Health Care System in Finland - Overhyped: Be careful

 

We have written a couple of earlier blogs about some of the real problems with the health care system in Finland. One recent one is: The Finnish Health Care System

But my personal experience of the last two months may be especially of interest and important to several of you.

Even though  I am 80+ and with only one leg, I consider that I am extremely active. 

As Annikki has severe dementia and is incapable of any action which requires the thought process,  it is my task to look after everything in the household. 

I do have one lady who comes once a week to vacuum the house and wash the floors. 

We eat out twice a week but the rest of the week I have to manage the cooking and providing food for both of us. 

Being an amateur ergonomist, I have made it a fine art of minimum effort for maximum result!

One of my tasks has been to visit the large supermarket every Sunday, where our youngest son, who lives near the supermarket, would take care of his mother while I would do the rounds and stock up our needs for the week.

About 2 months ago I started to feel tired while doing the shopping. Every week my ability to shop became problematic. Finally, I was just able to do about 50 metres walking and then had to rest.
I realised there was something seriously wrong and informed the home nurse that I needed to have urgent medical attention.

She arranged for me to meet my local doctor. 

I was immediately sent for an ECG.  

The ECG revealed  a left bundle branch block in my heart, which my daughter explained to me was an electrical problem of the heart.

“ A left bundle branch block (LBBB) is a heart condition that occurs when there is a delay or blockage along the pathway that electrical impulses travel to make the heart beat. The left bundle branch is one of the pathways that these electrical signals use to travel from the heart's upper chambers (atria) to the lower chambers (ventricles).

When there is a blockage or delay in the left bundle branch, it can disrupt the normal coordination of the heart's contractions, leading to an abnormal heart rhythm. This can be detected on an electrocardiogram (ECG) as specific changes in the pattern of electrical activity in the heart.

LBBB can be a sign of underlying heart conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, or heart failure. It can also occur in people with otherwise healthy hearts. Treatment for LBBB depends on the underlying cause and may include managing any heart conditions present or addressing other factors that could be contributing to the blockage.” (Explanation was AI Generated)

I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and after a wasted half day in the Out Patient Ward, I was admitted to the Cardio ward in the Oulu University Central Hospital. I was fitted with a telemetry device which continuously tracked all my vital data.

The next day I was taken for a chest X-ray and later the cardiologist  did an ECHO examination. The following day they did an angioplasty.

The conclusion was that my problem could be treated by medication. I was duly sent home to take one prescribed tablet in the morning and one in the evening. I was also provided with a mouth spray to be taken if I was embarking on a major exercise routine.

I started this regime. 

I have my own monitoring system where I take my blood pressure, test my blood sugar before and after food and keep tabs on my pulse and blood oxygen. All my data is obtained both in the morning and evening so I know exactly where my health condition stands.

I did go to have all my  remaining teeth extracted as a continuation of my dental health programme. I recovered from that very quickly.

However, 9 days following my return from hospital, I realised something was still seriously wrong. 

I went to bed on the Sunday afternoon and woke up late afternoon on Monday. I could hardly lift myself from my wheelchair to move about!

Poor Annikki suffered not being looked after but she is an angel  and stayed by me quietly through those 26 hours.

On the following Wednesday I informed the home care visitors that I was in a terrible state and to inform my home nurse.

Nothing happened for a day so I told my daughter, who is a professor of medicine at Newcastle University (NUMED) in the UK and the Dean of the NUMED teaching facility in Malaysia.

She said just one thing: “This is not your NORMAL, Dad. See the cardiologist as soon as possible.”.

I sent an email to the cardiologist using the Oulu University email address but then I found it rejected the email. It appears that they do not entertain emails from their clients!

In desperation I managed to get to the cardiologist on the phone but she was on her rounds and said she would  call me back.

She called me back in the afternoon and after listening to my version of the facts with all the relevant data she asked me to stop the medication with immediate effect.

So, now I have stopped the medication - and what is the next step as there is no next step for me except to live with my problem which is steadily weakening of my ability to do any lengthy physical exercise!

My daughter has suggested that I have a Pacermaker installed, but I am not very inclined to any operative procedure.

I wonder if the cardiologist realises that I am back at SQUARE 1 and now in limbo and I must try to find a possible solution. 

I will pursue the matter with my home nurse to get  the “plan”, but for now it is extreme careful behaviour and no extra physical exercise till I find the solution.

Finland’s health care system is considered to be fantastic but the bulk of the doctors are without the in-depth experience and expertise required of their profession and the pace has to be forced by the individual. 

It is not important for something to be just free. The competence of all those in the system has to be of the calibre required of their job!

I have since reverted to my heritage technology. 

I have increased my intake of coconut products as coconut water 8total nutrition), coconut cream, coconut milk, coconut yoghurt, and also increased my intake of ginger, tumeric, pepper in green tea with honey. I will continue my intake of my high fish (salmon) diet which is rich in Omega 3. 

I will start light physical exercise which causes no stress or tiredness.

I will continue my intensive monitoring and try to get the results reviewed by my own doctor to get some action before it is too late!

I do not intend to live as a vegetable!!

To Hirosenkoti

Annikki's mother, Hilja, has been in very good health these last two weeks. She was very happy to have a bath today and she ate very well.

After almost a year of different health problems, which Annikki has tended with great care and devotion, Hilja is now in fine fettle and she is full of beans, mentally. A lot of her muscle strength has returned, although not yet enough for her to stand unattended.



She objected to being dressed to go to the Hirosenkoti Old People's Home as she does not like being transported from one place to another.

But if Annikki is to recoup her strength, these interval care times are very important for her, although not so good for Hilja.

Hilja will be back home on the 17th of the month. Hopefully the mild autumn weather will still be around. But that is just hoping! I have scheduled to put on my winter tyres on the car by the 15th of the month.

Annikki is working her gut out again

Day-before-yesterday, Wednesday evening, Annikki's mother, Hilja, went in for her interval care at the Hirosen Old People's Home, so that Annikki and me could re-energise ourselves.



It was quite a wet day, so Hilja had to be dressed with warmish clothes. It was after five in the evening before the Invalid Taxi arrived to take Hilja and Annikki to the Old People's Home.

I followed by car. As soon as Hilja was comfortably installed, Annikki wanted to go straight to the garden shops to pick up things for the garden. The Flea markets had already closed as it was past 6 pm. :-)

Besides picking up rich soil bags and some evergreen trees for potting, she picked up some wooden lotuses for the pond.





She also picked up two artificial lotuses which have LEDs in the centre. They run on three small batteries. the LEDS are rated as having lives of 8000 to 10000 hours.

When switched on the colour of the LED changes continuously, rotating through a beautiful soft glow blue, to green, to red and to yellow.

I tried to photograph them but was not successful. They look gorgeous. (I must get a better digital camera!) Annikki put one in the main pond and one in the bathtub. They add so much character to the garden.

At the bottom of the pond the real lotus, which is a local variety, is growing very rapidly. We should soon see them flowering at the top of the water.

The solar fountain sent to us by Susanna a few years ago is still functioning beautifully. But I have to get a larger fountain as the goldfish love to have the water splashing aroung them.

On Thursday, which was a holiday here in Finland (Ascension Day - the day Christ ascended to heaven), Annikki, instead of resting was doing back-breaking work cleaning up every corner of the garden. She took all the rubbish out of the flower beds, sifted all the sand, and realigned all the stones. She had to take up each of her many hundreds of stones so as to get the rubbish out from under them.

I saw the first bee in the garden, hovering over the flower beds, although the first flowers are yet to arrive. The magpies are having their regular baths in the shallow pond, and after they finish the smaller birds take their turn.

We are still waiting for some warm days so as to re-introduce the goldfish back into the pond. Annikki is not going to take any risks again!

This year we will have lots more interesting stuff in the garden - so watch out on this blog as Annikki's new creative ideas come to fruition!