Lockdown 3; Day 62

 I have been debating in my mindover the weekend to decide where this blog will go once/if we get out of lockdown...

My life is hardly exciting - the main entertainment today has been trying to work out why one cat is addicted to sleeping on the (closed) toilet or when it is in use trying to get behind it. Cat Psych is beyond me right now so I may just leave her to it!

Another bright idea (at 4.19 am ) is to look back over my CKD journey... and I think that may be where I am going to start and then just let it all evolve from there! My journey basically started in 2008 when I was sent home from work with what I thought was just an upset stomach. My loving team had told me I looked bloody awful and I had to stop on the A20 to be sick. Really not a nice trip home and once I got home I burled up on a sofa and stuck to liquids only! I pretty much stayed there for the rest of the week, and on Saturday I was feeling slightly better. I washed my hair and had what I thought was an asthma attack. I was not able to yell to Andy and eventually struggled downstairs. His reaction was to call NHS Direct...Apparently my lips had turned blue and I was still unable to really speak! The call handler made the decision to send an ambulance who arrived in a flash! they did the usual obs but couldn't find a reason why I could hardly breath! So I was loaded into the ambulance and taken the A&E where I spent most of the time asking if I could go home yet! They had their usual fun trying to extract blood and got the results very quickly...I was in no rush as I was having another asthma attack and was trying to get someone to put me back on the nebuliser which seemed to help! I was also quickly put onto an insulin pump as my blood sugars were extremely high and I think I was also on fluids...it is all a bit of a blur - these days I would definitely call it a brain fog!

I was still trying to get the staff to release me, but a lovely nurse called Francisco explained that I had a massive infection somewhere and they were trying to find out where so I was probably going to be in for 4 or 5 days...After a quick x-ray where they had a panic about the shadow on my lung I was moved to CDU and stuck in a corner as the staff did not want to accept a septic patient! I was not impressed at that comment and basically started sulking and still was even when my parents arrived! Thankfully my sister collected a pile of reading material so I didn't go out of my mind with boredom! Unluckily the ward was mixed and the man in the bed next to me snored. I didn't sleep at all the 1st night and exhausted most of the magazines. When Andy arrived on the Sunday I was totally shattered and probably not making much sense! I think he had a word with the staff and they said they would try to find me a side room if I wasn't moved. Once a gaggle of drs had finished trying to extract yet more blood from veins that had shut down I was moved to a ward - I have no clue which one - but it was all women so a good chance I would get some sleep! I have no idea how long I was there before I was sent for a CT scan and Kidney stones were discovered. Shortly after the scan results came through I was told I was being moved to Canterbury as I was an urgent case and would be operated on the following morning. My only reaction was 'Has anyone told my Husband I'm going??' The reply was 'No, do you want us to?'

I pointed out that he would not be happy if he turned up and I had vanished so he was sent a message and arrived in time to follow my ambulance to Canterbury. I was quite happy, sat in the back moaning I couldn't see out o f the window! But I was cold so ended up with all the blankets on board piled on and around me! Once we got into the hospital I was whizzed to Urology where the consultant was waiting to go through what was going to happen and to consent me for surgery. It is likely that I was in no fit state to consent to anything  as I have no memories at all after that point. Andy left me to get some sleep and I think he took most of my jewellery home with him - not that I wear much most days! Apparently he was there the following morning but I have zero recall of anything! At some point my Mum joined him and kept him company. But by lunchtime they were a little concerned that they had heard nothing at all; on asking the staff they were told I was not in ITU and in a coma. I am 100% sure |I was not told that this was part of any plan for that morning and nobody has ever told me what happened to leave me in this state. All I do know is that I was too ill to remove the stones so a stent had been fitted to help the kidney drain and whilst in my coma I was pumped full of antibiotics to fight the sepsis.