"X-ray incident"

I had been down to the fracture clinic to have my right foot re-dressed and have my left foot and ankle checked, cleaned and re-plastered. All was well, the wounds looked good and everyone was happy with the new dressings. I was then asked to go and have an x-ray on my left ankle to make sure it was ok.

On arrival to x-ray I was in a wheelchair and was ushered into the x-ray room. I was told I had to climb 2 full sized (height) steps in order for the x-ray to be taken. I explained to the technician that I couldn’t weight bear on my left foot, so they showed me to put all my weight on my right foot and jump to the next step. I was very nervous at this point because I had been told no weight bearing on my left foot at all. I stepped onto the first step and as I went to jump onto the second step I caught my toe on the step and the frame moved suddenly. I attempted another jump and made it to the top step. I was very clammy and shaken and felt lightheaded.

I turned to face the x-ray technician and they said I needed to put all my weight on my right leg and when they took the x-ray, I was to swing my good right leg out of the way and take my weight on the frame. I did this and the technician came back and said I hadn’t put my foot in the floor enough and they would do another x-ray but I had to weight bear on my left leg. I told them I was feeling lightheaded and almost at fainting point, I recall they said it wouldn’t be long and they pushed my foot on an angle about 40deg to get another x-ray. Once they were done, I carefully climbed down and got in my wheelchair. The technician took me back to the waiting room where my partner got me water and settled me before we went back to the ward.

I had worked hard all week not weight bearing and learning how to move while feeling safe. This incident made me frightened and unsafe and I would like to know if the technician didn’t understand what they were asked to do or did they seemingly disregard what they were asked to do?

My stay in the hospital apart from this incident has been wonderful, the level of care and patience afforded me has been overwhelming. All the staff I have seen have been courteous and considerate and have always put my needs first.