The A&E dash

I was going to write about my Chemo Brain - its worse than 'baby brain'!  But then last night I was taken ill, and have spent all morning today at A&E so thought I'd tell you about this little adventure first!
I have no idea whether I picked up a tummy bug or got food poisoning from eating a rotiserie chicken (not very wise on my part, but oh SO tempting!), but at about 2 a.m this morning I was woken with a start, made a quick dash to the loo and was violently 'ill' from both ends - sorry too much info I know.  But this is the front line people!    As today is my 12th day since my 3rd dose of chemo, I am on neutropenia alert.  My Fast Pass (which rushes us chemo patients through the A&E waiting room) states you must attend A&E if you have diarrohea.  Or if you have a fever, which I did.   Before we rushed off up the hospital, I did phone the Helpline number and an Oncologist rang me back.  He said to take my anti-sickness medicine and see how I went.   So I did that and wasn't sick again, but then my temperature spiked up to 37.9c.  In these situations its really hard to know what to do for the best.  If you go to A&E you know you can expect to be there, waiting, for the best part of 4 hours, they might even admit you in which case you are there for 3 days or more, and no one wants that do they!! But if you stay home, hoping to ride it out, it's quite scary, as you don't really know how your immune system is coping with whatever you've got and in the middle of the night, I have on a few occasions been too scared to sleep in case I don't wake up!   So really, if I have any of the symptoms mentioned on my Fast Pass I know that doing the right thing and getting to A&E a.s.a.p has to be done - it's just such a pain in the arse!!  I am very lucky to have some fabulous friends locally to me, who I know will help with looking after the kids when me and DH make a mad dash for the hospital.  This is such a relief.   Good friends and family (of course) are worth their weight in gold.   Without wishing anything bad to happen to my nearest and dearest, I hope to one day, be able to repay the love and support I have received from them.

One last thing - I think Nurses are amazing!!! There was this male nurse at A&E who was just so cheerful, courteous and GOOD at his job, that I couldn't fail to be in awe of him.   When you think of what he has to deal with on a daily basis, it's amazing that he can maintain such a positive, happy attitude.  It must be a very rewarding job, not in monetary terms of course, but rewarding to the soul.   I came away thinking maybe I should retrain to become a nurse, but truth is, I definitely don't have the stomach for it!!

My adventures in A&E

Well life took a rather dramatic turn yesterday! Monday night I had a really bad headache, was a good girl and took my temp before taking some paracetomol, went to bed and felt ok. Then Tuesday after the school run I had a headache again and started to feel cold and shivery. When I commenced my chemo they gave me a special "fast pass" which I should use at A&E if I was feeling unwell. So I rang my hospital where I'm having the chemo and they told me to go to A&E without delay and use my Fast Pass. Sounds like something you get at Disney World. Well this has been rollercoaster ride, without the fun!!
I rushed through A&E which made me feel important but had to wait a while. It's the first time I've been. It's another world. Doctors and nurses, porters and ambulance men all rushing about, busy busy. You HAVE to ring your bell to get their attention! They put a canular in my arm and took my blood, rushed it off for testing. They were looking to see if I was Neutropenic, which I realise now, I am. This means my neutrophil count is zero, as is my White blood cell count - meaning my body has no way to fight infection. This is a result of the chemo dose I had 13 days ago now. Apparently the Oncologist might be able to change my dose a bit to avoid this happening again. In the meantime I am stuck here! For 3 days. Possibly more I have just been told!!
I have spent the night in A&E. Luckily (every cloud...) cos of my condition and have shut away in a side room to minimise the risk of further infection. This is far more preferable to being 'out there'. Out there is constant noise, machines beeping, nurses talking, patients moaning and groaning. One poor person keeps having fits and makes a scary moaning sound throughout. Another lady of 95 was calling out yesterday, constantly "pleease help me!". The nurses were helping her but there is little they could do to calm her down it seemed.
At 4am today another lady was screaming "don't go, don't go" over and over. A&E is a scary place! I do feel somewhat protected though behind my door. I've even got an en-suite shower room!! Apparently, when a side room becomes available on a ward, they will move me. So, to help me get better they are giving me intravenous anti-biotics and an injection to raise my blood count.
Being told you are neutropenic is really rather scary. I'll let you google it. But I'm in the right place and the drugs appear to be helping - my temp is not as high now (39 when I was admitted).
I'm still not sure if I actually have an infection. They are going to investigate the wound where I had my lumpectomy. So watch this space for more news as I've done this blog with the mobile app. I seriously would be lost without my iPhone!!!
I attach some pics of the culinary delights they have here :)