Day 34 – Another week !!!!!!!

Monday 12th October 2009

I should have been waking up with the excitement of going home sometime today. However because of my leaking wound, I was still stuck here. It was pointless dwelling on it though so just dismissed it.

Doctor Zara popped just after 7am as she wanted to see how my wound was doing. I asked about the redness which Sister Charlton had noticed yesterday. She replied it wasn’t anything to worry about. She could see that it was still leaking so said she would have a good look at it when the dressing was changed.
“I’ll then have to have a word with the ‘boss. Is that ok,’” she asked.
I must have looked a little puzzled.
“A lot of patients think we’re Gods and expect us to work miracles so get really nasty when things go wrong or we can’t give then an answer”.
“What’s the point of getting angry with you”, I replied, “it’s not your fault that my wound is still leaking. It’s Him upstairs, He’s ignoring me…”.
“I’m glad you can see the funny side of it”, she laughed, “I like coming to visit you as you’re no bother”.

Kermit came as normal, just after breakfast. He explained that following the washout last week, another couple of bugs had been found. He was going to have a chat with Andrew, the microbiologist, about changing my antibiotics.
He shrugged his shoulders, “These things happen. We’ll keep an eye on it for another week or so to see if things settle down. If not then I’m afraid it’ll be a bigger washout”.

There was one good thing with being stuck in hospital – I was losing my excess weight. It probably wasn’t the best way to diet but at least it was working.

Gemma, the OT, called and I asked if she had and information regarding stair lifts. She replied that social services make the referrals for getting them installed so would have a word with the social worker.

Doctor Zara had a look at my wound this afternoon. She said it wasn’t as bad as she first thought. The skin was nice and dry and that the oozing was just coming from one tiny area.

She explained that Andrew, the microbiologist, was growing some more bugs to see if they were the same as what they found in the washout. Then they would be able to assess if my antibiotics would be needed to be changed.

“Although things do appear to be bleak”, she said, trying to reassure me, “it really isn’t that bad”.

I was confined to bed/chair rest for the rest of the day and she would have another look at my wound tomorrow.

As Sarah and Natalie wheeled my bed back to the side room I asked if there were any long service awards for patients.
“Sadly no”, she replied….

Andrew and a female microbiologist colleague, called into see me after lunch.
“We found four bugs during the washout”, he explained, “two we already knew about so they were ok. However the other two were new to us”.
“Are they nasty”, I replied, “like Cdif”.
He shook his head, “No. What I would suggest though is you wash your hands before you eat anything as Cdif can be caused by antibiotics”.
“It’s just a precaution”, reassured his colleague.

I would now going to be put onto three different antibiotics tablets as the ‘orange wee’ ones wouldn’t kill off the bug which was causing the leaking.

Terraseeta, one of the lovely Filipino staff nurses, came to take some more blood. I explained I was hard to take blood from.
“I know”, she replied, “it’s now on your records that you’re a problem blood taker. Some nurses have now refused to take it from you”.
Charming !!!!!!!! It’s not like a have a hissy fit or pass out whenever it’s taken.
“You’ve got guts in trying to get some from me”, I said.
“I’ve got the knack”, she winked.
And she had….

The nice lady Chaplin visited the ward again that afternoon. She asked how I got on with my washout. I explained it was still leaking. She tried her hardest to put a good spin on it.

Nice try….