Hemp Seed OIL Balm - NHS Says No and Goes Into Meltdown - Part Two

In my recent blog, Part 1 of this series, I wrote about 95 year old Sylvia, who has a rare cancer on her arm that was being successfully treated with hemp oil balm by her 70 year old son, James. He had received a visit from the Social Services and together with one of his GPs they managed to convince James to take his mother to A&E with a suspected minor stroke. You can read Part One here). This is what happened next.....

As our local A&E in Chorley is closed overnight from 6pm due to the NHS cuts we had to take Sylvia to the Royal Preston Hospital which is a 20 mile round trip from home. There she was examined thoroughly, and after 5 hours and several tests and scans later we were informed that she was medically fit but that they wanted to admit her overnight for observation and further tests. She was admitted to the EDU ward around 11pm.

The following day James received a call informing him that she had been moved to Gynaecology. When we visited her later that day she was hooked up to an intravenous drip which turned out to be saline and were informed that she was dehydrated and anaemic and that she was to be given a blood transfusion overnight. Gynaecology Ward at the Royal Preston hospital appears to be used as an overflow ward and nothing to do with having babies! Sylvia was in a ward with five other ladies of varying ages and degrees of illness. While we were there we noticed that it stated on her records, "Safeguarding from son - dressing with hemp"!

Yes - you read that right! Safeguarding from her 70 year old son, her carer for the past seven years, who has only ever had his mother's best interests at heart and whose medical intervention had been containing the damage to her arm caused by the cancer! James was devastated and when questioned about this, the staff on duty promptly told him off for looking at the notes and his questions were met with a wall of silence!

He was informed that his mother would not be released from hospital until a suitable care package was in place at home with District Nurses calling three times a week and carers coming in every day to see to her needs like washing and dressing. When he asked how long that would take he was again met with the silent wall but given the impression that it would be weeks, not days, because they were under pressure and it was not something that could be sorted out overnight.

In the meantime, Sylvia, who is almost blind, extremely deaf and suffering from mild dementia, was left to fend for herself in a hospital bed along with a ward full of strangers, being nursed by an ever-changing supply of bank staff who knew nothing about her or her case, miles away from home and her son, who felt that he knew what was best for his mother and who wanted her home just as much as she did!

In the meantime, the hospital began to dress the arm every day with twice as much bandaging as James had ever used and at the beginning of week two, we noticed that Sylvia's hand had swollen to twice its normal size. No-one on the ward had noticed this even though it was plainly obvious to anyone who happened to compare it to her other hand. We also noticed that her ankles were swollen. The diagnosis was that this was because she was in bed most of the time and not getting any exercise, which James said she would have had if she had been at home with him! It was decided to put the arm up in a sling and to elevate it. They also provided a foot stool for her to put her feet up when sat in her chair.

At this point, we were also given the opportunity to see the wound on Sylvia's arm as we were visiting her when the dressings nurse came to change her bandages. It was a horrific sight! The wound was oozing and slimy and totally unlike it had been when James was tending to it himself. It was heartbreaking to see. It was also apparent that none of the staff on the ward had ever seen anything like it and that no-one really seemed to know what they were doing. At one point Sylvia was surrounded by six different nurses, many of them trainees and of course, James, who was trying to educate them as best he could on how best to care for the arm.

The next day when we visited she was hooked up to another IV and we were told that she the wound was infected so they were giving her intravenous antibiotics which would take at least a week to work. The arm was not elevated and the footstool was not being used. James went ballistic!

In week three, after repeatedly pointing out numerous failings of basic care for his mum, including the fact that the fingers on her swollen hand were becoming rigid due to lack of exercise and, in his opinion, tight bandaging, and pointing out that his mother was rapidly losing weight due to the fact that she couldn't feed herself properly, James gave the staff an ultimatum - either they discharge his mum by the end of the week or he was taking her home himself! Sylvia by now was constantly repeating that she hated being in hospital and wanted to die. She was obviously not getting the standard of care she would possibly have had in a Geriatric Ward where her needs would be better understood.

Something must have worked because the very next day a meeting was called between James, the District Nurse and a social worker and it was agreed that everything would be put in place for her to go home, probably within days. The very next day Sylvia contracted another infection and was back on the IV antibiotics. James called for a meeting with the senior doctor who explained that as soon as Sylvia was medically fit she could go home. The course of antibiotics would take at least another five days to work.and as soon as she could be put onto oral tablets he would be able to discharge her. When we asked why the fingers on her hand were going rigid like a claw, he explained that it was because although the tendons in the arms were still functioning, there was very little muscle left to open the fingers due to the cancer. Once again, James was convinced that if she had been at home, this would not have been the case.

At the end of week three we had still not heard anything further about the care package but we did hear from the hospital that Sylvia was being moved into the Rehabilitation Ward, a positive step in our eyes. Rehab was supposed to be a stepping stone to finally going home....wasn't it?

In Part Three I will tell you what happened next.....you can read it here .

For more info on Hemp Oil or to make a purchase follow this link http://lddy.no/3huk

Consumer Notice: This is an affiliate ad supported blog. That means if you buy something from a link or ad on this site, or based on my recommendation, either expressed or implied, I may get paid an affiliate commission. Helps to pay the bills.

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Hemp Seed Oil Balm - NHS Says "No" and Goes Into Meltdown - Part 1

We've all heard the rhetoric that the NHS is in meltdown and many would agree that the Conservative party has failed to protect this great institution that we all depend on for emergency care, but I have recently had first-hand experience of the problems that some non-emergency wards are having in simply managing to keep functioning.

I want to share what I have seen over the last seven weeks whilst visiting an elderly friend who was admitted to hospital with nothing more than a mild case of dehydration. Eleven and a half weeks later she was still there!

Sylvia is 95 and a cancer patient. She has myosarcoma, a rare muscle cancer, on her arm that is being treated palliatively due to her age and fragility. Six months ago it was suggested by senior staff at the hospital that there was no hope of a cure and that the only effective solution would be amputation.

Considering her age and fragility is was discussed at length and decided that any operation to remove the arm would be potentially life-threatening and emotionally devastating for someone of her age and so it was simply decided to offer palliative care and keep the arm dressed on a regular basis, for what will be the rest of her life, however long that may be.

For the last six months her son, James, aged 70, has been taking his mother to his local health centre for the arm to be dressed, three times a week. However, not every week because frequently there were no available time slots at the health centre and it was not possible to book these appointments in advance. So, on the numerous occasions when Sylvia could not have an appointment at the surgery, James has taken on the responsibility of dressing her arm himself. He has all the correct sterile equipment at home - dressings packs, gloves, saline solution, bandages which have been supplied, on prescription, by his GP.

Sylvia is amazing for her age - she has never smoked and hardly ever drinks and she has kept herself physically fit by taking a regular daily walk around the block where she lives. It takes no more than 20 minutes and she doesn't have to cross the road so it is quite safe for her to do on her own.

In the meantime, James, not ready to give up on his mum's arm and feeling that anything was better than nothing, went online looking for potential treatments for his mum's arm and came up with an alternative therapy known as hemp seed oil balm. According to the website www.naturalon.com it is a perfectly legal cannabis derived product that contains no hallucinagenics but does contain canabinoids which have been shown to have some good outcomes in reducing the symptoms of certain types of cancer, arthritis, diabetes, alcoholism, schizophrenia, PTSD, MS,epilepsy and chronic pain. It is an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, and anti-nausea treatment.

As the only other treatment was amputation or simply waiting to die, James felt there was nothing to lose and, with his mum's blessing, he purchased some of this balm and used it on her arm. It worked! The swelling on the arm was gradually reducing. He was so happy with the results that he told the family GP and everyone he came across! His GP said he couldn't recommend it but "just keep doing what you feel is best".

Three months ago, James received a visit from a representative of the Social Services who explained that they were concerned to hear that he was dressing his mum's arm himself instead of using the local surgery. James explained that he couldn't always get appointments at the surgery and proceeded to show the visitor what he was using and how he was using it.

It was then divulged that the real reason for the visit was because he was using hemp with the dressings. James explained all about the benefits of the balm and explained the therapeutical effects on his mum of using it. He also explained that it was actually helping to reduce the swelling. It was agreed that the visitor would speak to the local health centre and try to arrange for James to show them what he was doing in order to gain their approval for him to continue doing the dressings himself.

Eleven and a half weeks ago, during a routine surgery appointment for Sylvia's dressing, one of the nurses just happened to notice that one of Sylvia's pupils was enlarged. (It had in fact been enlarged for some time due to previous eye surgery). The nurse insisted on referring it to the GP who in turn decided that it could be the sign of a mini-stroke and he recommended that Sylvia be taken immediately to hospital for assessment.

And so begins the story....! Read Part Two here
https://goo.gl/DWDEY5

For more info on Hemp Oil or to make a purchase follow this link http://lddy.no/3huk

Consumer Notice: This is an affiliate ad supported blog. That means if you buy something from a link or ad on this site, or based on my recommendation, either expressed or implied, I may get paid an affiliate commission. Helps to pay the bills.