Lesley - Interview 44
Age at interview: 54
Brief Outline: Lesley slipped and fractured her heel. She was invited to take part in a trial comparing surgery with letting the bones heal naturally. She decided not to take part because she wanted the consultant to make a decision about treatment.
Background: Lesley works as an employer engagement manager. She is single. Ethnic background/nationality' White British.
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In February 2008 Lesley slipped on the steps outside her flat and hurt her foot. At first it was unclear if she had fractured anything. She was put in plaster and sent home, but then her foot started swelling and blistering, so she was admitted to hospital. Once it was established that she had fractured her heel, she was asked if she would like to take part in a trial looking at whether surgery to the heel is more effective than allowing the bones to heal naturally. There is currently not enough evidence to know which of these treatments is better and both are offered as standard treatment.
Lesley was given a DVD by the research assistant explaining the trial which she watched while in her hospital bed. She also had internet access on her bedside TV so she looked up further information as well. She felt the information was clear and she could see the need for the trial. However, for her own case she wanted the consultant to make the decision about how to treat her based on his clinical judgement and experience. She did not want the decision to be down to being randomly allocated to one group or another. This felt to Lesley as if she was being asked to make the decision herself, whereas she wanted to trust a doctor to decide on her behalf.
Once she had decided not to take part, Lesley’s consultant’s advice was to let the bones heal naturally, with rest and physio to help. Her heel is now getting back to normal eight months after the fracture, but it is still quite stiff and she still limps a bit when walking.
Lesley feels medical research is important, and recognises she has benefitted from other people’s willingness to take part in trials, but for something as serious as surgery she just felt it was too much to ask.
She felt this was a decision she had to make for herself. The research assistant accepted her...
She felt this was a decision she had to make for herself. The research assistant accepted her...
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It’s a decision you have to make within yourself, don’t you? You really have to decide for yourself. It’s how you feel about surgery, isn’t it? If you feel, you know, if that scares you - it didn’t me. If you want to leave it to someone else, that was me, you see, so if you consider the consultant to have the knowledge or [pause] - I don’t know. It’s a decision you have to make on your own. And I didn’t have to ask anyone else, I just knew that it’s the decision I was going to make. It was my foot, my decision, my life and this was how I was going to cope with it, that was it really.
And when you made that decision and told the research assistant--
I was quite happy.
What was her reaction?
Oh, she was alright, she was fine, you know. She didn’t try and talk me out of it or anything like that. No, she just said, “Yeah, I understood”, and that was it. I did say I was sorry because, you know, obviously she was looking for a, you know, a volunteer or whatever it was but, you know. Actually, coming to think about it now, I can remember her coming into the room and I think as she was coming towards me I knew what she was going to do and I knew what she was going to say, I literally thought, “No, I’m not doing it.” So, you know.