I’ve
been back in hospital this week. I had an appointment with my doctor,
who sent me for a platelet transfusion. (Platelets make your blood clot.) I came home, and straight away
had the shivers and shakes, then a temperature of 39. So back to
hospital I went. Five hours in emergency later, I was back home on the
ward, where I stayed for two nights on IV antibiotics. Before my
transfusion my platelet count was 8. After being admitted my platelet
count was 7. Normal range is 150-400. When I left hospital my platelet
count was 29. Still critically low. When I was admitted my wcc was low.
When I was discharged it was critically high at 43. Normal range is
4-11. So, in short, my bloods are crazy. My wcc was high because I don’t
take my Leukaemia medication when I’m in hospital. Sometimes I’m glad
to take a break from it, but obviously, I can take a break for too long.
When I started back on it after chemo this time, I had a severe pain in
my neck and shoulders, like whiplash. I couldn’t turn my head. I
couldn’t sit or stand without pain. I spent a few days just lying down,
and crying when I tried to sit up to eat. I’m very relieved that hasn’t
happened when restarting it again this week - I’m taking a lower dose.
And
here’s why I’m relieved. Because I need to clean my house. The contrast
between being in hospital and being home is too stark. I can’t come
home from chemo, or from the transplant, to such a mess. So, that’s the
plan for this week. Catch up on all the forms and payments that are the
start of the year business, and clean up the house. I’d be embarrassed
to die and leave the house like this. I have a week or so to fix it before going back in.
1 comment:
This post brings back some strange and unsettling memories for me. I well remember returning to Darwin for a visit during my chemotherapy treatment. I arrived from the airport at around midnight to find the house in a state of total dishevelment – there was even a strange smell. Russ had been coping with life as a single dad, focusing on keeping the boys’ lives and activities as normal as possible as well as trying to give them plenty of support and opportunities for fun. He was also having to do all the household management stuff and cope with the brand new, very demanding senior management job that we’d moved to Darwin for. The poor guy had simply had to triage, and cleaning/clearing up hadn’t made the cut. While I understood the reasons for it, I was shocked at how profoundly it upset me to find my home in such a state. Under some kind of compulsion, I put down my bags and stayed up until about 2am cleaning up – only going to bed when I felt things were ‘ok’ again. I hope your nest is now sorted to your satisfaction, that you have lots of good listening and reading on hand for your next admission and that the next stage goes very smoothly. Liz xo
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