Because my condition isn't life threatening, I have to go onto a waiting list. The times I have been admitted to hospital has been when paramedics thought I was having a stroke, or some something similar. Once The A&E decide It's not that serious, I am placed on a waiting list and discharged.

There has only been one occasion when I was admitted where there were neurological symptoms. I was staying with my brother for a few days and had wandered off in a fugue state. When the the police found me they were convinced that I was suffering from Alzheimers and my brother took me off to A&E. My pupils were fixed and dilated, my pulse was about 180 and I had a pronounced weakness on my right side. I seemed to be unaware that I had a right hand and would physically move my right arm with my left hand when it got in the way. That time I was kept in the hospital while they ran practically every test available, including MRI and CT scans, spinal taps, EEGs and ECGs, X-rays and I don't know how many blood and urine samples. In the end I was discharged and advised to see my GP if there were any significant changes in my behaviour or symptoms.

I was admitted on a Tuesday evening, and I had an ECG, bloods and urine samples taken on admission. My first MRI was at 9pm on Wednesday (more than 24 hours after admission. The CT scan was at 4am on Thursday. The first spinal tap was Thursday afternoon. A large number of tests were done on Friday

By Wednesday afternoon (the day after admission) I was in recovery mode. and stayed that way until Saturday night when I had another attack. I started wandering about the ward and crashing into things. Apparently the nursing staff had to strap me to the bed to keep me in place. I wasn't violent or anything. I'd just get up and stagger away. I don't remember anything until Sunday evening, and then in the early hours of Monday I had the second MRI. More scans and tests were done during the rest of Monday and Tuesday, and I was discharged late on Tuesday afternoon. Their conclusion was "nothing conclusive" and I was referred back to my GP for a follow up.

That was the longest stay. All those before and since have been for less than 24 hours.

I had another fugue episode yesterday, but I didn't learn about it until this morning, when I discovered it was Sunday and not Saturday as I thought. I've since learnt that someone saw me staggering about in the centre of town and called the ambulance service. I wear a medical alert bracelet, which describes my condition, so once they had determined I was not suffering from a stroke, they took me straight home. The nearest hospital is in a nearby city - about half an hour away. It's a general hospital. The nearest neurological centre is about 8 hours drive away.

I've decided our (NZ) public health system is great for accidents and emergencies and where symptoms neatly fit into a specific illness, but isn't much use in unusual non life threatening situations.