The 10th & 11th; Much of a muchness.
The 10th of March. The next several days are going to be much of a muchness, I think. I saw no doctors until this afternoon, so all morning I sat, waiting for them to appear, but for naught. Still, I had quite a pleasant time; I listened to Jimmy Carr's Desert Island Discs and he chose I Will Follow You Into The Dark as the one song he would take which was correct. The rest of my time, I had Victoria Derbyshire/the news/Daily Politics on while I crocheted. I am very happy that I am able to do it again, now I can bend my left arm without jabbing the cannula needle into my tissue. I am developing some delightful bruises across my arm, it's very attractive.
Mommy came with coffee and lunch, and I was very happy for caffeine because I had none yesterday and I had a bad sleep because people kept doing things to wake me up. I think there should be some sort of rule that if I have not opened my curtains or buzzed you to open them then leave me the fuck alone in the morning. Bah.
The doctor who has been wanting my blood all week came to see me this afternoon while my bed was being changed (she does have a name, it is Maria, and she did get some blood once I had the line) and she had some results from my tests. Bronchoscopy hadn't grown anything specific yet but there is definitely infection, although she started by saying "There are no malignancies, no cancer" and I just thought WELL GOOD like I was not aware we were even looking for that but great news, thanks. My CRP has come down to 85 from 164 on Saturday, but it should really be less than 5, so I have a way to go. But the infection is responding to the antibiotics, so now we just have to keep going until it goes away. She asked about bringing down my oxygen, and I tried to explain how it feels when I take it off, but everyone seems unconvinced when I tell them while I am wearing the oxygen. She suggested I try taking off the oxygen for a little while then having my sats measured, just so they can see what they are. There was a period this afternoon while I was just sitting crocheting, no great exertion, so I took the oxygen off for 45 minutes, so my sats would definitely be only measuring the oxygen levels in my blood when I was breathing just normal air, no extra oxygen to prop them up. We got a nurse to come and check them, and they were 86%. 94% is probably the lowest that doctors would deem acceptable, so when the nurse went to report back what mine were, I was told to put the oxygen back on and to not try this again. I felt pretty triumphant because even though I was not breathing brilliantly, I was right and that was most important. When I breathe, I can't get all the air out before I need to take the next breath in, unlike a normal person, so when I exert myself, it gets worse, which is part of why I get breathless so easily. At the moment, without oxygen, it feels like I am slightly exerted all the time, and if I don't control myself, I might start to hyperventilate.
Anyway. We have been watching some Crufts which is such fun. So glad I did not get tickets because I would be so annoyed that I couldn't go because I'm poorly. Definitely going to be here until at least Monday, probably escape towards the end of next week if my CRP continues going down at the same rate.
The 11th of March.
So, same again. Except no doctors at all today.
I had a late night, partly because I didn't get my meropenem until just after half past eleven, and because there was a man calling out for a nurse for ages, and not using his buzzer like a courteous wardmate. Eventually, I closed my curtains and hoped he would eventually stop. Shortly after, I heard a loud crash, and the emergency buzzer. It emerged that there was something actually wrong with the loud man, and he wasn't going to be making any more noise that night. He didn't die or anything, but he was not well. Still, somebody probably would have attended to him earlier had he used his buzzer. If you seem to have the energy to call out without any real sense of urgency for a long time, it sounds like you're not that ill. Well, in my opinion. I did feel a bit bad for being irritated but I am sure he is fine. That is what I'm telling myself anyway.
This morning I managed to get the staff to pretty much leave me alone after my first set of obs, so I didn't keep getting woken up. I set my alarm for 9 so it's not like I'm having enormous lie-ins but I need a lot of sleep, especially now when I am poorly. Being woken up for breakfast at half past seven when I have my own and will eat it when I choose to is not going to help me get better. When I did get up, I listened to Radio 4 and just sat and crocheted all morning. My friends Vicky and Laura were going to come visit, but Vicky had a migraine so we have rescheduled, and I texted Mommy to ask her to come in earlier, as she was going to come at 4 instead of lunchtime as usual. Becky was going to come with her, so we let her know the change of plan and she was having lunch with her parents in the Jewellery Quarter so got dropped off after that, and they actually arrived within minutes of each other. She has been on a residential with school this week, so I told her about the exciting/upsetting events of the past few days, and she then told us all the stories of her week. As a pupil on a residential, you cannot imagine the amount of responsibility and pressure on the shoulders of the teachers looking after you. I don't think people realise that as a teacher on a trip, there is not really any time that is a holiday because you are stressed about the kids in your care for the entire time. I could not do it.
We had a great time watching things out of my window today - I have a very good view of the helipad, the car park of the old hospital, and all the floors of the middle third of the hospital, so we can watch everything that's going on. The helicopter came down today (as it does most days to be honest) and I noticed for the first time all the people in the other wards looking out of their windows. It felt like we were a little community. Later on, just as Becky was about to leave, there was drama with what appeared to be a drunk man and three security guards, who would not let him into the car park. He was eventually taken into A&E, where I assume he had come from, and we saw no more.
Mommy left a little earlier than usual, and I am going to spend my evening watching Crufts, then Room is on Channel 4 at 9 and I never got to the end of the book, so I thought I may as well watch it while I am here and have the time!
