A trip to A&E

My silence has been for a reason.

 

On Friday, after our cleaner had been & we’d “accidently” met friends at a café/pub at separate tables but within talking distances, we came home. I noticed it seemed cold so we put the heating on early & went for a lie down. An hour later I woke up, shaking like a leaf & feeling frozen despite the quilt on top of me & being curled around the Fox. We decided I ought to check my temperature, just under 38, far too high.

 

I duly rang the emergency oncology line. After some discussion of symptoms, they thought I should go straight to A&E. They would ring A&E & let them know I was on my way. If I got any worse the Fox was to pull to one side & demand an ambulance.

 

We arrived at the hospital just after 6pm. I was taken through. The Fox was left in the waiting area because of Covid restrictions. I was examined, bloods drawn, chest X-ray taken, an ECG done etc. They inserted a cannula & dripped a strong form of paracetamol to lower my temperature, by now over 38, dripped in a strong antibiotic on the basis I was obviously fighting something off even if they couldn’t decide what, & then fluids just in case it was sepsis. Eventually, around 11pm, they decided I had to stay the night. I asked them to let the Fox know. He was still waiting anxiously, thinking by now I was on my last legs. I hastily got within sight of the doors so I could reassure him I was alright, still alive & kicking.

 

So along to the ward I went. More tests were done. More blood pressures & temperatures taken. Eventually at 2am a doctor came round & told me all the bloods had come back okay. There was no signs of infection, not even Covid-19. They had no idea what had caused the problem. They suspect it was either a reaction to Wednesday’s chemo or I was fighting off something like a cold. Either way they wanted to monitor me through the night & then hopefully I could go home in the morning.

 

It was a relief when in the morning they said that my temperature was still a bit high but not worrying so. The Fox could come & collect me.

 

As we parked in the drive at home a magpie squawked from the house roof at me, as if to say “She’s back! There’ll be some food now”. It was as though he’d been on sentinel duty, looking out for me on behalf of all our garden birds.

 

Needless to say when I felt some chest pains & palpitations this morning, the last thing I did was dial 999 as the handbook said. I didn’t feel it was serious & I couldn’t go through all that again. Sure enough, I now feel myself, even if  I’ve lost my taste buds & appetite somewhere along the line.