Well today I had my annual appointment/check up for fes. I’ve had no problems with it and didn’t have any issues to raise but thought I’d go along anyway. Now for the last 10 yeas or so I have had to go to Glasgow for fes (3 hours drive away) so a round trip of 6 hours plus a bit extra in case there was a traffic problem on the way and to allow time for parking. My dad has always gone with me. Anyway this time they were holding a clinic in Aberdeen, barely a 5 minute drive from my house and at a place with ample parking. My dad said he would still go with me. So we got there only to be told that there had been a mistake. The dr had come up from Salisbury on Wednesday but the appointments said Friday. The receptionist was very apologetic but it wasn’t her fault. Anyway she had phoned and left a message on my answer machine on Wednesday but only because she was trying to get people to turn up at short notice. I was at work so was out but hadn’t listened to the messages. These days most people call me on my mobile which I always answer but this message was on my home phone. I always phone ahead to check before we set off for Glasgow but didn’t bother since it was only 5mins away today. Anyway I wasn’t really annoyed, I hadn’t taken time off work or anything as I am always off Fridays, and my dad wasn’t annoyed either. But I had arranged for my mum to be here for the children getting in from school in case we weren’t back in time. She wasn’t bothered either, but it was all just a bit incompetent wasn’t it. Now not sure if I’ll have to go to Glasgow next time or if they will hold a clinic again in Aberdeen. Cheryl:)
And I have just been down to Odstock for my assessment.
It is only about 30 miles each way. Got there early and parked in the 1 (count it, 1) disabled space outside the entrance.
Staff could not have been nicer, (after you walk down a long unheated corridor to reception) and the assessment was very thorough. The system has just been changed - they decide whether or not it is going to work for you, set the little box into a training mode, run through all the instructions and send you away to train the inoperative muscle for a couple of weeks.
This amounts to setting up the leg electrodes and going through a cycle of 5 seconds stimulation / 5 seconds off - for 15 minutes, twice a day. They say that this seems to help one get more benefit when you go over to walking mode. I came away clutching a bagful of bits and pieces - and two colour photos showing where the electrodes had finally been positioned on my left leg.
On the way out, we drove round to the back of the building where I had been told there were some more parking spaces, to look at what had been described as a “fair bit of a ramp up to the entrance”. It did not look too bad, so there is another option in two weeks time.
Geoff