Mount Garnet Progress Association

A VOTE FOR THE ATHERTON HOSPITAL

December 24, 2007
By Al Gallo

To have an inguinal hernia repaired in a hospital may not seem to amount to a great deal to many people. However, having clocked up 70 years without knowing what it meant to be put to sleep and have surgery, I was quite curious about the whole affair.

It all started 23 years ago at a time when I was markedly overweight. As I was practicing sit-up exercises, thought to be helpful to strengthen muscles and burn some calories, I felt something snap in my groin. This brought to memory that both, my grandfather and my father had hernia problems and subsequent operations, which pointed to an inevitable genetic connection. It soon became necessary for me to wear trusses that I designed and built myself.

My condition didn’t get any better, to the point where I recently became concerned that at any time I might be unable to push the intestine back to where it belongs, which would be pretty serious. When this happens, a part of it could become strangulated and the affected area might die due to lack of blood supply.

Finally, on the 7th of August I went to the Garnet Clinic and while I stood beside the doctor’s desk he asked, “What’s your problem?” Pointing to my groin I replied, “My intestine pops out.” He asked me to put my pants down, stood beside me and had a look. The doctor sat at his desk and asked, “Any pain?”. I said what I felt wasn’t pain, but rather discomfort. Then he asked, “Are you in a medical fund?”. I said “No”. He wrote something and then said, “You’ll receive a letter from the Atherton Hospital.”, adding matter of factly after a brief pause, “Some time…” I really got the message and said “thanks” on my way out.

Two months later the hospital arranged an appointment for me to see a doctor who, according to a nurse, had been called from Cairns and was not available. I accepted her apology for the fact I had to make a round trip of 200 kilometres for nothing.

On the 9th of November I was examined by a pleasant young female doctor and after going through a long questionnaire said she would place me in a short-call list.

On the 6th of December I went to the Hospital again for a more thorough examination that included blood tests, X-rays and electrocardiogram.

On the 10th of December, four months after my initial visit to the local doctor I had my hernia repair carried out. It was a highly positive experience to be surrounded by a team showing organizational skills and safety procedures I never imagined could be so advanced. To the uninitiated it could be boring to have to answer the same questions so many times, but this surely avoids mishaps, the possibility that a certain procedure could be carried out on the wrong patient, or on the right patient’s wrong organ, or both.

When I woke up and heard a nurse saying to me, “It’s finished”, I could hardly believe that something had actually been done to my body. Just a few hours later I could already walk to the toilet or to the window to look at the night landscape. It was really nice to comfortably arrive home less than 24 hours after the operation had taken place.

It is very clear to me that the medical, as well as the administrative personnel of the Atherton Hospital show a warm, vocational approach to their daily work and they should be highly commended for that.

My final message is one of pride in a public hospital system that does its best to serve all individuals in our society regardless of their ability to pay. All I feel compelled to do as a citizen is to support the political currents that are going to fight for improvement of the public hospital system rather than curtail or disregard it.

Al Gallo is Webmaster of the Mount Garnet Progress association.