The Unexpected Weekend Getaways
I think it is pretty fair to say this cancer 'journey' throws in a few curve balls, some you may be aware of, whilst others fly straight at you from out of the park! One of these ever so glorious surprise curve balls that hit you *bang* in your face is the somewhat frequent trips to your local A&E.
Having chemotherapy treatment wreaks havoc with your body and the way it should work which means you have to keep a sharp eye out for anything that isn't normal. Anything from a temperature above 37.5C or below 36C, shivering/chills or shortness of breath means an immediate hop, skip & jump into your car to your nearest A&E. Your body is at high risk of infection when going through chemo and it won't always show the normal telltale signs other than a temperature or chills. Should your body have an infection or neutropenic sepsis, you need to be administered antibiotics intravenously within an hour so that means, the minute you have one of the aforementioned symptoms you need to get your bald ass to the hospital.
Once you arrive at A&E you get to use one of your 'cancer perks.' I like to call mine my fast track card, only it doesn't get me on the rides at Thorpe Park quickly, it lets me cut the que at A&E and not have a 4 hour wait! Once you get through the doors it is all systems go (hopefully). I have about a 50/50 ratio of how successful this part of the adventure goes. If you are not so lucky, you sit on the bed for about an hour before anyone even comes over to see you, your anxiety kicks in as you know the risks of not receiving the drugs if you are neutropenic, you start to fuss and panic and bark at everyone until finally someone comes and takes your bloods, pops a cannula in and then buggers off again for about 2 hours until finally a doctor comes over and says you're fine but we are going to plug you into some liquids for 4 hours. If you are lucky, the doctors on site know how quickly this needs to take place and you have bloods, results and either liquids or antibiotics all done within an hour! These docs are the real heros!!! Along with bloods and antibiotics, each time I go in I have an ECG & chest xray just to ensure everything is doing what it is meant to!
I have had my fair share of A&E trips, some have been relatively quick (4 hours ish), some I have been there till 2 am and then released and about 3 times I have had to check in to Hotel Hospital. Hotel Hospital doesn't have the best reviews online nor does it's room service have much option but if you aren't well it is the only place you want to be... maybe. On one of my weekend getaway stays at Hotel Hospital I was very happily & luckily put in a room by myself as having chemo means you are super susceptible to catching everyone's germs. However my smile swiftly turned upside down when the nurse came in with a commode and told me the toilets were shared and too risky for me to use so I would have to essentially sh*t in the chair in my room and ask a nurse to collect it. Now please excuse my rather frank earlier sentence but that is exactly what was in my mind. There wasn't a chance in hell that was happening so I devised a plan. Whenever I needed the loo I rolled up my trousers, put on a plastic pair of flip flops, face masked myself, slid on some medical gloves and took a heap of anti-bac wipes in the toilet. I proceeded to wipe everything down, layer the loo in rolls of loo paper, hovered..... and then dismantled myself again and practically showered in anti-bac gel. Yes it was slightly inconvenient when desperate for the loo but effective!
Sometimes your trips to A&E can be scary. I know I have had a couple of trips where I haven't been well at all. Going in with a high temperature and feeling sick with shivers, I was quickly seen to and given medication to make me better. I didn't react well to the medication and needed emergency assistance, different meds, oxygen, the works. At the time it is very scary but always remember if you are in hospital, you are in the best place to be looked after.
*Touching wood* when I have had to stay in the hospital it has been for general infections and not neutropenic sepsis. Neutropenic sepsis is a life threatening complication of chemo and you do not want this!! Other than the infections, I have been in and out in a day. It is common with the chemotherapy I am having (ABVD) to get temperature spikes, this means you rush to A&E, get hooked up and tested for hours, only to either be hopefully sent home 6 hours after arriving or you get to stay at Hotel Hospital for monitoring, even though there is no infection.
Top Tips of what to take to A&E
Having chemotherapy treatment wreaks havoc with your body and the way it should work which means you have to keep a sharp eye out for anything that isn't normal. Anything from a temperature above 37.5C or below 36C, shivering/chills or shortness of breath means an immediate hop, skip & jump into your car to your nearest A&E. Your body is at high risk of infection when going through chemo and it won't always show the normal telltale signs other than a temperature or chills. Should your body have an infection or neutropenic sepsis, you need to be administered antibiotics intravenously within an hour so that means, the minute you have one of the aforementioned symptoms you need to get your bald ass to the hospital.
Once you arrive at A&E you get to use one of your 'cancer perks.' I like to call mine my fast track card, only it doesn't get me on the rides at Thorpe Park quickly, it lets me cut the que at A&E and not have a 4 hour wait! Once you get through the doors it is all systems go (hopefully). I have about a 50/50 ratio of how successful this part of the adventure goes. If you are not so lucky, you sit on the bed for about an hour before anyone even comes over to see you, your anxiety kicks in as you know the risks of not receiving the drugs if you are neutropenic, you start to fuss and panic and bark at everyone until finally someone comes and takes your bloods, pops a cannula in and then buggers off again for about 2 hours until finally a doctor comes over and says you're fine but we are going to plug you into some liquids for 4 hours. If you are lucky, the doctors on site know how quickly this needs to take place and you have bloods, results and either liquids or antibiotics all done within an hour! These docs are the real heros!!! Along with bloods and antibiotics, each time I go in I have an ECG & chest xray just to ensure everything is doing what it is meant to!
I have had my fair share of A&E trips, some have been relatively quick (4 hours ish), some I have been there till 2 am and then released and about 3 times I have had to check in to Hotel Hospital. Hotel Hospital doesn't have the best reviews online nor does it's room service have much option but if you aren't well it is the only place you want to be... maybe. On one of my weekend getaway stays at Hotel Hospital I was very happily & luckily put in a room by myself as having chemo means you are super susceptible to catching everyone's germs. However my smile swiftly turned upside down when the nurse came in with a commode and told me the toilets were shared and too risky for me to use so I would have to essentially sh*t in the chair in my room and ask a nurse to collect it. Now please excuse my rather frank earlier sentence but that is exactly what was in my mind. There wasn't a chance in hell that was happening so I devised a plan. Whenever I needed the loo I rolled up my trousers, put on a plastic pair of flip flops, face masked myself, slid on some medical gloves and took a heap of anti-bac wipes in the toilet. I proceeded to wipe everything down, layer the loo in rolls of loo paper, hovered..... and then dismantled myself again and practically showered in anti-bac gel. Yes it was slightly inconvenient when desperate for the loo but effective!
Sometimes your trips to A&E can be scary. I know I have had a couple of trips where I haven't been well at all. Going in with a high temperature and feeling sick with shivers, I was quickly seen to and given medication to make me better. I didn't react well to the medication and needed emergency assistance, different meds, oxygen, the works. At the time it is very scary but always remember if you are in hospital, you are in the best place to be looked after.
*Touching wood* when I have had to stay in the hospital it has been for general infections and not neutropenic sepsis. Neutropenic sepsis is a life threatening complication of chemo and you do not want this!! Other than the infections, I have been in and out in a day. It is common with the chemotherapy I am having (ABVD) to get temperature spikes, this means you rush to A&E, get hooked up and tested for hours, only to either be hopefully sent home 6 hours after arriving or you get to stay at Hotel Hospital for monitoring, even though there is no infection.
Top Tips of what to take to A&E
- Wear a face mask - there are a lot of germs in that joint which you want to avoid. Bring spares.
- Activities - phone, charger, ipad, book, colouring, origami.... whatever floats your boat. You are going to be there a while!
- Clothes - just in case you are going to be kept in take a pair of jammies, knickers, socks and a t-shirt.
- Toiletries - travel toothbrush, moisturiser, wet wipes, any necessities really
- SNACKS & a bottle of water
- Beanie - mostly if you are an egghead like me :)
- Depending on where you are coming from, bring all of your friends!!
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