PICC line infection

Yesterday was uneventful up until the evening, so I did not post an entry here. However, it all changed and I wound up having an interesting evening.

At about 6pm I noticed that the PICC line entry site looked a bit yukky - not nice and clean as it normally does (it is covered by a see-through gel dressing). I rang the haematology help line at UCH, and they asked my to get  doctor to look at it, and call them back. I contacted my local out-of-hours service, and got an appointment for 7:30pm. The doctor confirmed it was pus that had discharged, and he spoke with the on-call haematology registrar at UCH. They told me that I had to come to UCH right away, have the PICC line removed, and give blood samples and swabs from the site and the PICC tip. It is now about 8pm.

Rather than go all the way to UCH, I asked if my local A&E department could do what is necessary, and the UCH team agreed. This was great because I was already at the hospital (it is where the out-of-hours service is located). I was given the name of the nurse who would perform the PICC removal (it is a simple procedure), and I went across to A&E. Even though there were quite a few people waiting, I was ushered through right away/ And even though the nurse confessed she had never done it before, she seemed very competent and indeed it all went smoothly. I got home before 10pm; it would have been a much later night if I had gone to UCH. I have been given a course of antibiotics to take for 7 days.

I hope that they will insert a new PICC line prior to the transplant treatment which begins in two weeks time. It is dependent on whether the infection clears up I guess, which it should do. Luckily I do not have any other symptoms of a serious infection - I hope it was just the entry site that was affected. Time will tell I guess.

All quiet at home

Not much to report today. The nausea is still bothering me, but I hope that it will eventually diminish. I am managing to maintain my weight at about 84kg.

Whilst at home in this quiet time, I may miss some blog posts because I have nothing to report.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Nausea returns

Today my nausea seems to have returned, despite my taking three different anti-nausea drugs. It is annoying because it makes life a lot harder when you have to force yourself to eat, rather than enjoying your food. I have had a couple of small glasses of wine with dinner last night though, which is some compensation!

This morning we had small walk to the postbox, and I felt fine - the blood transfusion has certainly done the trick. This afternoon Val rang for a chat, but otherwise we have just been watching the golf.

More blood

We got up bright and early to get to Ambicare for 9am. They took a sample to cross-match and rang the blood bank to say it was urgent. The blood arrived just after 11, an it then took 4 more hours to transfuse it (2 hours per unit).

Whilst there, we did a crossword; it took most of the time to do! It was nice to have Rose with me and I very much appreciated the company.

Now we are back home, watching the golf. Later, just like the other countless millions around the world, we will watch Barcelona play United.

I hope that the blood will make life more comfortable for me.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Blood

As I have written previously, I am struggling even to go upstairs, and I guessed it was because my red cell count was low. Today, the district nurse came to change the dressing of my PICC line, and to take some blood. The nurse said she would not have time to get the blood analyzed today, so Rose and I dropped the blood samples at my local hospital at about 12.

I just spoke to UCH and they had the results; my haemoglobin is only 7.6! I feel it when it is below 8.5, so this is confirmation of the cause for my tiredness. So, tomorrow (Saturday) we will go to Ambicare, and I will get a transfusion of a couple of units of blood. It will be rather a slow day (it takes a few hours to get the blood, and then 2 hours for each bag to go in), but this will hopefully solve the issue.

I am managing to maintain my weight (in fact I put on 0.2kg), which is essential. The more I weigh before the transplant the stronger I will be after it.

This morning Chris rang for a chat, which was most welcome. I spent the rest of the day watching the golf (BMW PGA at Wentworth).

A slow day

Today has been a slow day. I could have gone shopping with Rose but I felt too weak for it, so I stayed at home. I finished my book (I am reading/rereading the Foundation books by Asimov; 6 down, 1 to go). Aside from that I am feeling OK, struggling to gain weight as ever.

Yesterday, my brother Harry had his medical for the transplant. It was quite thorough by the sound of it. He had a chest xray, ECG and they took 16 samples of blood! The full results will be available in a few days, and my fingers are crossed. I will take this opportunity to thank Harry again for being a donor - he is a real life saver!

My next contact with the transplant team is on 2nd June (a week from now) when I meet the consultant in charge.

Quizes and puzzles

I am quite weak, I think my haemoglobin is low, because I get dizzy when I stand up, and get tired very rapidly. However, my tooth socket continues to heal nicely, so I am very glad that I had the tooth extracted. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Also, the haemorrhoid is calming down, so it is really just the anaemia that is preventing me from completely enjoying myself. I am finding it hard to maintain my weight again; must try harder!

When Ray came to visit he brought me a whole load of quiz and puzzle books, and it is fun to try them together with Rose, especially the "riddle" type. Some of the mathematical puzzles are really difficult - you need to remember school maths!

We are having home-made pizza for dinner, one of Rose's specialities!