Rollercoaster

On the mend!

Did I say that I was glad to see the back of last week? Well, it turned out there was more to come. After coming home and having a good weekend where it felt like Abi was making a solid recovery, she started to go downhill on Tuesday. At first we thought maybe it was just because she was moving around a bit more, but I could see that this was a different pain. Instead of the pain around her wounds, Abi was getting a pain which was coming in waves and radiating out from her stomach across her whole torso. It started relatively benignly, but was clearly getting worse and so on Wednesday I phoned the doctor who attributed it to the normal aftermath of surgery. By Wednesday evening when it came on she was freezing and grimacing and no amount of Calpol was taking the edge of it. I'd been sleeping in with her since she came home - the pain was definitely worse in the middle of the night - and so we went to bed on Wednesday hoping it would ease. Abi woke at 1:30am (not unusual at the moment) and the pain just got worse and worse. By the time she'd had both Calpol and Ibuprofen and it was still incredibly painful I was beginning to get properly worried. Suddenly at about 4am her temp started to go up really quick and then she started to shake uncontrollably. At this point I got Glenn and we phoned 111, getting half way through the endless questions before giving up and phoning 999. I have never had to do that before and I hope I never have to do it again. The ambulance crew got to us pretty quickly, took her temp (39.9C), and immediately concluded we needed to be in hospital. The journey was horrible - they couldn't give her any gas and air in case it was a compacted bowel causing the problem, so she felt every bump in excruciating detail. At 5:30am we found ourselves back in A&E, this time being fast tracked to a surgical team.

The nurses tried to get some blood out of her but yet again she wasn't giving it up and after 2 people had tried and failed they brought in the big guns and used an ultrasound machine to locate a vein and get a canular in. Despite all that was going on Abi was fascinated and watched the whole thing closely. We then got taken back up to the day ward where we were settled into a private room until Abi's corona test results cleared us from the 'hot' side of the hospital onto the side. Her results came back to show she had massively increased infection markers in her blood. A radiologist then used the ultrasound again to see whether it was 'just' inflammation due to infection or whether there was excess fluid which could indicate an abscess.  The good news was that it appeared to be more inflammation than fluid and so the prognosis was to flood her with antibiotics to try and bring everything back under control. 

Poor Abi - the next 48 hours was a rollercoaster of spiking temperatures, intravenous drugs, multiple tests and lots of pain, followed by 24 hours of frustration where she felt better but wasn't allowed to leave because her test results didn't het show the improvement it needed to. I have spent more time sitting, holding her hand, talking, playing cards, watching funny videos on a tiny phone screen and just being together - more than we would do even on holiday. It's been a real pleasure. In between this I have also tried to hold the rest of life together - puppy, work, Glenn and Izzy, all of Abi's many animals... it's been a bit overwhelming at times. 

The good news is that today she was released and it's clear she is feeling much, much better. The hospital have sent her home with belt and braces amount of antibiotics - hopefully this time it will crack any residual infection. It has been a real eye opener to see the impact of infection on the body - just how ill it can make you in such a short space of time.

In amongst this chaos and emotion I can truly say I am so very proud of both my children. Abi has been brilliant throughout, never complaining and always seeing the funny side of things. She has been polite to all the nurses, even when they are stabbing her with a needle or waking her up at 4am to take her temp yet again, and has never cracked and felt sorry for herself. We have laughed so much at the indignity of hospital - you can't even have a wee without having to hand it to someone afterwards to weigh! Izzy has also been amazing. She has accepted that for the last 10 days all of our attention has been on Abi and she has just got on with things. She has not complained about me hardly being here and has been like a rock - offering quiet cuddles when I most needed it. My children may not be academic powerhouses, sports or music scholars, but they have an inner strength and a resilience that will serve them well in the future. They have been gracious, uncomplaining and not whinged once (unlike many of the kids we met on the ward of the same age). They are a credit. 

This evening has been quite special. We played cards, ate tea together and are now sitting in front of the fire, with both dogs (Betty snoring of course) watching TV. It's only when you have a shock that the simple pleasures like this reinforce how lucky we are. I know the kids will be arguing again in no time, and normal life will come crashing back in, but for now I will pause and be very grateful we are all under one roof again. 

Escaping for home