Moray woman (70) with chronic pain fears she will remain housebound for the rest of her life
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A WOMAN from Moray who suffers from chronic back pain fears she will remain housebound for the rest of her life after recent treatment failed to ease her condition.
Helen McDonald (70), who lives in Lhanbryde, hurt her back in 2018 while trying to move her terminally ill daughter from her bed.
Subsequent X-rays found a curve in her spine and painkillers, including morphine, have done little to ease the pain.
She has since been confined to her home for the past three years and has become reliant on her family to complete simple household tasks.
"I can't do anything any more," she said. "I can't do anything without screaming the house down because I'm in so much pain.
"I used to do kick-boxing, swimming, I was just never at peace and my house has always been my priority. I like to keep it clean but my poor hubby has been left with it all.
"I was given morphine but I was being so sick from all these painkillers that I lost two stone.
"I eventually told them to keep their painkillers because they were making me so ill.
"I've just never experienced anything like this before."
Last month, Helen travelled to Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen for treatment after waiting two years, in increasingly intense pain, for a pain clinic appointment.
She was told that injections, administered directly to her lower spine, could finally ease her pain and perhaps help her return to the life she once had.
However, one month on from the treatment, the pain has got worse and Helen says she has been left in "limbo".
"I'm in more pain now than when I initially went in for the treatment," she said.
"No one has phoned me back to follow-up or about follow-up care.
"I've been phoning up just to say that I'm in extreme pain. I don't know how many times I've phoned. All I know is that I'm on the waiting list for an appointment.
"I just want somebody to tell me what to do or what I can take to help with the pain but that hasn't happened."
NHS Grampian says that the current waiting time for a pain clinic outpatient appointment in Aberdeen is currently 64 weeks.
Having waited two years to be treated, Helen says she is fearful that her wait for another appointment could be similarly lengthy.
She adds that remaining housebound for much longer would be unbearable as she misses out on spending quality time with her granddaughter.
"My daughter that passed away, her youngest daughter was only 9 when it happened," Helen added.
"She's doing fantastic now because she was very very quiet for a long time.
"I'm dedicated to looking after her but I can't do anything with her really.
"When she was younger I used to take her swimming and things like that but I can't do things like that either.
"I just can't bear the thought of just sitting about doing nothing for the rest of my days. I can't go on like this.
"I feel like I've been forgotten about."
