Forward: The day had finally arrived. I had grown very attached to the amazing staff on ward 726 but after 13 days in a room by myself, I was ready to go home and be with my beautiful family. I had missed them terribly. When they last saw me I was broken and now I was fixed! I was nervous with anticipation and excitement but fate had one last hurdle in store.
Day +11 [Friday]
The day of reckoning had finally arrived. I was up early and was in a slightly odd mood – I didn’t want to get too hopeful (you never know what is going to happen) but I was excited to see Kerry and James nonetheless. A doctor came to me at about 7am to take bloods for the final check. It was already a stiflingly hot day (the hottest day of the year-to-date, by all accounts) and the staff were already struggling behind their PPE. After breakfast the Prof and his entourage appeared at my door and he immediately exclaimed “what are you still doing here!”. He then said that, despite getting my bloods done early there had been no update, but was still happy for me to be discharged. I was to call Kerry and ask her to be here at about mid-day. That way she would miss the morning Birmingham M6/M5 crush and we could be away before the queues started on the M6 Northbound at about 2pm. The Prof thought of everything. I made the call and started to get my bag ready excitedly.
No sooner had the team wished me well, thanked me for not pushing them to let me home before I was ready (patients do that a lot apparently) and for being a very patient patient, the surgeon reappeared at my door. There was a problem with my bloods. My potassium level was indicated at a staggering 6.8 mmol/L. This is a kind of level that would see the average Joe admitted to A&E immediately due to the imminent risk of heart attack. My heart felt fine, but it sank immediately. He was understandably concerned and was accompanied by a nurse and an ECG machine. They asked me to lie down and wired me up. Sure enough, there were the tell-tale signs of potassium overload on the readout. It was a faint rumble, but it was there nonetheless.
The surgeon then decided to try a different test: and Arterial Blood Gas test. This would allow him to get some immediate results from a special machine located in the ICU. This came back as 5.4 mmol/L, a much safer level. The nurses tended to lean towards the standard blood tests for accuracy, but the surgeon explained that he wrote his PhD on these machines and was convinced of their accuracy. They ran it again with newly extracted arterial bloods and this time it came back at 5.2 mmol/L – the level reducing over time, as expected. I had been lying on the bed in a cold sweat for about 2 hours and Kerry was due to leave Stoke at any moment. The Prof paid me another visit. I was, apparently “keen to stay” he joked, but “I’m afraid we are committed to sending you home”.
They decided that, despite the bloods being taken early, they had been left hanging around the lab in 30+ degree heat (hence no update at 9am). In these circumstances the cell structure of the blood degrades and potassium that is usually locked within the cells leaks out. This contaminates the sample from the inside and gives unusually high readings. By ‘normal’ standards 5.2 mmol/L is still high, but for me, it was considered safe.
They decided to take another conventional blood test and send it to the lab with a threat of physical violence if they didn’t process it immediately. They would then furnish me with some potassium binder medications and call me if I needed to take it. These were the 4th blood tests of the day. By now my arms were bruised and the veins bulging, so they took the sample from my foot. They then bid me farewell once more and said they hoped “never to see me again” (in the nicest possible way). I insisted on handshakes which forced them to queue up at the sink to wash their hands. After 2 weeks of jokes at my expense, this amused me greatly! It was now 11:30 and Staff were starting to pop in to say goodbye – we had grown quiet attached – and I gave Zofia a hug. She had looked after me more than any other nurse on the ward and had been an absolute superstar. I was very sorry to say goodbye.
The drugs team then delivered my take home medications – a carrier bag full of boxes – and Jay the ward manager visited me to wish me well. I took this opportunity to thank her for the tight ship she ran. Throughout my 13-day stay I didn’t have a single criticism of the staff on ward 726. It was clearly a stimulating and friendly environment to work in and they clearly enjoyed their work. This shone through. The staff were consistently kind, caring, supportive and attentive. I had encountered literally hundreds of faces throughout my stay and each and every one met me with a smile and a gentle approach to my care. And then my phone rang – Kerry and James were in the waiting area at the front of the hospital. I asked a male nurse to carry my bags for me – I was still very weak – and he escorted me to the waiting area. I had been fixed and I was finally going home… it all felt very surreal.
After the journey home and the excitement of seeing my family again I was physically exhausted. I did little else but slouch on the sofa and count my lucky stars once again. On Day -1 I had left the house in such a hurry and been thrust into a surreal and bizarre situation with no warning – my head was all over the place. Over the coming hours and days people started asking me about my experience and I was having trouble putting it into words. I was very emotional and getting things mixed up… I then resolved to write this blog. It is now two weeks to the day since I was discharged and I have made great progress. There will be more posts to come in the coming days and weeks so don’t go anywhere…
Thank you all for all your kind comments and for joining me on this journey. It has been immensely useful for me and I have been told by many of you that you have found it interesting, moving and entertaining. Of that I am immensely proud.
Without you I really would not be the person I am today.
Catch you very soon. D x
#R24TRC 