Dad nearly died of sepsis while waiting for op
ROUTINE SURGERY FOR GALLSTONES SCHEDULED IN 2019, BUT NOW CAUGHT IN THE COVID BACKLOG
A DAD diagnosed with gallstones two years ago has almost died twice and lost 10st while waiting for a routine operation.
Wayne Dennis, 50, was set to have an operation to remove his gallstones 12 weeks after he was diagnosed in June 2019.
But he was then told his surgery at the Queen’s Hospital, Burton, had been cancelled.
The operation was rescheduled, but that was also cancelled due to the pandemic.
The lorry driver then developed sepsis, which made him lose 10 stone, and he spent 197 days in different hospitals, the Derby Telegraph’s sister publication The Mirror reports.
His condition became critical and he was rushed into hospital again last Christmas, when his family were warned that he might not survive.
“There was a delay and we all thought okay. But when Covid happened we thought we would have to bear with it,” he said.
“I was still getting the odd attack from the gallstone – I had to be very careful of what I ate.
“But after a trip to Skegness, I became really sick and we knew it was a flare-up.”
Wayne was taken to hospital after he fell ill in Skegness and then later transferred to Boston Pilgrim Hospital for a couple of weeks before being moved back to Burton.
But his condition deteriorated and he was taken to Nottingham, where he was put in a coma.
He said: “I had kidney dialysis. The gallstones had made the pancreas go septic with abscesses in my stomach. It was very touch and go.”
Wayne’s wife, Terri, became determined to highlight the plight of patients waiting for routine treatment and kept a video diary showing the decline in her husband’s health.
One video shows Wayne struggling for breath in a hospital bed.
Further footage shows him using a zimmer frame as he tries to walk a few steps from his hospital bed.
Wayne said he was finally released from hospital in February.
He said: “I was in intensive care for 145 days and in hospital a total of 197 days.
“I have had to learn to walk again, I couldn’t even take myself to the toilet – simple tasks were hard to do.”
Wayne said although his job is open to him, he does not know what will happen as he is still struggling to walk.
“This all boils down to the fact that the gallstones were not removed when they should have been in June 2019,” he said.
“You can’t blame anybody for Covid, but my operation should have been done prior to that, then all this wouldn’t have happened.
“The doctors and nurses that have treated me have been fantastic – they have got their hands tied. I do believe operations need to be prioritised.
“But it has gone from gallstones to pancreatitis – which is a killer – and I nearly died twice.
“I am now living in fear that I could get pancreatitis again and who is to say I am going to survive it this time.
“I can’t eat – I have a strict basic diet. Anything that can help not making me ill again, I’ll do.”
Wayne’s ordeal has left him and his family worried and he said it plays on his mind all the time.
The 50-year-old had a medical consultation arranged for last Thursday but is still waiting for a date for his operation.
A spokeswoman for University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, which is treating Wayne, said: “Tackling the backlog of planned operations caused by Covid-19 is a challenge.
“But despite a really busy summer our staff have made good progress in almost halving the number of patients waiting over a year for a routine procedure.”