Retroexposure

Nurse's Notes; Back In Hospital

Wednesday 4th March 2009
Visited Susan this afternoon, IV Chemotherapy has now stopped and Susan now takes oral chemotherapy. These are making Susan feel nauseous with vomiting on occasion, also now has diarrhoea, mouth becoming sore. Now on medication (oral) form, will contact GP to visit Susan this week to offer support

Monday 9th March 2009
Susan has been seen by Dr Wells today, who has readmitted Susan to Oncology, due to low blood pressure and generally becoming unwell due to chemotherapy.

Thursday 12th March 2009

Mum is back in Hospital. She was re-admitted on Monday, with similar symptoms to what landed her in hospital back in January. Her blood pressure is through the floor and her kidney functions are through the roof. I've been saying that exact sentence so many times over the last few days that it's almost an automatic, parrot-like, response. When Mum went in, she wasn't designated a ward, so she had to be put in the day ward. It was gone 6pm, so the day ward had 'closed'. Shortly after, another couple joined us. The wife was the patient. She was very perky, just complained a little about her "solid legs". She needed to have some tests, which unfortunately wouldn't be done till the next day. When I left Mum, she hadn't been designated a ward. We, well I, were hoping that she'd get a bed on the Oncology West ward again, but it seemed clear that Oncology East was the more likely ward that she'd be going to.
The next day, Tuesday, I visited Mum, and found, that yes, she was on East. Damn! I'm not knocking East, far from it. All the staff there are brilliant no matter what ward you're on. But, as there are only two oncology wards, I was hoping for the familiarity choice, where all the staff knew who Mum was from back in January. Anyway when Mum needed a commode for issues that I don't need to describe in detail to you, the result worried the nurses in way where it was decided that Mum would need to be in a side room, to "prevent possibility of infection." Later on, I noticed on the nurses' patients' board that Mum was to go to a 'W' side room. Excellent! I was getting my wish! Isn't this odd? It was me who was complaining about where Mum went; she wasn't bothered at all! Her only complaint was that she was in an old-fashioned hospital bed and not those new electrical ones (she is now, she got one last night!).
When I was leaving, I bumped into the husband of the wife that Mum and I saw on the night they (Mum and the wife) were both brought in. He told me that when he left his wife the night before, she seemed ok, in good spirits and all that. However, at 4am, he got a phone call to come in straight away as she had taken a bad turn. And since then she'd been unconscious. The husband told me that his wife had been battling cancer for three and a half years, and he'd been told that it was only a matter of days. To think that a person's health can turn on a dime like that? That thought's been lingering in my head ever since. When I left Mum, after visiting last night, I popped by the wife's bed. She was still clinging on. The husband was keeping his all day vigil, and at this point, I think their children had joined him. When I go and see Mum today, I'll check in on husband and wife too. I just pray that I don't get a 4am phone call. What worries me is that I'll sleep through it!