§ The Limbo Dance: signifying an emergence from death to life. §
19 September 2016 – Email Update to friends and rellies – So, it’s not all plain sailing…. but thank God for the NHS!
OK. This isn’t at all what I intended to write this evening. I had a great summary of John’s progress planned in my head. But……
Where is my Sunday Roast?
……….we were just patting ourselves on the back that nearly a month had elapsed since transplant and no nasty surprises when, of course, a nasty surprise came along today – and John is currently residing in the hospital again!! (What were those stats again? And our hope he’d be in the minority who didn’t succumb to something horrid?). Hopefully it won’t be too long, but he has picked up something which has spiked his temperature and made him feel unwell. Another Sunday without his Sunday Roast!!! (For those of you on Facebook, you will remember how disappointed he was to miss out on that a few weeks ago!).
‘Come on down’!!
Typically, he was hoping to hold out and not go to hospital, but we have been told, in no uncertain terms, not to wait but to get in touch with hospital immediately there is a sign of anything untoward. Fortunately, he was feeling too poorly to resist me today!! And, of course, as soon as the triage nurse heard the symptoms there was no hesitation in telling us, just like in a game show, to ‘come on down’.
A well-drilled team
Once again, the staff at Heartlands Hospital have been/are brilliant. We arrived at A&E, where they immediately set up the process to get John anti-biotic-ed, rehydrated, cooled down, blood tested, sampled, x-rayed and generally made more comfortable. All this, despite an overflowing A&E, much of it (it seemed to us anyway) full of very drunk and shouty people guarded by an army of police officers – but attended to by determined, professional, and caring medics.
Taking on The Hickman Line
Apart from this blip, John has been doing very well and his blood counts have been quite satisfactory. The only concern (other than the usual concerns with a transplant) has been the re-activation of CMV (see last update about this) because of the Hickman line which is still in place. John is due to have that removed on Tuesday in the Day Unit, so all being well that will still go ahead.
The Fairground Sideshow
The Hickman line (sounds like a railway line, or a song, doesn’t it?) does have other advantages though. It’s ‘easy and direct access’ to the delivery of drugs or the taking of samples. So it’ll be sad to see it go. Especially as, if a drip needs to be set up, or blood needs to be taken using the standard ‘stick a needle in your arm’, the poor doctors and nurses have the devil of a job with John:
a) trying to find a suitable vein (the veins hide); or, b) having found a suitable vein, trying to keep it going (the veins pretend to be nice and plump, but give up after a few seconds); and, c) keeping their patience as they search and rummage around one, or other, or both arms in all sorts of unlikely places.
Sometimes, a nurse will give up and pass him onto someone else to ‘have a go’!! Definitely a bit like a game show now – ‘Roll up! Roll up! Find the vein!! Great prizes to be had – cheers and laughter when you find one!!’
And d’you know what? It does sometimes seem like they’re trying to get blood from a stone! Much to John’s amused resignation.
Drips, antibiotics and monitoring
Anyway, at the moment, they have made him as comfortable as they can and are feeding him with drips and antibiotics to put him back in the right road. And we know he’s not neutropenic – which is a GOOD thing on the transplant scale of things.He has been moved up to the Assessment Medical Unit for the time being, and they will liaise with Ward 19 (the Haematology/Oncology ward) tomorrow to see what’s what.
Watch this space
So, for the moment, I won’t regale you with the fun stories of the last week (hats and maids outfits……say no more!), as it’s now very late (having just got home from the hospital) and I’m going to go to bed too, and hope/pray that the ‘John News’ is better in the morning and he’s thoroughly on the mend.
With love, Anne