Four days after finishing Chemo Round One I found myself in hospital.
I was feeling a bit rougher than normal at the beginning of the week but I am used to feeling rough so paid no attention to it. I thought it was a dose of the blues after watching a lifeless Springbok semi-final defeat, but when I started passing blood I realised it wasn't a sport related malady.
After calling an ambulance and being picked up by a paramedic duo called Ben and Jerry I was admitted to St. Georges on Tuesday and given IV antibiotics. I have a bad Urinary Tract Infection so had to spend a couple of days in hospital. I am such a frequent flyer that I knew at least three of the nurses and doctors so they kept me entertained. The Emergency Room is used for a TV programme called '24 hours in A & E' and is busier than any train station I have ever been to.
The worst part of it all is that there was no internet access or phone signal. So apart from getting IV three times a day, I was also forced into a digital detox with no internet and email. That was brutal. I feel very detached from the world when I can't get online. At least it forces me to write the blog when I have been incommunicado for a couple of days.
I also learnt a valuable life lesson. Junior doctors all need to go on more training when it comes to taking blood and inserting canulas. The first doctor who treated me tried four times to insert a canula into my hand without sucess. I always maintain a very stoic attitude to pain, but considering my hands are the only part of my body that actually work this was a bit much. I was relieved when I spotted a specialist nurse I knew walking past. I asked her do it instead and 30 seconds later it was sorted.
They lost my initial urine sample so they aren't totally sure exactly what specific infection I have. Needless to say after a couple of litres of IV antibiotics, the infection isn't identifiable anymore. When I was speaking to the consultant, some guy came up and told us they couldn't isolate the infection from a later urine test. The consulant and I both started laughing as I had taken enough anti-biotics to cure a herd of cattle.
So I stayed on the acurte ward until last night. I convinced them to release me early and we literally bolted for the exit. The staff are always amazing and try really hard, but I can't manage my own drugs when I'm an in-patient and need an air mattress and to be turned at night because of my skin, and these things invariably never happen as planned. So, being at home is actually safer once I have the antibiotics I need. So I have pretty strong meds for the next week or so and feel like I have overcome a hurdle for the next couple of days. Plus, the amount of money we were spending at the Marks & Spencer food shop at St. Georges was becoming a bit ridiculous so we needed to get out of there.
Jay and I finally made it out to the car from the ward at about 8pm last night and were parked in by an ambulance for an hour which seemed like an ignominious exit after negotiating an early release. My sister-in-law Gaylee has come to visit from Spain, after spending the year working on a yacht on the Mediterranean, so it is great to have her here entertaining us, feeding us and keeping my wife on her toes. It is a pity she has tonsilitis which hasn't been fun for her. They have gone shopping on Oxford Street on a Friday evening which requires a level of committment and rash conviction I don't possess.Hopefully the rugby final between the Aussies and Kiwis will be an exciting competitive match. For me, as a Springbok fan, I feel like I've won tickets to see Kings of Leon but they've been replaced by Chumbawamba at the last minute.
I'll watch it, but only just. Lots of love, Bruce
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