WARNING! Contains descriptions of medical procedures & pics of my manky arm & minging hospital food, plus it's loooong!
Hey everyone- yes I know, long time no see!
Now buckle up buttercup, this is long one (maybe grab a drink & a snack too). Soooo where was I? Ah yes that's it.
In my last post around this time last year I had just got a date for my surgery (nowt serious, just some "lady stuff") & I was making big plans for when I was up & about again. I had been so looking forward to being back to "normal" so imagine my disappointment when, by the Autumn, my life was about to take a drastic turn!
The surgery I had in July actually went fine with no issues, but sadly, didn't solve my problems as first hoped. Couple that with the fact that, unbeknown to me, my immune system was at an all time low letting all manner of bugs invade my system like aliens in a very low budget sci-fi movie...
What I didn't realise at the time, was that my kidneys were starting to suffer again (or more likely I did & was in denial..) & all my many symptoms were a warning sign...
Ok, lets fast forward a bit..
By the end of October I was very poorly- weak, always sleeping & absolutely zero appetite so I had lost a ton of weight again (see previous blog post!). As a result I ended up at Royal Stoke hospital very late on a Friday night- I'd had a blood test that afternoon then a late night call from the out of hours service basically telling me to get my butt to hospital ASAP! I was in kidney failure...& very, very scared..
The week that followed was eventful to say the least- IV antibiotics (severe UTI) & fluids (dehydration) & two sessions of dialysis. Not the most fun I've had but I was on a journey to feeling better & just going along with the ride- I felt so exhausted.
Next on the agenda was something called "Nephrostomies" that were going to be fitted the following day. These would keep my kidneys draining & hopefully allow them to recover.
I wasn't keen on the sound of them but I was still feeling rough so they could have done pretty much anything at this point & I wouldn't argue.
On 29th October, I was wheeled down to "Interventional Radiology" (no I hadn't heard of it either!) to have these nephrostomy thingies done. I won't lie, it wasn't pleasant but the team dealing with me were lovely, kind & patient. They even invited me to watch what was happening on the mahoosive screen above me- I politely declined because I'm not a weirdo. Afterwards I was assured that I had been very brave, however there was no sticker or lollipop which was disappointing..
I was wheeled back up to the ward-those porters don't hang about do they? I kept turning round expecting to see Lando Norris! I was very happy to see that Mr W was waiting for me. This day also happened to be our wedding anniversary (see happy pic). Not very romantic but he did get me a beautiful card- all I could give him was a quick look at these shiny new tubes hanging out of my back!
Because, dear reader, that is basically what they are- a tube into each kidney attached to a little bag either side of me. While in hospital I kept forgetting what they were called & referred to them as my "holsters"- well, it made the nurses laugh!
The rest of the week was just keeping me under observation- blood pressure hourly & daily blood tests, which was super fun due to me having rubbish veins.
Fun Fact! I bruise like a manky old peach that's been in a tumble dryer-see photo for reference- & that was just one arm!
One thing I have to talk about...the food..oh god, the food...
It wasn't all bad but I had to be VERY selective.
Soups- fine. Jacket spuds- pretty good. Pasta dishes- decent.
The worst? It's a toss up between the fish cakes- like hockey pucks & the "roast" beef. The only way to describe it is, imagine a very thin layer sliced from the sole of a shoe, heated up & smothered in, what I was led to believe, gravy....yeah, I know. I just closed my eyes & thought of England, that & the amazing carvery & our local pub!
I'd been in for about a week on the urology ward when at about 10pm one night I was informed that they were moving me down to the Renal unit. It made sense I suppose but I wish it hadn't been so late, I was just nodding off! Anyway, the nurse packed all my stuff up for me & off I went with all my wordly goods piled on my bed like some weird, mobile jumble sale! Again, we were hurtling along at breakneck speed, I was sure I could hear the commentary "& here comes Sarah Winkle leading the pack as she takes the first chicane!"
Finally we reached the renal unit- I felt like we'd come to the arse end of nowhere! The sweetner was that I had my own room (with en-suite too!) which was actually quite nice & I did sleep quite well (when they eventually left me alone!)
A few days later it was decided that I could go home- woohoo!! My kidney function had improved- not by much but it was going in the right direction- & there wasn't much else they could do for me in hospital at this point. Plus they more than likely needed the bed.
I was feeling a lot more human & my appetite was coming back so I was excited for some home cooked food!
So, I was finally coming home. I wasn't quite out of the woods though & there was a way to go yet but I knew I was lucky to still be here to tell you all the tale..
Next week- Mrs Winkle Navigates her "New normal!"