"Now I am left not knowing when my surgery will be"

Well, I had an operation planned for tomorrow afternoon at the Chanctonbury Suite, and this afternoon I had a call to inform me that it had been cancelled. Whilst I appreciate that trauma and emergency cases must take precedence, I am still disappointed and frustrated with the system (not individuals).

Although my elective procedure is somewhat small it's still a big deal to me and not straightforward as I was born with a very complex heart disorder for which I have undergone a series of open-heart surgeries since my teens (all performed privately at Harley Street). It's now 20 years since my last surgery, but I am still anxious about undergoing it. Because I take the blood thinning drug warfarin for a mechanical heart valve a plan had to be put in place pre surgery to stop my warfarin and start me on heparin injections. To put this plan together took a great deal of work on the part of numerous healthcare professionals.

Now I am left not knowing when my surgery will be, whether it will likely be cancelled again and the need for the medics to devise a new plan for my blood thinning management. Any errors or problems with my blood thinning management could result in me getting a blood clot on my valve which could be catastrophic. So you see I am feeling anxious and stressed about this and I've not yet even been admitted for the surgery!!

I am actually considering all my options and that includes going private to get my surgery done!