Shock news!
We really aren’t indestructible, are we?
As a typical nurse I am quick to advise about health / ill health. I can lecture for England about the benefits of 5-a-day, not smoking, drinking in moderation and taking regular exercise. Do I take that advice myself? No, of course not!
I have been suffering from what I presumed was a cold / cough for about 3 weeks. Anyway, everyone has one at the moment – why should I be any different? I’ve even spent most of my time in the company of Doctors during that period, both professionally and personally. None of which said, P, I think you need some treatment for that! (Useless buggers!)
Anyway to cut to the chase, very early this past Friday night / Saturday morning I found myself very much out of breath. My hypoxia was high at that point – I know that now because I apparently called my best friend about midnight on Friday, she told me yesterday, when she saw me, that I was talking absolute rubbish and sounded pissed. It didn’t sound any alarm bells to her, we have known each other for years, she has often experienced me being pissed so I can’t blame her for not realising I was hypoxic.
However, it gradually got worse. I couldn’t lie down for any length of time as I couldn’t catch my breath so I did what I thought would help.
Call my GP? Call The NHS Direct? Call for an ambulance? Of course not, I piled up the pillows and tried to sleep sat up.
Did it work? Of course not.
I began to panic.
Sleeping alone I couldn’t even nudge my husband to help me. I started to think I was getting my comeuppance. How bad had I been? I have never been religious but I was beginning to repent, big time!
Luckily I made enough noise to wake my cats up which in turn woke my (soon to be ex (stbe)) husband who was sleeping in a bedroom across the landing.
And herein began my journey of personal insight.
It came to me in one of the must bizarre places – a NHS Hospital.
The experience has been an eye-opener, both personally and professionally.
I have never in my 34 years spent any time as a patient in a hospital in my life; I know that I have been lucky. Never before have I needed a course of antibiotics, never been x-rayed, never been examined by a junior Doctor (that is another blog, altogether). All that changed this weekend.
Anyway the (stbe) husband got me to hospital – in my car may I say, not his. I was triaged and prioritised and placed into resus. That is scary – have you seen Casualty? You presume that resus means there is a chance that you may die. I forgot at that point all my professional training. I was really scared. The nebuliser wasn’t working and I could hear them calling for a chest x-ray stat. I can laugh now (as I am looking back and have the pleasure of being able to breathe easily), but even so, I can still recall the insight I had at that point.
When people are taking over your body, taking over the function of your body it is scary. They talk over you, asking each other what is the next move. I wanted to shout that I’m a nurse I know what I need. Luckily the x-ray was decisive; I had a basal pneumonia. No wonder I couldn’t shift it with Benelyn, Night Nurse and paracetamol.
So I spent a further 24 hours on a medical admissions ward til they discharged me this afternoon. My 24 hours of IV antibiotics done. Had loads of time to read and write.
My moral (if I am allowed to be moral being an (ex) adulterer) is to take the advice of 5-a-day, don’t smoke, drink in moderation, take regular exercise and listen to your body.
PS don’t worry if you don’t have matching knickers and bra on, no-one cares less!!!
