A Rude Awakening

I had been expecting her at 6am, but here she was by my bedside a good two hours before that, reminding me that I was now neutropenic and informing me that I had a temperature exceeding 38 degrees centigrade, not a good combination at all as the fever indicated that I had an infection that would need to be urgently addressed with IV antibiotics. There would also be a ride to the basement for a chest X-ray. Strange thing was that I felt pleasantly cool. This was not a TV drama , so there was no shouting and screaming, but there were enough movement and people involved to underline that the problem would be met head-on and with urgency. This particularly excellent night nurse had already proved her worth, not least five hours before when we had had a long conversation about addressing my psychological and dietary needs, but here she was again being vigilant and active on my behalf.

So today has seen me hooked up to more drips and taking more pills and I have spent most of the day in bed, par for the course 6 days after getting stem cells back. Also today I had a transfusion of platelets to help mu blood clot better and prevent haemorrhages, and the first of a number of G-CSF injections to encourage production of neutrophils.

Diarrhoea continues to take me from my bed at frequent intervals, but the rash is fading slowly.

Most things remain an effort but I have been able to check some emails (slowly as I am without wi-fi). My temperature has stabilised for now at slightly above normal.

I could have done without the undignified bout of dry retching that assailed me (why? why?) as I arrived for the X-ray, but this has been a positive day.