Thursday 3 May 2012

The hospital - my second home

I have to start by saying its been so long since I have been on here!  I have been so busy - mainly involving hospitals - that I have been very slack, so I am going to attempt to update this to the present.

My Bro spent about three weeks in hospital and finally had the 2nd operation on his on his ankle on my DS2 birthday.  They insert a plate and about 6 or so screws into the bone in his lower leg and ankle.  They are going to stay in there for the short term, and possibly permanently. He has been attending physio and even had accupunture (which he highly recommends) and working his bum off to get rehabilitated so he can get back to work.  He hurt his other foot about 8 years ago and he tells me that he isn't going to limp anymore, he is going to strut!

I can't believe my baby is 2!  His birthday was back in Feburary and we have been working with the speech therapist and physio therapist to advance his skills.  His speech has taken off in leaps and bounds.  He can say his brothers name and most of the families - but point blank refuses to say my sister's name.  I think he realises how much she wants him to and he thinks its funny to keep her hanging!  His current obsessions are big trucks, big diggers (he says big dig which sounds rather like dick :o)), buses, mixers and motorbikes and absolutely loves going out in the car. He even sleeps with his trucks or a handful of matchbox cars, which I can't imagine is comfortable in the slightest but it makes him happy! He is able to ask for food and drink now, although the foods he will are still very limited - toast, cereal, chips, biscuits, tuna & vege in a tube, yoghurt, fruit in a tube etc.  His physio is helping get his co-ordination sorted, I think is biggest problem now is the fact that he won't do anything slowly, he runs everywhere.  He is still half covered in bruises - mainly on his legs now which I guess is better than his head.  He does still have the occasional one on his head though, he does have a habit of headbutting the tiles when his is frustrated.  He was 91 cms at 2 years so I reckon he is going to be at least 6ft and tower over his Mumma!

DP father had also been in hospital, for almost two months!  So I was going up there almost every night to sit with him after I got the boys to bed.  Hospital is such a depressing place and I can't imagine being stuck in there for as long as he had been in there.  He is much better, although he is still recovering at home with the community nurse coming to see him twice a day. I hope that this inspires him to retire - he is 72 and I want him to realise that work is not everything and he should spend some time enjoying himself.  This has meant that DP has been much more busy, trying to help his mum and dad plus running the business.

On the 19th April, I went to work, I got tummy ache mid-morning and didn't have any lunch.  Around 3.30-4, I was struck by the most intense pain just below my ribs I have ever felt before in my life!!  I called to my boss who was in his office, he came out and just looked at me and asked if he should call an ambulance.  I was rather resistant, so he got the first aid officer who called an ambulance straight away (my first ever ride). I told them it felt like I had gall stones, but I couldn't have that because I had my gall baldder removed about 11 years ago.  I asked my boss to call my Mum because DP was at a golf day that day, and I wanted her to pick the boys up for me.  I also asked for someone to call my Dad, he works in the same Dept as me and in the building across the road.  I had to wait a while for the ambulance but when they arrived I got a green whistle and then they chucked in a canula and hit me up with some morphine - some relief!!  They took me to the hospital where I was left in a corridor for an hour or so before I got a bed.  They gave me morphine whenever the pain started to get out of control again.  They wanted blood but couldn't get any from the canula they had in, so they had to insert another one.  They took a urine test.  They did a chest xray.  The doctor finally saw me at 2 am!  They couldn't find out what was going on and at about 5 am they decided to send me home as my pain wasn't so bad (morphine=good) and took my canulas out.  I got up and started to get dressed and began to vomit and so they decided to put a bag of fluids into me before I left so in went canula number 3!  I had a piece of toast and was sent home.
DP arrange for his Mum to stay with me for the day, to help me with the boys, thank god!  I must have slept 3/4 of the day.  Then around 4 o'clock again the pain began to become so intense again that I couldn't get comfortable sit, lying or standing and began pacing around.  My Dad came over and I asked him to take me to the doctors, the doctor said he thought I had a stomach ulcer/s and gave me some medication and I would be feeling better in no time.  All I felt was like throwing up.  About 5.30, I asked DP to call the ambulance again.  They came, I had another green whistle, another canula in and some wonderful morphine. My sister came with me, DP stayed home with the boys.  I was delivered to the hospital where I lay on stretcher in the corridor for four hours - the first two weren't so bad, with the whistle and morphine but after they wore off I was in unholy hell!  My sister called with my Dad to do a swap and my poor father had listen to me moaning and screaming for two hours.  I was finally admitted and got some endone, which made me throw up again.  More blood tests and that revealed that my liver enzymes where off the wall! So I was taken up to the ward immediately.  As it turns out I had what was believed to be a common bile duct stone, a chest infection and a urinary tract infection.  So I had to have an ERCP to remove the offending blockage which was moved up from Monday to Sunday as it looked like I was developing Pancreatitis from the blockage and was a beautiful shade of yellow from the jaundice.  I am waiting to go back to outpatients clinic for further tests, hope that happens sooner rather than later!  The upside of getting sick is I have quit smoking - two weeks today!

DS1 is growing fast, and you have to watch what you say around him. He can repeat verbatim something you say to him even if its a couple of weeks later.  So I have to think before I speak. He is a very sensitvely little man.  He recently asked if he could learn to do ballet, which I am looking into.  He just wants hang around with the girls. He also wants to learn to play tennis!  So look out world! 

C U Soon