All by Myself (part 2)

(this is part 2 of a longer post, so if you haven't read the first part go here)

I felt a bit better by morning, but I dozed until about 1 o'clock, in between blood tests, doctors rounds and more BP and temperature readings.

Normally I don't have a problem giving blood or getting injections or drips etc - it is a bit of an occupational hazard when you are on chemo - however I was getting a bit paranoid after six or seven needles in 24 hours. 

The drip was being administered through a needle in my arm which had been placed by the A & E doctor the previous evening. It did seem to be OK at the time, although it Helen tells me there was blood all over the floor and the trolley by the time he had finished.

Anyway, by Tuesday morning it was beginning to hurt a bit - more than a bit in fact. It felt like someone was hammering a screwdriver (Phillips, not flat headed though) into the bones of my wrist every 10 seconds or so. I mentioned it to one of the nurses assigned to me (isolation, again) and after a suitably long period of time I was given some paracetamol for the pain. Surprisingly it did actually work.

Later that morning another doctor came and took the original one out and put in a new one in the other arm. This one was actually much better and didn't hurt at all (I can still feel the original one in my arm occasionally).

Tuesday afternoon saw Helen and Becky visit me, brining home made scones with jam and cream. they were delicious, but I don't think I did justice to them, since my sense of taste was still poor. After dozing for so much of the morning, I felt reasonably bright by this time, and my sparkling wit and conversation seemed to cheer them up. Apparently I looked a bit like a scarecrow, so as they left I was 'encouraged' by my wife and daughter to have a shower. After this I went back to bed and slept until tea time and evening visiting.

During this time my temperature spiked again and after the (reasonably) lucid time during the afternoon, I was more than a bit dopey again during the evening. Helen came back again, brining Katie with her this time

Katie is unable to sit still for longer that ten minutes so we sent her off to the shop to get herself some chocolate. She came back telling us that she had got lost in the sub basement before finding her way back again (via the shop of course). She said it seemed creepy - a bit like a scene from Doctor Who. After that it didn't seem appropriate to tell her that the morgue was down there.....

That night I slept better, although I was still up and down most of the night. At some point the drip finished and the one fo the night staff must have disconnected me form the drip. This made sleeping much easier, not to mention the trips to the toilet (without the drip on its wonky stand).

Morning rounds brought the doctor who decided that my temperature had fallen and my blood count risen enough such that staying in hospital was worse for me (due to the risk of infection) than going home. My parents were due to visit me that afternoon, so I phoned them and asked if they would be willing to take me home, rather than sit around the hospital. that was about 10.30 or 11.00

They arrived at about 2-ish and bumped in to Dan Hudson, our church leader, who had snuck in outside normal visiting hours. Dan left shortly after this and we sat down to wait. We kept asking what the holdup was, but no one was willing to commit. Around 3.30 one of the pharmacists arrived to check that I knew about paracetamol reducing temperatures. Since I had been told evety time I had been given one for the last two days I managed to re-assure her. When we checked with her, she said it would be before 5.30 - another two hours.

We ended up switching on the tv and watching some aytime quiz to pass the time. Andy Brough also turned up during the afternoon - it was good to see him too.

Sure enough, just around 5.15 the nurse assigned to me came into start the discharge process. We actually walked out the door of the hospital at about 5.40. As much as I admire the NHS and appreciate the care that the nurses and doctors give, waiting for 7 hours to be allowed home was more than a bit frustrating....

It has taken me a full week to recover from this adventure - I am just about back to normal now. I did walk to the GP surgery at the end of the road and that took me all afternoon to recover from.

The day I was released was supposed to be my last treatment day at Ward 1. There was a flurried exchange of phone calls between Ward 1 and St Johns, trying to ascertain whether or not I would be in that day (the answer was No). It has now been decided that rather than try to rescedule this treatment it should just be missed out. I am due to have a biopsy next week and fitting in the treatment and the weeks recovery was too much.

I am due at the Western for a biopsy next Tuesday - another night in hospital - so this is the next big event.

I think that is all for now,

god bless

Graham