STAYING AT FLINDERS.

My first stay at Flinders started on Monday afternoon 14th. September 2009.

I was admitted at 2.00.p.m. and taken to Ward 5E (little I knew how often I would stay there or how long)

Before detailing the assessment I should point out that my condition now had a name - I was diagnosed with having an "Auto Immune" condition which was causing liver failure.

This is the hospital that was to become my home and my haven for many weeks.

Flinders is located about 3/4 hour drive from my home and provides service extraordinaire.

I was greeted by Kylie and settled in to a lovely room, given a cup of tea and then the tests started.  No wasting time - a lot to be done in five days. It was at this time that I met Cassie who became a friend and cared for me very well.

There was lots of paper work and I was given a schedule of tests that would be carried out and so it began with a clipboard and a list of tests and we began ticking them off as they were completed.

This is the schedule (I had a spare copy) the original one was very messy after appointments were scheduled/changed and scheduled again.

and I had them all in the days from Monday to Friday when I came home again, still not knowing if I was accepted for transplant or not.

It would be necessary for me to have some Dental work done (I was already going through Dental procedures) but the hospital took over the control of this.

A side issue of Liver failure is blood that will not clot properly so I caused some concern and consternation with the Dental staff at Flinders, but that's a little further down the track.

Apart from the Dental work I seemed to have passed all the tests well, but until the entire schedule could be marked as "passed" I could not be placed on the transplant list.

Home from Flinders to rest and wait - anxious as to whether I would be accepted.

I was anxious and frightened because if I was not accepted for transplant then I knew that my time was limited.

Love and hugs,