Just had to write this......
Dear Mum,
As per your suggestion I did Google “hospital hopping”.
I think there are two possibilities you can evaluate.
The first is that I am hospital hopping, based upon the opinion of my family, none of whom holds anything remotely similar to a medical qualification.
The second is that I have a very nasty treatment resistant neurological disorder caused by protracted discontinuation syndrome of neuroleptic medicine supported by 2 consultant psychiatrists, 3 consultant neurologists, 1 consultant internist, the director of medicine of a hospital, my GP in the UK and GP in Spain.
When I left the first hospital in Granada in May, his main concern was that I would turn to alcohol or illegal drugs as his experience was this often happened with patients suffering from severe chronic pain. Since then I have been trying to find a medical or holistic solution to my illness.
The fact that I have even paid for a man to gaffer tape magnets to my head would be funny were it not so tragically desperate.
When in hospital at BUPA’s flagship hospital in Madrid, I asked the neurologist for a referral to a psychiatrist as I had to know for myself whether there was a psychiatric component to my distress. He was over the opinion that there was not and I asked him for a referral to a psychologist.to learn coping strategies for pain. He agreed this was a good idea.
The offer remains that I invite any member of my family to personally speak to any one of the doctors who are treating me. They don’t even need to meet me.
Additionally, the medical inspector of the province of Granada does not personally call a pharmacy to authorise them to dispense opioid painkillers where he is in any doubt that there may be a psychological component to a patient's need for Class A drugs.
Even simpler, we can apply a common sense test. Before my admission to hospital in August of last year I was earning 20,000 euros a month with my expenses paying for me to stay in the most luxurious hotels in world between flying air planes. Why on earth would I seek to choose 3 further months in hospital and a year counting every last penny as opposed to doing pretty much whatever I wanted?
I love you dearly, I am very ill, let’s move forward.
Ax
