time costing time and money with expensive, medicare approved treatments.  Australia, you need to get your act together, stop procrastinating and start saving lives.

Until next time, stay well:)

Training Day

Ethan Hawke plays the part of the rookie cop who gets partnered up with the veteran and highly corrupt cop played by Denzel Washington and........  Hang on a minute.  That is the wrong training day.  Mine has far less guns and is not nearly as violent.  In fact the most violent thing that happened was when I was tapped on the knee by that rubber thingy (yes, I believe that is the technical name;)) when they tested my reflexes.

So on a cold sunday morning I caught a cab to St Vincent's hospital where I was greeted with a warm cup of tea before being shown to an examination room where I would be poked and prodded by a bunch of medical students.  I always seem to be a little off the mark when giving my opinion of the students.  I guess I never quite know what the examiners are looking for but I recon two out of three did a fairly good job.  The third one knew his neurology, but fell short by having a poor understanding of his anatomy which made correct diagnosis almost impossible.

One thing I find really weird about the process is you are not allowed to converse with the students.  They  are allowed to give instruction and ask simple questions that barely require no more than a yes no answer, but that is it.

In a way I think it is a little unfair.  For example, my craniotomy scar.  In a clinical setting the doctor would simply ask "why do you have a craniotomy scar?"  But they have to guess and it just adds an element that can mislead them.  Unfairly in my opinion.  Seeing as I am still suffering from chemo baldness the most common conclusion was that I had a tumour surgically removed.  It just does not seem accurate.  Just ask me.  You'll have your answer in less than 30 seconds and they can move on to diagnosing the problem at hand.

But, I'm glad I did it and if asked I will do it again.  It makes me feel good to give a little back to medicine from who I owe so much.  Even with my whinges and complaints about the health care system they have done a great job looking after me over the years.  To all the med students I saw I wish you all good luck in your upcoming exams.  If I fronted up at emergency tomorrow I wouldn't mind being treated by any of you.  And to all my readers, until next time, stay well:)

The future is in safe hands

Today's training day was for three final year medical students who were competing for the Billings prize.  They all had a turn at examining me in front of a practising neurologist and at the end of it they were scored and the winner announced.

I have to say, all three students did a really good job.  Seeing as though none of them had any specialist training I did not expect them to have a complete understanding of my conditions, but they all did a fantastic job showing good practical skills and a wide knowledge base that they were able to apply.

However, nobody hit the nail right on the head and nobody got the diagnosis completely right, but what impressed me was the methodology they used and the thinking behind the conclusions they made.  Also nobody made any really wacky diagnosis that made me think, "Wow! I'm glad he's not my doctor!"

Saying that though these were the top three students out of about sixty, so if I were to be examined by the bottom three I might be a little more panicky.

After the exam we all had lunch together as well and it was really good to have a general chat with the guys to get a more informal understanding.  All three of them seemed like genuinely nice people who who had a genuine interest in my condition.  I think it is safe to say that from this little corner of the medical world, the future is in safe hands.

Someone however did get my diagnosis completely wrong.  The cab driver on the way home had a crack at it and his preferred treatment option was to rub mustard into my head.  Maybe there is merit in it as an alternative therapy.  I might research.  Until next time, stay well:)