well if the pink was a radical experiment in tie dye involving khaki green, pucey yellow and mucky orange.
I left the Royal on Wednesday and said to B that I felt better than I had in weeks, however after pottering about doing a couple of things I was a little tired and then my Auntie Ann and Chris phoned to see how I was doing and I was a lot tired so I went to bed about 22:30 after taking my new 10mg dose of Revlimid.
I awoke on Thursday morning to find my temperature was 38.9 – doh! However after I’d dragged myself out of bed, had a milky coffee made by B and come to I didn’t feel too bad at all. So in order to have a creative space I thought I finish the three and a half Myeloma Buddies I’d knit on Wednesday (more proof of feeling better). I got one finished and then about 11:00 I literally keeled over on the settee for a little snooze. It was 14:45 before I got off the settee again – prompted by B’s alarm going off but no sign of him getting up, the fact I could take some more paracetamol and the thought that Bud had had his legs crossed for long enough.
(And that’s where I got to last night when I was feeling a bit better but then B brought me a meat and potato pie, about 22:00, and I just ate the filling and then rushed upstairs as I was sure it was going to come back. However I realised that standing over the toilet bowl makes it almost compulsory to be sick so I ended up sitting on the settee for the next half hour with one of Bud’s poop scoop bags!)
So back to Thursday I awoke to find the remote control had dropped off the arm of the chair onto the floor and would need me to get off the settee to get it. It stayed where it was and I endured one and a half episodes of ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’ (like a cross between Jerry Springer and Maury), and something I would normally walk on hot coals to avoid watching.
B asked if he should get someone to come round on Thursday night, but Chris was already coming over as she hadn’t been able to visit me in the Royal due to a cold. So Chris stayed until 23:00 when I could take some more paracetamol and I then went straight to bed.
Friday I awoke to a temp of 38.8. We were due at the hospital anyway to have blood tests (which is one of the reasons I didn’t ring in on Thursday. Blood was taken and I mentioned by my temp had been high (but I didn’t give specifics). When the health care assistant took it it was 37.9 (38.0 is the deal breaker) so after consultation with one of the nurses she came back and said that one of the doctors would see me. And then when she asked for more details of the temps and I said 38.9 and 38.8 I got a look that said I should know better than to try and keep that to myself.
We saw the young doc (who I was very impressed with) and after checking my chest, heart rate, stomach and we had a temp discussion, he asked what I’d like to do and I surprisingly said ‘Go home!’
Doc: ‘The only thing that worries me is that…’
Me: ‘it’s the weekend.’
Doc: ‘Yes.’
So we had a discussion as to how bad I felt on Thursday but that I did feel somewhat better on Friday – I’d even forced myself to do some knitting because I thought if he asks the nurses how I seem and I’d not been knitting I could end up in a hospital bed. The doc went to have a word with a senior colleague about oral antibiotics and I have to admit, it took quite a while – I don’t mind waiting but B gets a bit antsy but even I started thinking ‘Oh no, they must be looking for a bed.’
Needless to say we made it out with well wishes from the doc for an uneventful weekend, some co-amoxiclav, a can of natural lemonade and a bag of Frazzles. (Look I know they are about as natural as Pamela Anderson’s chest but for some reason when I’m off food I can always get a bag of them down, preferably with a glass of milk.) After we got home I had a little nap and then B had to literally drag me off the settee for a shower before bed.
Yesterday morning my temp was about 39.2 when I got out of bed at what turned out to be 07:45 as the phone rang and I had no idea what time it was but it was still dark and of course a phone call then needs to be checked out. Anyone like to guess who it was? How did you know – the m-i-l! So I took some paracetamol and then went back to bed and then really unusually for me stayed there until 11:20, as mentioned before, normally I still have to get up and lie on the settee ‘watching’ something on the TV and not missing out on anything.
I basically slumped on the settee for the rest of the day with a cool bath around 20:00 as my temp went up to 39.7.
However today, things seem to have take a turn for the better. When I woke up my temp was 39.0, I nearly had a hissy fit as I couldn’t get Bud’s tin of tuna open and it was all too, too much – back of hand to forehead dramatic gesture – (the current tin opener is my nemesis – I think it gets confusing because even though I’m right handed I do a lot of stuff with my left), then he didn’t eat one of his antibiotics so I encouraged him and when that didn’t work I bent over to point to the tablet more directly and had a coughing fit which left me gasping for air. This frightened not only me but Bud who when I suggested he might like to give it another go backed out of the kitchen doorway wagging anxiously.
I decided that what I REALLY needed was a glass of hot water with lemon and honey, so I made myself one and took it through to the lounge with a glass of water (as I’d decided that what I also needed was to keep my kidleys flushed – it’s not that I’d not been drinking but rather than the usual glass full at a time I’d seemed to be having tiny sips all day long). As I attempted to settle on the settee, trying to keep Bud far enough away for me to get comfy first, I knocked the glass of water/lemon over – the whole glass! I felt so tired by this point that I just sat and looked at it for about 20 minutes. Bud however wanted out so I sent him upstairs to B and then he wanted back in but the only way back was through a lemon pond (as I let him leave over the arm of the chair which is strictly verboten) so he got sent back upstairs again. Fortunately B took Bud’s unusual behaviour as a sign that something was up and I was literally popping the first pieces of kitchen roll on the floor when B appeared and took over – and I let him. Apparently he woke up hearing me say ‘I’ll get a taxi home’ but didn’t know where I’d been or if I’d had a good time. He’s currently having a little kip to catch up with lost sleep.
And now for the good news – my temp taken three times within the last hour (just in case the thermometer was overworked and was giving out duff readings) was 37.3! And once more, just for the hell of it, 37.3! The French door is open mind and I have no socks on, whilst B is taking his nap in a jumper. But he doesn’t mind as apparently the high temperatures have been worrying him. I do still feel a bit tired but generally a lot better.
I go back to the Royal tomorrow (it should have been Tuesday but because of temp spikes/unwellness it was brought forward to Monday) for full blood counts, liver/kidney function and possibly a once over by a doctor.
And because I like ending on a high I’m typing this last bit on top of some shelving. Just kidding!
Now I know we’re not all knitters but I would be grateful if those of us who are could point me in the direction of a banana cosy knitting/crochet pattern if you’ve ever come across one. WHAT? Don’t be rude – seriously you can knit cosies to keep your apples clean and apparently you can also knit them for bananas. But I want a nice one – one of the ones I found was like a loosely knitted mesh bag with a draw string top made by someone with the knitting skill of a three year old and looking a whole lot of ambiguous regarding usage!
