Long Absence
My hospital adventures
March 24, 2019So things haven't been great since I got back from the UK. The last week that I was there I was starting to have problems with eating - namely feeling very sick when I tried. This only continued to get worse when we got home. I went to a GP who was unhelpful (eventually telling me it was psychological) even as I got weaker and weaker.
When I could no longer get out of bed Anthony had had enough and took me on an emergency visit to a different GP. She did a couple of tests and immediately sent me to Emerald hospital where I was diagnosed with complete renal (kidney) failure. That same night I was airlifted to Rockhampton hospital where I spent 6 weeks getting them functional again. Anthony drove to Rocky and stayed by my side the entire time.
Some of the tests showed my cancer was active again so once I was well enough (sort of - I was running a constant high temp the last few weeks) I was airlifted again (thank you RFDS!) to the Royal Brisbane where I remained until a couple of weeks ago. After lots more tests I was started on chemo - a new and tougher type than I've had before. Managing the side effects is an ongoing process, even now. Again Anthony was with me every step of the way which I was deeply grateful for.
After a couple of chemo cycles they let me out of the hospital periodically to stay with Anthony in a unit nearby supplied by the Leukaemia Foundation, which was simple and nice. Whether I was in or out of hospital depended on whether I caught an infection or not in the week every cycle that I had no immune system left. Eventually I was out more than in and even more eventually I was allowed to head home. Anthony drove me back over 2 days. Our friends, Di and Phil, had been looking after the house and made sure the sheets were clean and the house was tidy for us, which was absolutely wonderful of them.
I still have to have reviews and some treatment in Rocky ("day" trips every fortnight) while I rebuild strength. The goal is a bone marrow transplant in Brisbane in May which will have me back down there for 3-6 months (depending on how many complications I get).