A woman with chronic back pain says her injury has left her stuck indoors for the past ten years.
Chanade Smith, from Derby, severely hurt her back while attempting to transport a heavy rabbit hutch in her house in 2013.
She's only left the house three times since that day. And, she claims, she's no closer to a solution a decade later.
She told DerbyshireLive: "I want my old life back. I'd love to go shopping. I even miss going into town, believe it or not. I miss fresh air. I'm claustrophobic and withdrawn. I'm a prisoner in my own home. I feel like I'm self-isolating constantly."
Once active and fit, Ms Smith's weight has shot from 10 stone to 17 and-a-half stone in the past decade and is only increasing, she says.
A recent blood test, completed by a district nurse at her home, revealed she has prediabetes, meaning that her blood sugars are high but not yet high enough for her to be diagnosed with type-2 diabetes but it is a risk.
The only time she experiences the outside world is when she steps onto her balcony. Her only daily company is her collection of pets, which includes a dog, a hamster, two guinea pigs, four snakes and seven giant snails.
She has no family remaining and the friends she does talk have to come to her or communicate with her via WhatsApp or Zoom.
The accident happened in spring 2013 when Ms Smith says a huge rabbit hutch fell on her lower back as she carried it with her then partner.
The impact caused her back to seize up and doubled her over in pain. It eased after around fifteen minutes, so she didn't call an ambulance.
In the weeks after, though, with the "vice-like" pain flaring up regularly, Ms Smith contacted her GP at Brook Medical Centre, in Kedleston Road, and was prescribed pain and anti-inflammatory medication.
Months went by and Ms Smith claims she asked for more help but says that she was simply prescribed more medication. After seven years, Ms Smith says that she was no closer to getting better.
Then, when the pandemic hit, she got a lift from a friend to attend two Covid-19 vaccinations and a third lift for a cervical screening. Around the same time, she was referred for an MRI scan at Royal Derby Hospital but said she couldn't attend due to having contracted Covid.
She claims that the appointment has never been rearranged. She continued to request home appointments for her back but due to having attended her GP surgery previously, she says she was told she'd have to visit again in person.
Ms Smith claims she's now no longer in contact with the friend who had access to a car and cannot afford public transport or a taxi in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis. The constant and severe pain remains a problem and, according to Ms Smith, the various prescription drug she takes do not work.
She's says that she has never had a scan or had her issue diagnosed through a full examination.
She said: "Before the accident, I went out every day. Since the injury I've basically not been able to even step out of my front door. I have to have a friend over three times a day to take the dog out. I can't even get down the stairs. My neighbour next door takes the bins out for me."
Her groceries and pet supplies are all delivered to her door. Her medication is sent via the GP surgery, posting it using Royal Mail and the electronic prescription service Pharmacy2U.
At the start of this year, she moved GP surgeries in an attempt to move the process forward.
She's been referred to online physiotherapy but claims this "made her worse" and says she's recently been referred to a neuroskeletal specialist but says it's only because she's "kicked up a stink."
A spokesperson for the Derby and Derbyshire Independent Care Board said: "GP practices in Derby and Derbyshire always work with their patients to provide the best and most appropriate care for them.
"We are not able to discuss any details of an individual's relationship with a GP practice, due to the need to protect the confidentiality of their healthcare. There are number of methods for patients to provide feedback or to make a complaint if they wish."
