What a week.
For those of you keeping up with my facebook and twitter feeds, you'll know that Eva was taken in to hospital late Saturday night. She'd been feeling ill for a few days and was putting on her best face as her school time friend Cheryl was down for a night on the razz. Eventually though, she decided to let Cheryl tear the town up herself and stay in bed.
Not long after Cheryl had left, Eva decided that it was time to phone the Doctors on call. Having had Pneumonia a few years ago, she was familiar with the symptoms. The Doctors soon called back and asked us to head to the hospital as quick as week could.
After half of forever in the waiting room, the doctor who saw us seemed to think that it was either a viral form or Meningitis or Menigism. After some poking and prodding, we were moved (Eva, Stuey and I) to a ward full of elderly ladies in CDU. One lady in particular was quite the loony and seemed to insist on getting out of bed to look for her husband, despite it being about midnight and her not wearing much at all.
The poking and prodding continued as they took blood and recording her temperature and pulse rate and a few other things that I didn't quite understand. About 1am they decided that they wouldn't do anything else that night and that Stuey and I should go home. I didn't want to leave Eva, but I'd been convinced that a good night's sleep would do her the world of good.
I arrived back at the hospital early Sunday morning to find that she'd been moved into a private little room away from the crazy lady - who btw in the night had gotten up again and gone for a walk, only to be found on the floor of the syke ward with her head cracked open. So Eva was now in this little private room, but the good night's sleep I'd been promised she'd have never came. The poking and prodding had continued through the night and had included a 6am lumber puncture and bullying by a certain nurse (she was overly rough with injections and mocked Eva when she hurt her, then laughed about it with the nurses out side her room, she also bent back the little thing in her hand that the drip fed into - this is still blistered and bruised today). Being photosensitive and having to have her eyes closed the whole time she never saw which nurse it was, but Eva is certain that if she hears her voice again there will be trouble.
The Sunday was spend with doctors and nurses running in and out every few minutes taking blood and swabs and making notes of her blood pressure, temperature and pulse. She was being fed painkiller and her antibiotics came through a drip. By now she had a wet flannel over her eyes to bring her temperature down and block out the light - something the nurse in the night had refused her. The doctors and nurses we saw that day were brilliant. All very kind and helpful and made us lots of hot drinks, although I drunk most of them.
We were told in the morning that Eva was to have another lumber puncture during the day. Something that she'd had twice before now (one a few years ago and again at 6am) So after a long wait to be taken up stairs for that the porter finally arrived to take us. I was allowed into theatre with Eva to try and keep her calm. She was not looking forward to having the lumber puncture done in the slightest and was very frightened. Once up there, she was anaesthetised and the deed was done.
On our way back down we were visited my Dad and Maggie. Maggie greeted Eva who replied "Asswhhhooogie".
Naturally Maggie was stunned and asked her to repeat it.
"I'maswoooogiejue" she said.
"Pardon?" said Maggie.
"I'm on the woozy juice."
At the end of Sunday, the big wig Doctor swanned in from his day's golfing with the results of all the test to tell us that Eva didn't have any real illness at all and that it was probably only a virus and that she'd get better in a few days. The staff that had actually treated her looked at the Doctor like he was a moron but valued their jobs too much to say so.
So before we knew it, we were shipped out of CDU and over to the arse end of the hospital for some rest. I say rest in the broadest possible terms as the room was beside the air con for the entire hospital. The entire time we were in that room all we could hear was VROOOM VROOOM VROOM VROOOM. Still, come 9pm Eva was asleep - and so was I. She woke me at 10 and sent me home.
Monday was totally different from Sunday's hectic Doctors and Nurses everywhere. None of this taking temperatures and pulses every two hours. No, the method in this ward was to totally forget anyone was in the room and not even pop your head around the doors until early evening. Still, even without her antibiotics (with Dr. Golf stopped) she seemed so much better.
By Tuesday she was worse again, they'd decided to put her back on antibiotics and some hefty painkillers which seemed to knock her out for 2 and a half hours at a time. I must have sat and watched her sleep over 6 hours that day. During one of her brief awake periods a new Doctor came in and said as clear as day that they didn't know what was wrong with Eva at all and by the time they figure it out she will probably be better. You've got to admire his honesty if nothing else. By the time evening came, Eva felt strong enough to leave the room and hobble down for a shower.
When I arrived Wednesday Eva explained to me that after I'd left Tuesday night she'd buzzed for her painkillers at ten to ten but not received them until half past eleven. She was in that much pain that she almost got dressed and walked out. Similarly in the morning she'd waited so long for her pain pills that shortly after getting them she very nearly threw up from the pain. The nurse found her on the floor in the toilet crying. By the time I arrived at 10, all this had gone down and she was fast asleep again.
The bed making nurse woke her up at 11 and said that she'd leave the bedsheets on the side and come back in a few minutes to make the bed. Come 2pm she was nowhere to be seen so Eva climbed back into bed for a rest - she'd been sat in the chair since 11 awaiting to have her bed made. During this time a young female nurse came by for more poking and prodding and the idea of going home was kicked around.
Come about threeish, I slipped out of the room to get someone to come make the bed. It looked like we weren't doing anywhere and I didn't want Eva to have to get back into dirty sweaty sheets. There was some back and forth at the desk until a passing nurse overheard and told us to to worry as we were being allowed to leave.
So I quickstepped back to the room where Eva had starting making the bed and told her the good news, which a nurse then confirmed. Mugs and smiles all round while I packed all our stuff a tried to get hold of Eva's mum to come get us. Eva was still very photosensitive and headachey at this point, but they figured that so long as she came back for a check up on the 29th she'd be fine to rest at home and take the huge bag of pills they'd prepare for her. It took about two hours to get hold of Eva's mum due to problems with the phone. So with everything sorted we were out the door.
Until another nurse comes in to tell us the doctor has changed his mind and we needed to stay another day. We were packed, our ride was coming, we were almost free. This hit hard.
After a few tears and hugs all round, I stormed back to the nurses station to insist that somebody come and sort out the clean sheets. If she was staying, she was at least having the bed made!
Much to her seeming disgust of having to do such a menial task, a nurse was sent to back the bed. She barely picked up the sheets when a new doctor and swarm of nurses buzzed in (as if to save her from this laundry torture) to tell us that if Eva really felt up to it she COULD go home. with the proviso that she take some more pills instead of the tests she was to have the next day and that she come back in for a check up on the 5th of November. Over the moon? We were somewhere near Uranus (but not like that).
As we were finally leaving, the nurse who brought us the doggy bag of pills reminded us of our check up appointment on the 29th. We explained that the Doctor had said the 5th. She reaffirmed us it was the 29th.
Thursday (the 29th) and Eva is still poorly. She managed to force herself out of bed to get head back up the hospital for her check up, only to be told that she was a week early and her appointment wasn't until the 5th.
As of this morning, Eva is still unsteady on her feet, photosensitive and very sore. She still suffers with a headache and now a bruised hand and spine.
It has been a very stressful week for everyone involved. I just hope she gets better soon.
Thank you again for all your well wished through e-mail and text. We both appreciate it very much.
G.
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