Patient launched email campaign

7:57pm Wednesday 25th June 2008

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A PATIENT of York Hospital is launching an email campaign after waiting for a diagnosis for nine months.

As reported in The Press, Terry Donohue is in constant pain and must use a wheelchair if he is to move more than 50 metres.

He was struck down with the mystery illness, which began with stiffness in his knees, about nine months ago.

He said he saw one consultant who could not make a diagnosis, but was then put on another three-month waiting list to see another consultant who was also unable to make a diagnosis.

The same thing happened again and he eventually went private and was diagnosed as having haemochromatosis. It causes excess iron in the blood to be deposited in the organs and joints of the body and can be fatal if left untreated.

Mr Donohue, 56, of Eyre Close, Brayton, said he was contacted by York Hospital who said it was unsure about the diagnosis and believed it may actually stem from a neurological disorder.

After waiting nine months, Mr Donohue said he and his wife were now desperate and were urging people to contact the hospital's chief executive to ask for his help.

Mr Donhue said: "Living every day without a diagnosis is a living hell. It drives you to despair. I can't work, my business is failing and at the back of your mind is the reality of your house being re-possessed. Material things are nice, but that is not the real heartache.

"I see my family distraught, my wife suddenly and for no logical reason bursting into tears, day or night, unable to perform daily tasks due to the mental stress and the nervous breakdown this has caused her to have.

"I am unable to look after her and this alone causes me distress. All together this is a decline to total despair. I am housebound in torment not knowing what is wrong. A normal life is just a memory for us both.

"We want York Hospital to admit me or send me to a specialist centre to find a diagnosis and offer treatment, instead of putting me on hidden' waiting lists."

He has also asked that York Hospital send him for a second opinion at another hospital.

Mike Proctor, deputy chief executive at York Hospital, said he was trying to arrange that second opinion.

Mr Proctor said: "Our medical director has recently been able to talk to Mr Donohue which we know he appreciated. Since then, we have received further correspondence from Mr Donohue where he requests a second opinion at a different hospital with a specialist neurology team.

"We will do what we can, in liaison with Mr Donohue's general practitioner, to see that this request is acted on as quickly as possible, although the speed of access to another team in another hospital is not within our control."