A visit to my GP and a demo of a stand up wheelchair

I had a busy day Monday, which meant an early start.  Unfortunately, Margaret my carer, who had been working all weekend, during the curent heat wave, had overslept which meant that Mum started to get me up and into the shower before Margaret arrived.

 

After getting dressed and having breakfast, I was off down the road to my GP's.  The medical practice is just under a mile away and it takes me about 10 minutes to get there.  Once I've negotiated the doors, and got past the queue at reception, I asked one of the people waiting if she would help me with the computerised appointment check-in system, which is just a bit too high for me to be able to reach.  Once I've been checked in its just a case of waiting to be called, so I find myself a place to sit and wait, where I won't be in anyone's way.



 

Old Coulsdon Medical Practice

 



I am currently the Chairman of the Patient Participation Group (PPG) at the practice.  One of the things we have been instrumental in bring in is an electronic system for the doctors and nurses to call patients in for their appointments.  Previously the  doctors had to come into the waiting area and ask for patients, which took up time, especially for the doctors in the upstairs examination rooms.  The new system has been in place for about 6 months, and seems to be working very well, and the feedback we have from both patients and doctors is very positive.

 

My appointment was for 9.00 am but it's just gone 9.15 am before I'm called in to see my doctor. 

 

My previous GP, had retired last year because he had become dis-illusioned with all the unnecessary bureaucracy that the government was pushing onto family doctors.  He had only just turned 50 and was an excellent doctor, and everyone agrees that his retirement was a huge loss.

 

Luckily, I have been transferred to another excellent doctor, who is probably just slightly younger than me.  I have known him for quite a while through my work with the PPG, but he has only been my doctor for about a year.  On the real plus side, when I first met him he was interested to talk to me as he had given a lecture to some trainee GP's previously regarding auto-immune diseases, and specifically about Dermatomyositis.  He was also aware of Inclusion Body Myositis but admitted that he needed to learn some more.  He has gone away and read a lot about IBM, but often asks me questions about the condition when I see him.

 

My appointment today is the regular 6-monthly appointment to review my drugs.  It always seems to be a bit of a waste of his time as realistically he isn't going to change anything without my consultants say so, but it is something that he has to do.  He takes a couple of things off my repeat prescription list, which I haven't needed for a while, and adds a few things on, which I have found I've needed on a more regular basis.  He also does a prescription for my Methotrexate and some creams, and then does a separate one for a new set of compression stockings.

 

We discuss Andy Murray's Wimbledon win, which seems to be the main topic of conversation everywhere this week.  He asks me how I am coping with the current hot weather we are having, and I tell him I hate it, as it just wears me out and I just burn in the sun.  He recommends a couple of sun cream products, P2- and Ultrasun, which he explains only need to be applied once a day, and that because of the chemical composition, aren't oily or greasy.  He does say that they are more expensive than regular sun creams but the fact that they only need to be applied once may be a worthwhile benefit.

 

He then says that as I am on drugs for high blood pressure, the government now requires that once a year he must ask me some questions relating to my lifestyle and activities.  These basically go like this:

 

Doctor - Do you work?

 

Me - No

 

Doctor - Is your work strenuous?

 

Me - I've just told you I don't work.

 

Doctor - How much organised exercise do you do?

 

Me - I'm in a wheelchair full-time, how much do you think?

 

Doctor - How far do you cycle each week?

 

Me - Are you taking the piss?

 

At this point he abandoned the questions, which are pre-set, and as specified by the government, have to be completed on the computer.  He uses his judgement on the remaining couple of questions, and the conclusion is - I should cycle more!!  At this point I say its no wonder my previous GP had retired if this is the sort of rubbish they are now being asked to do.  He agrees, and apologises for having to ask but says that if he doesn't then data is fed back that the practice isn't asking enough patients with high blood pressure to complete these questions, and this then impacts how much money the practice receives per patient.

 

All this has taken about 10 minutes, which is the standard appointment time, so I'm not holding any one up. 

 

I leave the practice and go across the road to Tudor Parade and to the chemists, who take my prescription and they will deliver this once it has been put together.  I need to get my legs measured for the compression stockings, as these are made-to-measure, so I will get Margaret to measure my legs first thing in the morning and then drop this back later in the week.

 

Tudor Parade

 



I then go to the bakers and buy a donut, for mum, and an eccles cake, for me, which I take home and we can have with our coffee.

 

A Donut

An Eccles Cake

 



After coffee, I get onto my computer and check my emails and look at Facebook.  About 11.30 the chemist's delivery van pulls up and they deliver a prescription for mum and my prescription that I only dropped in this morning.  That's what I call service!

 

Just after 12.00, a car pulls up onto the drive.  I have an appointment at 12.00 with a representative from a company called, Gerald Simonds Healthcare Ltd, who is going to demonstrate and allow me to use a stand up wheelchair.  The wheelchair we are looking at is the Levo C3 Stand Up Powered Wheelchair.

 

Levo C3 - in the normal position

 

Levo C3 - in the standing position

 



He unloads the wheelchair from his car and brings it round into the house, up the ramp at the patio doors.  He just goes through how it works and demonstrates the stand up function.

 

Although I have measured the dimensions of my current chair and compared these to the dimensions in the brochure, the chair seems larger than expected.  However when we sit the two side by side it's clear that this new chair is in fact slightly smaller than my own.

 

I attempt a transfer from my current wheelchair straight into the Levo C3, but this isn't possible as there is too bigger difference in the height of the seats to make this possible.  So I then transfer from my chair onto my bed, which I can raise and lower to the required height, to make the transfer into the Levo C3.  Although I manage the transfer, it isn't easy, and I did need some physical help in accomplishing it.

 

Once in the Levo C3, it is very comfortable, and the controls are simple and easy to use.  I have a little drive round.  My current chair has 4 wheels with the power through the back set of wheels and steering through the caster wheels at the front.  The Levo C3 has 6 wheels, with the power through the center set of wheels and direction through the caster wheels at the rear.  This makes driving the chair slightly different, and will take a bit of getting used to.

 

Having driven round indoors and made sure that I can get in and out of all the rooms, especially the bathroom, I try the stand up function.  There are knee braces on the chair, which hold the knees in place and provide support.  There is also a chest strap to hold the user in place against the back of the seat as they stand up.  Then its simply a case of taking the controls out of drive, by pushing a button, and then pushing the joystick forward, and the chair starts to support you and stand you up.  Its very easy to control, and you can go as far up as you like, stopping as required, and getting yourself to a comfortable upright position.

 

The chair is very heavy, 310 lbs, but this gives it great stability even when you are fully upright.  So much so that you can drive round even when stood upright.

 

The feeling is fantastic.  I haven't stood up at home for over 5 years and it was strange to suddenly see my home from an upright position.  I'm 6ft 2inches and with the extra height from the chair, when I'm stood up in it, I'm probably an extra 3 inches higher.  It certainly felt easy standing, and the ability to be able to lean the seat back, means you can take some of the pressure off your knees and feet if you need to.

 

Margaret, had come to help with my transfers during the demonstration, and she has never seen me stood up before.  She had a great big grin on her face.

 

After having stood, and driven round a bit in the standing position, which feels very weird, I sit down again and go for a quick spin outside.  Again its easy to manoeuvre and has a top speed of 10 kph and a range of 21 miles on the basic model.  Sorry if I'm getting to "Top Gear" for you.

 

We then try another transfer, onto my shower chair, which will be the most frequent transfer I do from the wheelchair.  We identify that the seat needs adjusting, as I am sitting to far forward in the seat.  Whilst the rep makes this adjustment I get back into the shower chair and go to the toilet.

 

With the adjustment made to the seat, the transfer is very much easier. The rep also shows me the base of the seat which has a slight lip to it, and he states that they should be able to supple a fully flat seat, without the lip, which will help make transfers easier.

 

I then transfer out of the Levo C3 and back into my wheelchair, which is "downhill" and therefore no problem.  Margaret leaves at this point, still grinning about how tall I am and how good it is to see me standing.

 

Then we talk about the price.  As a ball park, the Levo C3 in the set up I would require, would be in excess of £13k, but it is available through Motability, which will significantly reduce the cost to me.  The rep will go away and work out the figures and will email me with the full cost and the costs through Motability.

 

This whole demonstration took about 2 hours.  The rep was very patient, and was able to answer all my questions.  He made any adjustments I needed or suggested to make using the chair, and getting into and out of the chair easier.  There was no pressure on me time wise or to commit myself in any way.

 

Monday was a really hot day and having done all of these transfers in the middle of the day when it was hottest, completely wore me out.  After a quick lunch, I got into my armchair and slept all afternoon.