My health isssues

Not quite sure how come I look so happy to be at St Mary's hospital overnight.

Earl Fry	Feb 25 (1 day ago)
to Chris, Lisa, Leanna, Kimberly, Steven, Kristi, me

We are having a good time in London but Mom has been ill over the past two weeks.

She has been throwing up on a regular basis and has had significant balance problems, including falling a couple of times and also  blacking out for a few seconds.  When we walk she needs to hold on to my arm.

I took her to the emergency room at St Mary's hospital on Friday.  It took us 8 hours to go through all the hoops and rings.  Fortunately, she received good care and was admitted to the hospital overnight for further testing.

I brought her home late Saturday and she is feeling somewhat better.  For example, she has not thrown up for three days.  However, they are not really sure what has caused her problems.  She has a low sodium content in her blood and continues to experience some dizziness.  This may be do to an inner ear imbalance, the result of a fall where she might have been concussed, or some other reason.  A cat scan showed that there was no blood on her brain, so that is a major positive.

They want me to take here to the "Dizziness" center at Charing Cross hospital and I will make an appointment.

As I said, she is happy to be back in our apartment and is feeling a bit better.  We had tickets to go to Bath tomorrow but will forgo that trip.  She wants you to know that she is optimistic and she has been a warrior throughout the entire process.

We will be weighing our options.  Hopefully she will continue to progress and we will be able to get the treatment she needs here in London.  If progress is minimal, we may return to the U.S. permanently so that she can see our doctor and then go to the hospital in Provo.

She sends her love.

We both love you very much.

Dad

Elaine Fry <kelainefry@gmail.com>	Feb 24 (2 days ago)
to Margaret

Well Earl was so worried about me that he dragged me off to the A and E at St Mary's hospital by Paddington station.  We spent almost all of yesterday in the waiting room.  I got blood drawn and a chest xray and an egg and act scan.  Then they admitted me for over night.

Basically there is nothing wrong with me.  Brain looks good.  Heart is good.  But they still didn't dismiss my problems as being all my imagination.  The only problem that showed up is a deficiency of sodium.  So they want me to see a go and have the sodium level checked in a few days. And recommended that I go to a clinic that specializes in dizziness and balance problems.

Now I could write a thesis about staying in an NHS hospital for a day.  On a women's ward in a room for 4 people.

Other than feeling a bit stupid about my problems I feel just the same as when I went in.  But I have not thrown up since Thursday.

When I am using the computer instead of my kindle and one finger I will write more if you are interested.  I am glad to be"home".   Frustrated at spending over a week being ill.

Thanks for adding my name to the pray role.  Tomorrow Earl and our neighbor will give me a blessing.  I am glad for that.

No snow but below freezing temperature. Before adding the wind chill factor.  We have train tickets to Bath on Monday. Doubt if I will ever get there.

Love Elaine.

.

Elaine Fry <kelainefry@gmail.com>	Feb 15 (11 days ago)
to Margaret

I have had a hard time downloading and labeling our pictures from Germany.  Too tedious??

I have had a rough couple of weeks and of course, I cannot talk to my kids about it.  They will worry.  

In the last three weeks, I have fallen with a resounding smack.  Totally flat.  Once on the street and twice inside.  Before leaving Provo I went to my family doctor and tried to talk about it.  He had me close my eyes and stand on one foot.  I did not waver or fall down.  He sent me off for a stress test. that cost about $3000 to find out that my heart is just fine.  Dah.  At the test, the woman told me to go back to my doctor and have him explore other possibilities.  Of course, I didn't.   We were leaving for England so soon. 

Sometimes I think it is all in my head. Then when I catch myself from falling or fall, I think I need to find out what the problem is..

One of my problems of going abroad now is that. I am an old person and I worry about both myself and Earl.  What would I do it Earl collapsed on the street or on the stairs in our building.?  Not a happy thought. I don't know if Earl worries about that kind of stuff but I do know that he is really worried about me..  He holds my hand wherever w go. 

Other  than that we are doing fine.

St Mary's Hospital, London

St Mary's Hospital is an NHS hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which also operates Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith Hospital, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, and Western Eye Hospital.

  

Saint Mary''s

Our servicesVIEW ALL SERVICES 

St Mary’s Hospital is the major acute hospital for north west London as well as a maternity centre with consultant and midwife-led services. The hospital provides care across a wide range of specialties and runs one of four major trauma centres in London in addition to its 24/7 A&E department.