Navigating Leg Ulcer Challenges: A Personal Tale

Hello Anne, a warm warm welcome and I cannot thank you enough for very kindly agreeing to be interviewed, especially as it's such a subject that I know was very painful at that period of your life and I really appreciate you going into detail about what that experience of having a leg ulcer was like for you. Thank you. Well, painful is the word that comes to mind straight away, Ellie, because I thought I'd just knocked my leg. And I went to a chiropodist and I said to her, what do you think that is? And she said, hmm, it's only a sort of small, round, red mark. And She said, oh, I don't know what it is, but I think you should get it checked up. And she said, mention it to your GP. And I did, and I have to say the GP wasn't much interested at the time. And then I ended up with a consultant who looked at it, and he said, oh, I'm not sure what it is. He said, I think you should try a bit of Vaseline on it. Well, you know, Vaseline didn't work, obviously. But it was still painful. And then eventually, luckily, I was referred to somebody in St. Thomas' Hospital. And immediately they said it's a vascular problem. But it was a big worry because I didn't know what it was. I knew it was something that I ought to do something about, but nobody could tell me what to do. So could you describe your journey from the moment you met the consultant and describe how you felt in yourself. Well, I keep using the word painful. I mean, the journey was painful. The, what turned out to be a leg ulcer was also painful. And they were, I saw several people in St. Thomas's Hospital, and luckily it was across the river from where I worked. so I was lucky from that point of view and I saw some very good people there but the whole thing took a lot of time and I felt we weren't getting anywhere fast but in the end of course my leg was operated on because Vaseline didn't do much good I can tell you as you know but I was operated on and then you know it's in a hospital for a bit and they were extremely good there because they were experts at dealing with a particular problem but of course since then I've heard of a lot of people who haven't been properly diagnosed and you know continuing to have problems and And some people, you know, it's got worse for them and it's gone to extremes. So I think diagnosis, proper diagnosis right at the start is essential. And I have to say, Ellie, later on I had pneumonia and still leg ulcers. and when I left St Thomas' Hospital because I had very sore heels as well. It wasn't simply one mark, it was very sore heels which were associated I think with a vascular problem and that's where you and I started talking quite a lot and I have to say you know there were days I was so, I felt almost desperate and I was very pleased to have your support, which was essential in this situation. When you say desperate Anne, can you describe what you mean by desperate? You felt desperate because you'd had your surgery and you felt it was excellent surgery and the results were starting to look good but when you say desperate can you describe that in a little more detail for me? Yes I'd had the surgery obviously on my calf but I had very sore heels and that I think was somehow associated with the leg wound. And I know when I was in hospital with pneumonia, nobody seemed bothered about this. I was now back in Cardiff. Nobody seemed very bothered about the heels. But the heels were so painful, I couldn't put, and I was in bed, bed, I wasn't able to make myself comfortable. So I didn't sleep very much, because I couldn't get the heels in the right space and they weren't properly protected. Oh, I'm sorry. This is one of my cats, it's got a cat in the back. So that's what I mean by, you know, when you don't sleep, you're in pain, you've had your surgery, you've now got pneumonia, but you've still got these sore heels. Well, very difficult to explain but, you know, you helped me by talking about it at the time, Ellie. So, what would your advice be to people, you've mentioned people aren't aware or lack of diagnosis. What would your advice be to your family, friends, you have advice and what to do? While I was in St Thomas's, I got an adjournment debate allocated to me in the House of Commons on the subject of leg wounds. And, you know, they're very difficult to get hold of, those German debates. So I arranged with my doctors to go in my wheelchair to the Chamber of the House of Commons and make a speech there about leg wounds and how much they were costing the NHS, you know, because they weren't properly diagnosed and people were going backwards and forwards to hospitals for dressings and that wasn't helping them too much so I thought it was important to get the case out so it's there somewhere on film if you want to see it but the health minister at the time promised all kinds of things because you know it's a huge sum of money that's spent in the health service trying to sort of patch up leg wounds without necessarily giving them a proper diagnosis. So that's what I mean and so it needs pressure, continuing pressure as you're putting on and as others are as well to make sure that everybody is properly aware from you know GPs right through and then the other point I would make is when you come out of hospital, you're given these tight stockings to wear, but most people can't put them on, let alone wear them. They're just too tight for people. And a friend of mine at the other end of town, she had something similar, and she would go out through her front door, outside her front garden, and ask somebody in the street to help her getting the stocking on. Well, again, that is ridiculous. And there aren't all that many not enough district nurses, as you well know. The numbers have dropped. And so you need pressure as your clubs have been putting on the authorities. But it has to be continuous until the system is improved. Anne, as you know, it's a global problem now, and we're all living to a greater age. So do you see the accountability for raising venous awareness to become a governmental issue? You know, governments globally should take responsibility. You've alluded to cost of care, but also quality of life is impacted. Individuals experiencing what you've just been through is horrific. And so where do you see the future going? Well, I would hope greater awareness and that comes through pressure, pressure certainly on local authorities, pressure on GPs, pressure on the central government who dole out the money, for example, and making a point to them that actually they can save money in the end if people are more aware of what a leg wound is and how it should be treated and how aftercare is important and you know just repeating this I'm afraid like with all campaigns over and over again. Thank you so much for sharing your story. It is so emotional and I cannot thank you enough to be part of this. And Anne, I wish you all the best for the future and as you know my motto is look after your legs, take care and thank you so so much for your time today and your cat is obviously a very famous cat now.