Stem Cell Transplant Journal Day 16 – 16 December 2015 (Cancer and Me 57)

17th December 2015 0 By Andy Burrows

I didn’t sleep well really. The pain in my gut and my headache started to come back half way through the night, once the codeine and paracetamol had worn off. It’s probably the most painful nights I’ve had, and I felt quite sorry for myself in the morning.

6am every morning is blood tests (taken from my Hickman line) and obs. Today I was also given the next dose of antiobiotics. And the nurse also had the idea of giving me soluble paracetamol instead of pills. That actually worked very well, and really helped to dampen the pain in my gut as well as dull the headache. It at least allowed me to feel human enough to go and have a shower and get dressed for the day.

And as the day progressed I felt much better (maintained by soluble paracetamol). I certainly had a smile on my face and was able to sit chatting with Heidi when she came for the afternoon and evening. Heidi marvelled with the nurse about this, but apparently it is still possible for me to go downhill again. I’m grateful however long it lasts. Thank you to those who have been praying for me.

I had a chest x-ray in the morning – one of those tests to isolate where the infection is/was. It was a treat to see the outside of my room, as I was pushed in a wheelchair through the busy hospital corridors to the x-ray theatre. Of course, I was wearing a mask to prevent breathing in germs, which made me look a little strange.

White cells are showing a flicker – 0.1 today. Neutrophils are still 0.0. The latter has to be above either 0.5 or 1.0 (depending on who you ask!) before I can go home.

The less good news is that it was adjudged that I have not been peeing enough! In other words, I hadn’t drunk enough in the previous day, and I need to keep things washing through my system. I try hard, but swallowing is difficult, and I genuinely thought I’d drunk enough. Perhaps I actually sweated more than I thought when I had a temperature? Or maybe I should have just drunk more when they said. Anyway, the upshot is that I have been connected to the drip again for constant fluid intake, and I will be on it overnight.