Next steps

As the prospect of future surgery hung-over me, I began to realise that I would not be able really get on with my life until I had it all sorted. Realistically I was unable to change jobs, as no new employer would take me on with this on the cards. As Synergy had supported me once, the chance were high that they would support me again - for which I was very lucky.

Once again, I found myself getting back in touch with Mr Hill. At my last appointment, he had said that he would happily see me in the future to further discuss my options - be it for him to undertake any more surgery or to point me in the direction of someone else. It transpired that he no longer ran his clinic at Harlow, but now focused on his Private clinic at The Portland Hospital and his paediatric clinic at Great Ormand Street. He agreed to see me at The Portland. He told us nothing new - on reflection I am not sure what I was expecting to hear, although I had decided that I did not want him undertaking any further treatment and I simply did not trust him. He reiterated the options he thought best and suggested that we get in touch with a colleague of his at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) in Stanmore. RNOH is a centre of excellence for all things bones and therefore if they could not get it right there... we were stuffed.

Mr Peter Calder was the man for the job and within four weeks of the referral, we found ourselves in yet another outpatients department.