A Big One

OK, I admit.  It has been a while since my last post.  But for good reason.  I have been really busy.  I have been making good headway with my book that I told you all about last time and I have been really busy with some other things too.  I would love to share them all with you but not now.  All in good time:)

Being busy has also given me a heap to write about and it is all good.  I am really excited about the remainder of this year so I will keep you posted.  But what to write about now?  Well, if I stuck I can always return to my favourite subject.  Me.  I'll give you a wrap of my latest kidney op.

But before then I have something else to share.  This is post number 400!  And I have been writing it for over three years now.  I hope you have all enjoyed reading.

Well, wrapping up my kidney surgery.  I got the stent out under local this time which wasn't great but to get an anaesthetist to come in would have meant another week.  I had to weigh up the pros and cons and decided that being awake for the procedure wasn't as bad as a week with a stent.  FYI, stents suck.

It all went quite well though.  I did have a small problem afterwards though.  I was having some pain and irritation in the down stairs department and I thought I might have a UTI, which is reasonably common after kidney surgery.  So I went to the doc and he agreed and put me on antibiotics.  A day later I passed a couple of small kidney stones that were probably remnants of my kidney surgery.

Well it's nice to be through it. Until next time, stay well:)

It's all come crashing down......

Just when everything seems to be tracking along nicely, some bad news strikes and I am plunged back into the world of hospitals and medical procedures once again.  All my fellow CIDPers and HSCTers are probably waiting for me to talk about that horrible "R" word (relapse), but no.  Fortunately not.  Everything is going swimmingly in that respect.  I am referring to a kidney stone that has been quietly growing.

It is not as bad as it sounds.  I picked up the stone in a routine X-ray I had last week and it is not that big yet.  It is only about 8mm but I still booked into see the urologist as sooner or later something has got to be done about it.  On the positive side, only one kidney is affected, it has been 18 months since my last surgical intervention and I have no residual pain.  Any of my fellow cystinuric readers will be quite jealous.

I wasn't surprised I had a kidney stone.  Every cystinuric patient expects them on a regular basis.  I was actually surprised it wasn't bigger.  When I had my Stem Cell Transplant I effectively dropped my fluid intake to less than 500ml/day and most of my medications I wasn't taking as I felt so nauseous.  My old nephrologist would have been furious as he didn't care about any of my other conditions as long as I got no stones.

So where to from here?  I had a good frank discussion with my urologist (which was a little boring as it was almost the same as last time I saw him) about when to intervene surgically.  We agreed that the ideal time was when the stone was at a size small enough to be treated with one surgery but not large enough to warrant two interventions.  Basically put, the fewer number of surgeries over a lifetime, the better.

However, we both agreed that that time was about now, but there was no immediate hurry.  So we slotted a date into the diary that suited me best and away we go.  FYI that date is the 18th of April.  Until then, it's just focusing on nerve and muscle regeneration and getting my fitness to the level I want it to be at.  Until next time, stay well:)

Relief at last

Well that is a little unfair.  I dealt with CIDP for over ten years and I'm finally getting relief from that.  I had carpal tunnel symptoms (post HSCT) for about ten weeks and "at last" I feel better.  But it is a patients right to be fickle and the biggest thorn in my side was the CTS.

Both surgeries went really well.  I was out of hospital both times by lunch time and two weeks after the surgery on my right hand (which I had done first) I have pretty much regained full use with the exception of a few weight bearing tasks.

On the downside it is the reason I have not been blogging much recently which is a problem I intend to rectify.  I have also been insanely busy as well, but this little episode has slowed down my progress here too.  I have to look at the bigger picture though.  When I am fully recovered from both hands I will be better off with everything.

Anyway, if you are curious about what it looked like this is a picture when I had the bandage taken off after five days on my right hand and again what it looks like now after eighteen days.  Oh, and a picture of the bandage on my left hand.

Until next time, stay well:)

Carpel tunnel recovery

Video recovery.  It's almost a week since I made it so apologies for the slackness.

Stay well:)

Pats on the back

May I suggest you start by having a cheeky little look at this link.

Matthew Gaythorpe

In case you can't or decided not to read it, it is about a ten year old boy who had life saving revolutionary surgery in my home town of Melbourne.  It was a great outcome for medical science, the patient and doctors and staff involved.  But while the news about the procedure was very positive and everyone involved was patting themselves on the back I don't think everyone should be congratulating themselves.

The medical team and the parents of the patient decided on the surgery a year ago following a stroke the boy suffered.  From then it took a year for the surgery to go ahead.  A whole year where the patient was suffering regular fits, struggling from poor general health and lethargy and during his developmental years would have had his development stunted both physically and mentally.  He would have also felt terrible from the fourteen different pharmaceutical medications he was on that didn't work (but hey, Glaxo would have loved him;).

So it begs the question why the delay?  You could excuse them if the specialist equipment took a while to be manufactured in the United States.  Or it took a while to train up a medical team for the procedure.  But no.  Once again it was the magnificent bureaucratic bullshit and the ethical, or should I say 'unethical committee' that held thing up.

And how ridiculously stupid.  Here is a young boy with deteriorating health and next to no quality of life being made to wait for life changing and potentially life saving surgery.  Sure it was a world first surgery and a trip into the unknown but I honestly have to say that most of (if not all) the people on the ethics committee have never been faced with a debilitating disease that does not respond to conventional treatment.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.   As far as I am concerned the current medical establishment considers it fit to let people suffer provided it is done ethically.

Now don't get me wrong, I do understand that ethics committees are there to protect people both collectively and individually.  But in cases like this I really don't understand why it takes a year to approve.  So to the medical team and doctors involved with the surgery and the patient and family and friends I congratulate you.  As for the ethics committee, for every day you procrastinated on the decision for this surgery you should be made to give yourself an uppercut.

Until next time, stay well:)

Dr Google strikes again!

Luckily this has never happened to me........ I hope.  Stay well:)

New Years Resolution

Well tis come that time of year again when we think about what fool hardy ridiculous idea we come up with for a New Years Resolution.  And being a fool hardy brainless person I have decided to do just that. So here are my list of suggestions:-

1. Lose weight- Yeah like that's ever going to happen.  Anyone that has ever taken long term prednisolone will know what I'm talking about.
2. Exercise more- For someone who has a peripheral nerve problem, I exercise plenty thank you.  Next!
3. Stop drinking coke- No way!  You've gotta have at least one vice in your life and that is mine.  With a heavy year coming up (SCT and all) I'm going to need all my creature comforts.
4. Give up smoking- Seeing as I don't smoke this one may be a little too easy.
5. Have an AFJ (alcohol free January)-  Now that's just silly.
6. If I can't lose weight at least get in shape-  I am in shape.  Round is a shape.  If you don't believe me ask a five year old.
7. Do something dangerous-  Does SCT count as dangerous?
8. Learn a foreign language-  I hated languages at school so no.  Besides I will be in Chicago for three months so I'll probably learn to speak American while there.

But I think the winner would have to be for me to go back to school and train to become a surgeon.  I mean how hard can it be?  I've watched Grey's Anatomy.  Scrub hands, cut here, sew there, perform carnal sins in a store room and job done.  I've even picked up this required reading for Dodgy Bros Medical School:-

Ok.  If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm joking.  Seriously, I think that my new years resolution will be to make sure I drink at least three litres of water a day to help battle the old kidney stones and seeing as though I have had such amazing feed back on my blog (and I enjoy writing it) to keep posting regularly.  

Well, this will be my last post for 2011, so I hope you have a very happy new year and a healthy and rewarding 2012.  Stay well:)

My Top Ten

Reading through some other peoples blogs I noticed that a popular thing to do at this time of year is to list your top ten favourite posts.  Although I do enjoy originality, some times it is just fun to follow suit.  So here goes:-

10. A Big Shout Out to All the Mums and Dads
Made it in at number ten because it really tugged on my heart strings as I wrote it and still does when I read it.

9. To Immunise, or not to Immunise?
I really hope this got people thinking and making an informed decision.  Also the more I research, the more of an opinion I develop.  I will share it with you in 2012.  Stay tuned folks.

8. Cure for HIV?
One of the better research pieces I think I've done.

7. I Feel Like I'm in Purgatory
I like this post because it really helped me explore how I felt and allowed me to process my emotions.  I think it also drew a line in the sand between where I feel patient responsibility and doctor responsibility lies.

6. The Stem Cell Debate
Never have I written a post that has inspired such passionate debate.  I am still an advocate of embryonic stem cell research.  I will talk more about it in the new year.

5. Lawyers, back off!

If every lawyer in the world suddenly dropped dead, would we be worse off?  I think not.  Patient treatment decisions should be decided by an honest and open discussion between patient and doctor.  NOT lawyers.

4. Time to Stick it to The Man!
This was probably the most defining point in my year.  When I decided enough was enough and it was time to enrol in the SCT program at North Western.

3. It's All in Your Head

I believe that this technique has the potential to stop a lot of people from suffering.  It worked for me, I hope it does the same for others.

2. Global Genes Project
There are so many people suffering from rare diseases.  Singularly, most of them struggle to be heard in  world of many disorders.  Together, they have a very loud voice.  A great cause.

1. My Number One Rule!

If you only learn one thing from reading my blog, make sure that this is it.  Healthy or sick you'll be better off for practising it.

Well, that is my top ten as voted by me.  Would love to know if you agree, disagree, think I've missed a good one etc...  Until next time, stay well:)

Is there anything the internet can't tell you?

I know how to use the internet, maybe I should become a surgeon;)

Stay well:)

Is it still helping?

Back in May 2010 I wrote this post judging my stimulator and the benefits I had received in certain areas of my life.

So, How Has it Helped?

When I wrote it I only had the stimulator turned on for two weeks.  A year and a half later I thought it would be a good idea to revisit.  Funnily enough I thought that after two weeks it was about as good as it was ever going to get.  And wow, was I wrong.  Since then I have had dozens of adjustments and with each one there has always been a slight improvement.

I guess one of the biggest changes was when I swapped from a monopolar setting to a bipolar setting.  Although there was not that much difference to my tremor, the bipolar setting really helped with my balance and co-ordination, and with a monopolar setting I also suffered from excessive sweating, which also seemed to clear up.

Here are my evaluations:-

Brushing Teeth 9/10 - I don't notice any difficulty now, so really good.

Showering 6/10 - Much better, but I still cannot close my eyes under water without holding on.

Getting Dressed 7/10 - buttons, zips, cuffs etc. are all easier, but not perfect.

Writing 6.5/10 - Good, but although the tremor is not a factor, there is a some rigidity which makes it harder.  I could fill out a form, but I wouldn't want to be writing any essays.

Typing 7/10 - I still only use my index fingers, but speed is much better.

Cooking 5/10 - Also made easier by some of the aids I have got (see here).

Gaming 5/10 - I find it easier than before, but not easier than a long time before.

Eating 8/10 - It is much easier now, unless I am eating really tricky and delicate foods like prawns .

Drinking 8/10 - I can drink with one hand on a good day.

Using the Remote 8/10 - Funnily enough I watch less TV now, but when I do it is easier.

Peeing Standing Up 10/10 - Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Wiping 10/10 - It used to be messy.  Now it isn't.

Overall, I am really happy.  On average I would say 8.5/10.  Given where I was I have had a huge improvement.  Having brain surgery is no small decision.  But I'm glad I did it and if I had to do it again, I would.  Until net time, stay well:)

Time to Stick it to The Man!

Well stick it to the disease anyway.  Since my mega kidney surgery in 2006, I decided that enough was enough and and I had to hit all my problems head on and really aggressively.  Sort of a live well or die trying mentality.  So back then I took the following steps:-

1st.  I changed my nephrologist and became super strict and diligent about my treatments.  My treatment plan was changed and I went from having an attack of kidney stones every six months to having only two in five years.

2nd.  My depression, that I haven't talked about much, but I plan too, needed to be addressed properly.  So I went on anti-depressants and had three years of counselling.  Depression will never completely go away, but if the medical fraternity were to give it a name they would say it is in remission.

3rd.  I tried to hit my CIDP hard.  I went on immune suppressive drugs (cell cept and prednisolone), had plasmspheresis and IvIg treatment all at the same time.  Sadly, this was only mildly effective at best.

4th.  I had brain surgery for my tremor.  This was probably the biggest thing I have ever done and wow was it worth it!  Now on a good day I can drink a coffee with one hand.

I feel that with most of these disorders I have reached the end of the road in terms of available treatments and for the most part I am happy with the results I have achieved.  The one exception being the CIDP.  Whilst the treatments are not as invasive as brain surgery, they are not pleasant and have their fair share of side effects that I have been exposed to.  I keep with them for fear of slipping backwards.

However, it has come to my attention recently that I have not yet hit the end of the road.  A couple of new treatments are now available that sound encouraging.  The first is a drug called rituximab, which attacks a protein that exists on B-cell preventing the immune system from working properly.

The second is stem cell transplantation.  They can now cultivate stem cells from your own or a donors bone marrow or placenta blood which strongly goes to negate the ethical issues of embryonic stem cell transplants.  However, the procedure is long, hard and dangerous.  Naturally, my doctors would like to try rituximab first, but I belief that life is for living so if rituximab doesn't work you can rest assured I will look at the stem cell option.  Live well or die trying.  Until next time, stay well:)

We learn from our mistakes

When I wrote the post "My Biggest Mistake" I neglected to go into detail about what I learned from it.  It was a really important lesson that everyone who is consulting a health care professional should know and I learnt it the hard way.

NEVER let your doctor call the shots without querying him.  I see it all the time where people blindly follow their doctors instructions with total blind faith, whether the doc is right or wrong.  In my case, the doctor thought he was right but he was wrong and it cost me big time.

When ever I have a procedure now I know exactly what is going to happen during the op and post op.  If the doctor looks like he is cutting a corner I will pull him up on it.  Fortunately it has not happened again, but, pre-operatively I am so obsessive about it I don't think the doctors would dare.

When I had my very first kidney stone my parents were over seas, but I was lucky enough to have a close family friend stay with me while I proceeded through the zoo, which is more commonly known as emergency.

As a youthful 18 year old I was almost embarrassed by the way he assertively placed himself in the way of the doctors and nurses, writing everyone's name down and making sure they were doing their job properly.  It was amazing how quickly everyone started jumping around looking after me.

Looking back, he did exactly what I would do now.  He wasn't rude or aggressive, but was very assertive and certainly taking no nonsense.  If only he had been there when I had my first perc?  If you are reading this, you know who you are, and thank you.  Until next time stay well:)

My biggest mistake

Today, I have decided to give you an example of the biggest mistake I, and my medical team ever made with my medical management.  I think that this is important as it is incidents like this that I draw my knowledge on how to best manage oneself medically.  The incident I am going to refer to was in 2001 when I had my very first perc.  


Percutaneous nephrolithotomy, or PCNL or perc, is a procedure for removing medium-sized or larger renal calculi (kidney stones) from the patient's urinary tract by means of an nephroscope passed into the kidney through a track created in the patient's back.

So before I had the procedure my surgeon ran me through everything and also said that afterwards he would order an x-ray just to check he had got all the stone.  Three days after the procedure he did not order the x-ray but did order the removal of my nephrostomy tube which would allow access back into the kidney if needed.


When I quizzed the surgeon about the x-ray he said that there was no need as he was confident that he got all the stone.  So the tube was removed and along with that easy access to my kidney.  Three weeks later I had a follow up appointment and an x-ray and to my surprise he missed a bit.


That mistake landed me back in hospital for a further four operations, eventually ending in another perc a year and a half later.


So what did I learn from this?  First, you must take charge to some degree for your own medical management.  Second, even when you are feeling terrible, you still need to be assertive.  Lastly, I should have sued him.  A lot of the time I think that we sue to often and there are other times I could have sued and won but I didn't think it right.  However, in this instance the situation was caused by my doctor being complacent and negligent.  It cost me four more operations and seven days in hospital and who knows what it did to my mental health.


Next time I will talk about other mistakes I have made.  There are a few of them, but I have to admit that some of them I would even make again as in hindsight with the information available to me at the time I would make the same choice.  Until then, stay well:)

The Surgeon

You have to hand it to the surgeons, to have the guts to cut into someones flesh and tinker with their vital organs take something special.  You could call it guts, confidence or arrogance, but the job really would take nerves of steel.

However, the two biggest problems to look for with a surgeon are arrogance and complacency.  Unfortunately, given the nature of the type of person that is attracted to becoming a surgeon these two character traits are extremely common.

Don't get me wrong, a small amount of arrogance can be a good thing.  It is a fine line between arrogance and confidence and you do not want a surgeon who isn't confident, second guesses everything he does and ends up mucking up your surgery.  Alternatively, you don't want a doctor doing surgeries that they are not competent doing because they think they can.

Some of this can be up to you.  Whatever doctor you need you should always do your research, and make sure they are not just a competent specialist, but competent in doing the surgery you are having.  For example, I heard from an extremely reliable source in the medical fraternity that any orthopedic surgeon can perform hand surgery, but hand surgery is almost a specialty within a specialty.  So make sure you get an orthopedic surgeon who specialises in hand surgery.

However, there is no room for complacency whatever!  Whether you are having a triple heart bypass or a mole removed your doctor needs to be thorough and cross all the T's and dot the I's.  If you think that your doctor is complacent, get another one.  I have been a victim of this before but that is a story for another time.

Aside from looking for a surgeon who is not arrogant or complacent it is a good idea to look for someone who is old enough to be experienced but young enough to still have a sharp eye (late 30's to early 50's).  Also check their credentials and do your research.  Most important is to have a good gut feel for the surgeon.  The last thing you want is to go under anaesthetic feeling nervous about your surgeon.  You will be under enough stress without having to worry about that.

One last thing I like to do just before surgery is to look my surgeon in the eyes and make sure his head is in the game.  So far I haven't had a problem, but for my own piece of mind I like to do it.  Always remember you are well within your rights to ask for a second opinion or change your surgeon.  Next blog I will give a specific example of a mistake I have made with a doctor. Until then stay well:)

All over now...

Yes it's all over now. Or more likely, for now. There were a couple of hiccups along the way, but for the most part it was plain sailing.

But I am glad it's over. The last week and a half has not been fun, and no one lives to get sick and have surgery, we have surgery so we can enjoy all the other elements of life that make everything worth living. However, I hope that by sharing this experience I can help others make their own experiences a little less negative.

So the op to remove my kidney stone went really well. My surgeon was really pleased with how everything progressed and he was fairly sure that he got all the stone. I woke up from the anaesthetic pretty well too, aside from the expected pain (That went away with the morphine) I felt quite good.

The hiccup came the next day. After the op the surgeon leaves a urinary stent in the ureter (tube from kidney to bladder) to prevent a blockage from swelling. Sometimes the stent can cause nothing more than mild discomfort. Other times, such as this, it can be a pain in the a@#$.

The stent kept rubbing on the bottom of my bladder, so it constantly irritated me every time I moved and made me feel like I constantly needed to go to the toilet. Also every time I did go to the toilet urine would back up into my kidney and that would be agony.

So, how did I deal with it? First, movement would irritate the stent, so I became a couch potato for a week (I watched a lot of DVD's). Second, I tried not to think about it by distracting myself, which is hard to do when you are restricting movement, but books, video games and DVD's helped. Last, although I believe strongly in the power of the mind, sometimes you have to rely on the doctor prescribed narcotic analgesia. Used correctly they can be a powerful tool in assisting with recovery.

Well on Tuesday, I had the stent out, and what a relief, it was pretty much back to normal straight away. Well, until next time anyway. I will talk about GP's in my next blog. Until then, stay well:)

What to talk about?

Well I actually have a lot to talk about on my favourite subject, me! Since I last gave you an update on what I have been doing an awful lot has taken place. I have been through the surgery and I feel I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't do my part to make it as successful as possible.

So, in order to do that I have taken the following steps:-

1. Keep all my doctors appointments, follow their instructions, be honest with them and call them if I think their are any issues (which thankfully there hasn't been).
2. Take time away from work to focus on my health, physically and mentally.
3. Get fit. I have been training twice a week and swimming two or three times a week anywhere from 400m to 1000m.
4. Do my rehab and associated exercises.

It has been quite exciting to see the improvement, but I won't lie, it has also been tough. In my next post I'll elaborate further. Until then, stay well:)

Hospitals - done and dusted - Part 2

Making sure that your hospital is capable of taking the proper care of you is very important. And it comes down to two things. First, the quality of the hospital and secondly, their capabilities. I will use two examples here. The Sydney Adventist Hospital and Cotham Private.

The SAH is a big hospital. It caters for multiple disciplines of surgery and had a fully functioning emergency department (which I have never been to). There is not much that isn't done at the SAH. But the question you have to ask yourself is "do they do it well?" I feel the answer is no.

The processes are streamlined to maximise efficiency and one thing I picked up on was that the staff were disgruntled and patient welfare was sacrificed. It is what you get when a hospital is run by bureaucrats and administrators, and I would feel very uncomfortable going back there.

Cotham private is by contrast the exact opposite. It is a much smaller hospital and certainly didn't cater for all different types of surgery. However, what they did do seemed to be more than they were capable of. For small surgeries the highly skilled staff seemed very proficient, but would I want a major surgery there? The answer is no. I something went wrong I would question their ability to deal with it.

You must also make sure you will be comfortable during your stay. Especially if it is a longer stay. Surgery is traumatic and if you let it, it will effect your mental health and leave you with nothing but a miserable memory. Don't get me wrong, surgery is never fun, but if you do it right it will be an inconvenient and mildly uncomfortable event that is a good opportunity to catch up on some reading or DVD watching. Done wrong, it can feel like hell on earth.

So when you are in a hospital, make sure that you are going to be comfortable. A lot of this can be done by what you bring, but also look for the following:-

1. Nurses are kind and responsive.
2. Colour of the ward is warm and inviting.
3. You have your own bathroom.
4. You have a single room if desired.
5. The food is good.
6. You have good entertainment provided.
7. Hospital has a nice setting (good view, easy to get outside, coffee shop, etc)

Next time I will explain where you can get this information. Until then, stay well:)

Hospitals - done and dusted

Well, I have finished my review of the hospitals and right now I would like to use this post to explain what I think you should take into consideration if you need to go to hospital. Like I said at the start of the hospital reviews, you do have a choice.

Most doctors have a number of lists at more than one hospital, so you can go to anyone of them. In extreme cases you may even want to find a new surgeon. Just for an example, I could of had my brain surgery at the Alfred hospital, Royal Melbourne or as I chose, St Vincent's Private.

I had my kidney surgery at Epworth Eastern, but I could also of had it at Cotham or the Austin, there are also other hospitals I could use, but I haven't looked into them as I am very happy with Epworth Eastern.

So what should you look for in a hospital? The most important thing it that you are comfortable with the hospital you are going to, which includes two things. You must be confident that they can competently complete the surgery that you are in for and that you will be comfortable during your stay.

Everyone is different and everyone will have different priorities. For example, some people would prefer a big hospital where you are confident they can combat every eventuality, where as some prefer a small hospital where everything is more personal. You must differentiate between what is merely nice to have and what is a must for you.

Next time I will expand on what you should feel comfortable about when you have a hospital trip, until then, stay well:)

St Vincent's Private Hospital

Well, here is my last hospital review. St Vincent's Private Hospital. And it is good to end on a good note. SVPH is the last hospital that I have visited and where I had both of my brain surgeries. It is also the best hospital I have visited.

Both times I went to the ward before surgery. Tick. The OR's, pre op and post op were all great. Tick. Wards were nice. Tick. The food was brilliant. Tick. The nurses without question were all great. Tick.

Yes, as far as hospital goes this was great, but still not perfect. The ward was on the fifth floor and outside was the street, so I couldn't just get outside for nice easy walk. At Warringal Private the gardens were small, but to be able to go outside and get some fresh air in a pleasant environment which was always a welcome escape from hospital life.

It wasn't easy to get outside at SVPH let alone in a pleasant environment. However, there was a coffee shop down stairs which did provide some escapism. It does sound like I am picking on the little things a bit, and it would be impossible for SVPH to do anything about this specifically, but they could find other ways for patients to feel more comfortable.

Next time I will review all the hospitals in a recap and attempt to give some pointers to you on what one should look for when selecting a hospital. Until then, Stay well:)

Epworth Eastern

If you live in Melbourne, you probably know the Epworth for its Richmond campus. The truth is there are four Epworth campuses, the Epworth Eastern was only opened in 2005 and is very large (for a private hospital with no emergency) shiny and new.

I have had three procedures there (two kidney and my tonsillectomy) and the hospital would be a dream for any doctor or health care professional. Their processes were efficient and streamlined the equipment was new and modern and where ever I went there was so much space.

Pre-op was spacious and comfortable, the OR's were spacious and comfortable (even with a pre-op alcove to treat patients in whilst the OR was being prepped), post op was spacious and comfortable and the wards were spacious and comfortable too. Even the corridors had these benefits, but one would never have to spend time in them as there was so much room elsewhere.

Like I said, it was a dream for a health care professional to work in. But was it as good for the patient? Well, the super professional hospital has immediate and obvious benefits for the patient, but they do miss a couple of things that make a stay more comfortable.

I really think one of the cardinal sins of a hospital is not checking a patient into the ward before surgery. Epworth Eastern with its ruthless like efficiency knows the benefits to the hospital by following the procedure, however, this does neglect the patient.

Secondly, everything seemed a little too clinical. Everywhere you looked the place oozed hospital. I believe for patients to be comfortable, the place need a few homely creature comforts. Even the view from the wards was sterile, looking out over a car park, building or another hospital.

But, I have always felt very safe at Epworth Eastern, and to add to the plusses, the rooms were great, the food was also well above average, all the nurses were good and each room had a fridge in it, which was great for chilling my icypoles after my tonsillectomy.

This is a really good hospital, but they could use a patient advocate or someone just to add the finishing touches from a patient point of view. Until next time, stay well:)