The Hospital Diaries Day 4 & 5 – Thursday/Friday

So apologies for not having caught you all up yesterday but it’s not been a great couple of days and I’m sure you understand. The pain and nausea/vomiting have become pretty relentless and even the medication isn’t relieving my symptoms to the point of comfortable at the moment for the most part.

Update

So far there have been no more tests except blood tests. It looks like this weekend I will be having a barium scan to check for motility through the bowel and any possible kinks and narrowings that the CT may have not picked up. There’s a chance I may need some stomach biopsies done next week, but they are trying to follow the least invasive routes first which I appreciate. I’m not going to go into what if’s and possibilities as they don’t do any good, so will just let you know if something comes up and I’m ready to share. I hope you appreciate that at the moment!

Cannula Count – 4

Another one bites the dust! Luckily nothing terrible happened to it this time but as it had been in since Monday evening, I needed a fresh one. New one is in the back of my right forearm and seems to be holding up well so that’s good!

Food Diary

I’ve been asked to stick to low residue, runny foods so basically on a diet of soup, custard, yoghurt, jelly and ice-cream. Sounds heavenly, and it is, for a few hours! Eating is very painful, even getting a cup of tea down kills my stomach but I’m also so bloody hungry!

They do have me on pretty much constant IV fluids now to keep my hydration up. Stanley seems to be waking up slowly but it’s difficult to know whether it’s just because I haven’t eaten properly or not. Am measuring input/output so we will see how he goes over the weekend.

Room Change

The dreaded announcement – we need to move you to a bay came Friday afternoon. Luckily my mum was visiting which helped so she could keep me sane. I’m not adverse to sharing (depending on who with I suppose lol) but with a stoma and measuring output etc, it can be very intimidating and embarrassing to share a bathroom. It’s pretty quiet in here though and the nurses did find me a fan as I’m not near the window!

Keeping Busy

I’ve bought a puzzle book and a Take A Break magazine (which I used to sometimes help my Grandma do, happy memories) and have my cross stitch, notepad and books. I’m currently reading the new C. L. Taylor thriller I was kindly sent to review and (spoiler alert) – it’s great! Cross stitch has been good to concentrate on as it really helps take my mind off the pain and nausea. I’m thinking of sharing some of my designs soon so keep your eye out on my social media channels as pictures will probably go up on those first!

Today I’ve had my mum and brother Adam to visit. Ste is back in Halifax now so we have chatted on the phone. It’s hard and I miss him being so far away but it’s just one of those things we have to deal with!

I also have a couple of pieces of good news to share here with you. I’ve been featured in this month’s Ileostomy Association magazine talking about the Salts Healthcare Confidence BE bags which have been a game changer for my ostomy care routine. I will also be doing my first speech at an IA event at the end of the month. There is a full day of activities and talks planned for Saturday 30th March in Birmingham and anyone interested in joining us, it would be lovely to have you! The event is ticketed and costs £10 which includes refreshments and lunch. Please feel free to ask any questions or comments and I will endeavour to let you know or find out the answer if you are interested in coming. Be so good to see lots of you there!

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Going to leave this on a positive note which is good, will catch up very soon!