waiting...

so now the wait begins...
i have been told that i can go home, hurrah!
however, i now have to wait for some medication to come from pharmacy. this can take some time...
last time i was in i was hanging around for several hours and ended up in the rather soulless 'discharge lounge'. fortunately no one seems to be in a hurry to get me off this ward, so it looks as if i will be able to 'enjoy' my lunch any minute now!

there has been some interesting developments over which antibiotics i should be taking, with calls to micro-biology. last night the dr on duty was about to put me on doxycycline, which i was on for a couple of days last week and which made me rather unwell. reading the small print i discovered that it shouldn't be given to people with lupus! apparently the whole thing would be a lot easier and the elbow would have cleared up weeks ago if i wasn't allergic to penicillin. all i can do is give what they take me, which seems rather defeatist, but i've seen so many drs here and they all say something slightly different that i think it will be easier to go back to my gp and just have one dr tell me what to do.

anyway i'll get back to waiting...

my room

i am currently occupying sideroom 8 on trauma 2. unlike sideroom 2 last year, this room has no ensuite facilities and the view is of a courtyard and the windows of the ward opposite. i always wonder if it would be considered polite to go and introduce yourself to the occupants of these wards, because if you can see them, they can see you! the reason why i've been given my own room is that i am considered infectious - as i came in with an infected elbow. it was because of this that i didn't get my bed until so late last night as the hospital had to play musical beds (with rooms being teamcleaned in between and only one team of cleaners!)
the antibiotic drip was started at about midnight last night and stopped again about two minutes later as the canula that had been put in at lunch time gave up the ghost. a clinical services facilitator was called to insert a new one and the drip resumed at 1am.
i then had a rather disturbed night as i had the drip removed at two, listened to th nurses talking about cross-stiching around half four and the ward beginning to wake up about 6. as this room is near the nurses station i get to hear a lot. and as this ward has pre and post op patients there are always bleeps and alarms. still having had my shower and got dressed, there isn't exactly loads left on the to do list for today.
the good news is that i have yet to meet a 12year old doctor, though the consultant can't be much older than me.

the drugs don't work

i'm getting very tired at the moment. i suppose you could say that the drugs aren't working - yet. although i've started on a new immunosuppressant it takes two to three months to fully work, which makes sense as that was how long it took for me to get really ill when i came off the last lot of immunosuppressants in december. also, in an attempt to build up tolerance, i started on a lower dose and increased it the other week.
combined with the drug taking, i am also rather busy. both at work and socially. last weekend was the royal cornwall show which matthew was heavily involved in and i went along for the friday afternoon and saturday. all great fun but also very tiring. the last two weeks i have also had some evening commtitments for work, which do make a very long day. although i take the time back, it isn't always immediate.
this tiredness has also led to a slight increase in the pleuritic pain that i am still experiencing and i struggle with hills and long flights of stairs. as was highlighted at a meeting on monday night where i parked at the bottom of the valley and had to walk up a flight of stairs to the house near the top. i arrived very breathless, much to the shock of the host! fortunately it didn't take too long to recover.
so all in all i am tired.
fortunately i'm off on holiday!! at long last, it seemed like ages ago that we booked the time off, but it is nearly upon us. we will be spending the first week in bath, and have booked some time at the new bath spa - i am so looking forward to it. only two days to go...

rare sighting of 'lesser spotted consultant'

i am happy to report that this elusive creature has finally been seen in sideroom 2! it was around 4.15 this afternoon and in his honour both the door and curtain were used.
it was a generally positive meeting and offers the very strong possibility that i could be home tomorrow!!!! i am to reduce my current steroid dose over 6 weeks and see him in outpatients in a couple of weeks. in the meantime the 14 year old dr has taken a blood sample that will be sent to Bristol, hopefully get the results in 2-3 weeks and somehow this will determine what future medication i can go on.
i notice that no-one has volunteered a time slot for this sighting in my latest sweep-stake, obviously the prize of a hospital meal was not a big enough incentive...
the next sweepstake could be either the time i leave or when the canula will be removed (it isn't currently needed, but is being kept in 'just in case'), though there is always the possibility that both will happen more or less simultaneously.

important update

i've seen a consultant!!!!
unfortunately it is the cardio one on whose ward i'm technically squatting (rheumatology never seem to have their own ward, their own outpatients dept but no ward). he apologised for the non appearance of dr davies, and has decreed that i no longer need a drip - i can go onto oral antibiotics. he also is prescribing me a mouthwash to sort out the ulcers and thrush that have taken up residence in my mouth over the last few days (a side affect of the levels of medicine that i've been on).
he then popped his head back in to tell me that i will go for a chest x-ray and see how my lungs are looking now, a sensible decision that agree with not only because it makes sense, but also it will also give me something else to look forward to today. he's nice man, if i ever need a heart doctor - he's my man.

i went to the shop to get a paper, no one seemed to mind or to notice. unfortunately the largest easter eggs stocked by the shop are creme eggs, matthew may not be getting an egg this year...

and hot off the press, as i type a man has come to look at my bedside light that hasn't work since i arrived in sideroom 2. he changed the bulb and it now works on dim, but i'll need a new switch in order to work it from the bed. he'll report it!!!!

good morning - day 6

morning from sideroom 2. it is wednesday 31st march, and the start of my 6th day in here...
am in a bit of pain this morning, maybe my painkiller free day yesterday was a bad idea, though i expect it will be like this for a while until i get onto a stable dose of medicine.
apparently the weather has turned and the day staff have all come in saying how cold it is outside, according to the bbc website there are blizzards 'upcountry' and for the first time ever during a hospital stay i was cold in the night.
it was a bit hard to get up this morning. had another drip at 6.30 and then breakfast in bed, which left me puzzling where i am, not a hotel, i'm not working but then again i can't really go anywhere and all there is to look forward to is a similar day to yesterday...

with regard to the canula sweepstake that started last night- it was done at 8.45, so my drip was through by 10!! it was put in by the junior dr who hangs around this ward who, to give him his due, has been keeping my spirits up. matthew and i refer to him as the14 year old! he could be a major heart surgeon of the future but for now he got a good size canula in first time, so i'm happy. charlotte - his beard is halfway between bumfluff and mature.
i've decided to start another sweepstake - this one on when the 'lesser spotted consultant' will arrive. the prize will be hospital meal, we will go for half hour time slots. please leave your bids in the comments.

claire it looks as if i'm still here, so would love to see you before/ after richard lander. any other visitors will be most welcome

goodnight

feeling a bit low tonight, might have something to do with just saying goodbye to matthew.
the night shift is starting, i was due another drip this eve but the canula is b******d, so the call has gone out for tonight's on-call 12 year old (sorry dr) to come + put in another one. maybe i'll start a sweepstake on his arrival time (it is a bloke, he was described as the one with beard).
unfortunately the rare 'lesser spotted consultant' did not put in an appearance today, nor did any of his team, so still no news about release dates.
otherwise i'll keep taking the medicine and hope for a good night's sleep tonight.

good morning

it's tuesday 30th and i'm still here...
a relatively quiet night, a drip @ 10.30 and another @ 6.30am. i am now up, showered and dressed. though have to admit to feeling a bit weaker this morning. probably as i am now no longer having intravenous steroid and have been given tablets today - 6 uncoated ones (they taste foul) and the tablets take a bit longer to kick in than a drip.
unfortunately i didn't get to see the consultant yesterday, so i'm crossing fingers and touching wood in the hope he comes today... and then i may have more news about a release date!
i ad some lovely visitors yesterday - so thank you for finding time and money for the carpark - is is appreciated.
today i will keep you updated and do a spot of reading and maybe a spot of snoozing.

hello from sideroom 2

goodmorning. it is monday 29th march and you find me in treliske hospial (officially royal cornwall hospital) where i was admitted last friday, showing signs of a severe chest infection and possibly a clot on the lung. fortunately no clot. but a nasty flare up of my lupus attacking the lining of my lungs (pleurisey) combined with a chest infection.
i have received large doses of intraveneous steriod + antibiotic. yesterday i was moved from the high dependency ward to a cardiac ward (lots of old men) and deep joy the outside world via the internet (limited).
i got onto facebook yesterday but was unable to status update so i thought i would create a blog and see if i can update facebook this way.

i would also like to point out that the keyboard is at the same height as my head (hard on the arms) and doesn't like it when i type too fast. so please forive lack of capitals and abbreviated sentences. thank you!