Tuesday 21 June 2011

Please Mister Postman Look And See If There's A Letter In Your Bag For Me

ARRRGGGHHHH!

Bloody Royal Mail! When I left the hospital I was packed off with, what I was assured, was a month's worth of everything I'd need to sort my pump and line out. When I got home I discovered that the most essential piece of kit, the line that feeds the drug from the pump into my catheter was in short supply, ie only four packs. Fortunately Healthcare At Home rang yesterday to do a supply check and arrange a delivery. I informed them that I would be using my last line today (Tuesday) and desperately needed more. She said she would make sure I got a delivery of the line today (Tuesday) and the rest of the supplies would follow on Friday. The things I needed desperately would be sent via Royal Mail special delivery with a guaranteed next day service. Did it turn up? Of course not! I decided to wait until after lunch as sometimes we get parcels arriving early afternoon but when nothing had arrived by two I decided to call Healthcare. They were brilliant and are sending some lines out by motorcycle courier and should be with me within two hours. Healthcare are sending a weeks worth so I will always have a week spare in case of problems such as damage or splitting, or of course further delivery problems. The moral of this story is DON'T TRUST ROYAL MAIL, especially if the delivery is important.Fortunately my Friday delivery will be by Healthcare's own courier service so should go without a hitch.

Trip to the Warfarin clinic today and my first trip out with my pump. I was able to hide the pump and wires pretty effectively and it looked as though I just had a small bag slung across my body. In the clinic the eagle eyed nurse spotted the thin tube leading from the bag to me. However her questions made me think that she wasn't really interested and had her mind firmly elsewhere.
'Oh what's that?'
'It's an iv pump to deliver drugs straight into my bloodstream.'
'Is that for your Warfarin then?'
'Err...no.'
'So how long have you got to wear that then?'
'For life.'
'Aww, so six months then.'
Classic!

After being given six months to live I decided I needed some fruit so Tesco's it was. I rejected the offer of a wheelchair and decided, as we were not getting much, to try getting around under my own steam. The walk was painfully slow and with frequent stops but I made it to the fruit section and the cream section and came away with strawberries, peaches, grapes and a large pot of cream. Peter did all the carrying or I'd never have made it but it was a small step back to normality. Once home I lay one the bed and slept for a couple of hours then staggered downstairs for some strawberries and cream in front of the tennis.

Tomorrow I'm back at the Brompton for a check up and to have my dose increased. At the moment I'm on 10 and my target it 15 - 20 micrograms per kilo body weight per hour. Glad I don't have to do the calculation I can tell you. I am not anticipating any problems as I haven't had any so far but I confess to feeling a little bit excited as any increase should mean a further improvement in my health. My only wish is that I didn't have to go back to the ward so soon, I don't really feel 'back home' properly yet so going back to hospital, even just for a few hours is depressing. However I want to get better so it has got to be done.

I will be able to drive again next week as my wound has now fully healed. It is a bit of a pain that my line site is just where my seatbelt comes when driving. I wear a cotton pad over the entry site so hopefully this will provide enough cushioning. If not I'm going to have to get a pad of some sort to make things more comfortable.

Early to bed tonight as I've got an early start tomorrow, I have to be there by ten but it will be worth it if i can make it to the biscuit aisle next week.


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