A young Dundee dad says he came within hours of being left paralysed due to a rare condition he believes a doctor failed to recognise.
Gerald Milne, 32, from Fintry has since learned he should have received surgery within 24 hours of his condition developing if he was going to have a full recovery.
Instead, he waited four days after being told he had a trapped nerve.
The father-of-one has suffered from nerve condition sciatica for 10 years.
Earlier this month he went to Ninewells Hospital when his condition deteriorated, causing him severe pain.
However, he said he was sent home as he was already being treated by his GP.
He has now been diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome, a rare condition involving lower back nerves becoming severely compressed.
NHS advice states the condition requires “requires emergency hospital admission and emergency surgery, because the longer it goes untreated, the greater the chance it will lead to permanent paralysis and incontinence”.
But it was a further four days before Gerald was treated.
“My situation was awful,” he said.
“I presented at A&E with four of the red flag symptoms for my condition.
“The same doctor failed on two occasions to get me the emergency help I needed.
“He sent me home and it was only because my own GP contacted neurosurgery at the hospital that I was eventually taken seriously.”
Lasting damage
Gerald is now healing at home but fears he will never fully recover.
Gerald said that four days after being seen by the doctor at Ninewells he eventually received surgery.
“There is a key timeframe for surgery to be carried out,” he said.
“This is between 24 and 48 hours of symptoms starting to have the best possible recovery.
“Anything after this could potentially leave lasting damage.
“I was left 120 hours without getting the help and surgery that was crucial for a full recovery from this condition.
“I have since learned this could have left me paralysed. As it is I have been left with serious and worrying damage.
“Doctors have told me that at this stage they cannot say if I will make a full recovery.”
Sent home
Gerald says he felt “fobbed off” when he went to Ninewells for help on October 2.
“I felt fobbed off by the doctor who wasn’t taking me seriously,” he said.
“He didn’t even give me pain killers and I was just pushed out of the door.
“The following day I was in so much pain I phoned NHS 24 who spoke to A&E at Ninewells who told me to get there straight away.”
“The doctor did examine me and also called for a neurosurgeon to examine me,” he added.
“I was booked in for an MRI scan that Friday but by the Tuesday I was in so much pain I was in tears and phoned my GP.
“She called the neurosurgeon and called me back 10 minutes later to tell me to get myself to the hospital immediately.
“I was admitted and operated on the following day.”
Recovery
Gerald is still recovering from the four-hour surgery and is currently taking 17 tablets a day, as well as needing crutches to move around.
He said: “I have considerable numbness in my legs, feet and toes and am very off-balance.
“I also have extreme weakness in my legs and have lost lots of muscle mass..
“I also have bladder and bowel issues. I’m incontinent and have complete numbness in my groin area.
He added: “I am also suffering mental health issues as a result of the whole situation.
At the moment I need help with everything – even having a shower.
“My day-to-day life is horrible and I have no idea if it’s going to get any better.”
Wedding fears
Gerald is due to be marrying his fiancée Roishe Blaney next July, having had to cancel their wedding this year because of Covid-19.
But he fears he will not be fit enough for the big day to go ahead.
Gerald believes if he had received surgery sooner he would have a far better chance of a full recovery.
He said: “As it is no one will commit to how much of a recovery I am going to make.
“This has all left me with life changing conditions and has the potential to seriously limit what I’m able to do in the future.
“We want to have more children but as things currently are I don’t even know if that will be possible.”
Symptoms
Now, Gerald wants to raise awareness of cauda equina syndrome so people know which symptoms to look for.
The key symptoms follow the SPINE rules:
S – Saddle anaesthesia (reduced feeling in the groin)
P – Pain in the lower back and legs
I – Incontinence/Retention
N – Numbness
E – Emergency (seek help immediately)
He said: “These are the red flags of cauda equina. I’d urge anyone if they suspect they have developed this, go to A&E straight away.
“All I can do now is have everything crossed that I will make a good recovery from this and stay as positive as I can.
“Surgery doesn’t “fix” the problem, it just frees the nerves to prevent full paralysis from the waist down. This is a condition I will live with for the rest of my life and it is life-changing.”
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: “Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to discuss matters relating to individual patients.
“We would invite Mr Milne to contact our complaints and feedback team to discuss his concerns.”
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