We travelled back to Cockermouth today, parking in the St Josephs school car park, whilst we went down to the house to collect some more of our belongings.
We were half way down the hill on foot when we received a text from Pete saying that they weren't letting anyone in to the house area. By the time we received the message we had hit determination point, there was nothing going to stop us from getting to the cat and our home.
The roads were all still closed to Station Street, we went through the Fairfield School Car Park which let us through to sainsbury's car park where all the emergency services were congregated. We walked through the car park towards the top of our road, the police were keeping everyone out, just as Pete had said. But the police lady was talking to someone else at the time so I ducked under the police tape and then under the next one to get down South Street, I didn't look back to see where Rob was, I knew he wouldn't be far behind, luckily I did because the police lady stopped him, said no one could go through, he nicely told the police lady that his fiancee had already gone through, and pointed to me half way down the street, determindely ignoring the police tape. The police lady thought for a second and then let Rob through.
We walked on to Challoner Street to find huge holes in the road, I am talking about holes 3 foot deep and the full width of the road. Just out side the B+B not 15 yards from our house. There was another one just down the road, outside the joiners, about the same size, not only road width but about 15 feet long too.
We unlocked the house, and Rob had to battle to get the door open, so much debris was behind the door.
We walked in and we could see from the tide marks on the walls how high the water has been. The water level had been to the height of my nose, right through the house. Everything that was down stairs is ruined. We think that the water has just been river water, there is no nasty smell at the moment, the work surfaces are starting to dry out already, the water had got over half way up the stairs, one more step and Naomi's beloved Scooby Doo slippers would have been ruined too. The cat was upstairs cozy and dry, from her foot prints we could see that she had been in the kitchen and in the living room looking out of the window looking out to see what had become of the world.
The fishies in our two fish tanks have been submerged in the water, the lid has disappeared from the large fish tank, the fishes have all disappeared, just merky water left in both of them. The water has moved things from room to room, the kitchen stools have been moved with the power of the water, one was in the office one in the dining room. The fridge is full of water too, along with the washer machine, the dryer (which was full of clothes) the freezer, the dishwasher too.
We won't know until after the next lot of rain has been how things will be.
We packed up some of our belongings and after taking some photos we came back to Tebay. Cat out of her box and sat on my knee most of the way looking out of the window to see where she was going to next.
We got back and settled our things in upstairs and within 15 minutes the cat was settled in front of the fire purring happily.
Saturday, 21 November 2009
Friday, 20 November 2009
Week 7 of 27 - Chemo and a flood - one in a thousand aparently!
We have had a strange week this week, Naomi went to school for a full day on Thursday came home shattered and was asleep in bed by half five. Friday she slept and slept and slept, I got her up at noon for some lunch and she ate it whilst snuggled up under her duvet in the living room.
20 minutes after her lunch she was sick and after having calmed down and had some anti sickness medicine she went back to sleep on the sofa until Rob came home at 5pm, she then got up and had her tea and demanded to go back to bed. She went to bed and I noticed that she was uncomfortable in her tummy like she had been the night before, I phoned the hospital to ask about pain relief and they said she could have paracetamol syrup as long as she didn't have a temperature. I went up stairs and checked her temperature and it was on the high side, so I did what we had been taught and left her for an hour and rechecked her temperature after the hour had passed. It was still high. I phoned the hospital again and asked for more advice, they said we would have to come in to be seen by the doctors. The weather outside was dreadful, high winds and large amounts of heavy rain. I asked the hospital if there was any chance we could go to Whitehaven hospital instead of having to travel the two and a half hours it would take us to get there. They checked with our consultant and yes, it was fine to go there. Thank gawd.
We arrived at the hospital and it was after 11pm, they quickly took bloods from Naomi's wigglies, but warned us that it would take up to two hours for the results to get back as there was only one man on in the lab and he was looking after the lab for the whole of the hospital tonight.
It was after 2 when the results came in and they were fine although Naomi's temperature was still high, we would have to stay in over night so that Naomi could be observed and make sure her temperature came down.
By morning I was exhausted, I had sent Rob home when the blood results came in as there was only one bed between the three of us. Naomi and Rob had shared the one bed until I sent him home and then I tried curling up, top to tail with Naomi in the one bed, Naomi decided that instead of tickling my feet she would wrap her arms round them and snuggle her face into the soles of my feet. I could then feel how hot she really was, and by morning could tell that her temperature was coming down. We were told in the morning that the doctor was on the ward at 9am, we would need to be seen by her before we could leave.
It was after 12 noon before the doctors came and saw us, but when she did she spent a good half hour talking to us making sure how Naomi is, making sure that we were happy being let loose and what we should do if we were worried. We were told to keep an eye on her temperature and if it went above 38 degrees come back in to Whitehaven.
We went home and Naomi slept most of the way home, had her lunch and went to sleep on the sofa again. She woke up a little in the afternoon and by bedtime was chirpy enough to go to bed without a fuss.
Sunday we got up and took a quiet trip up to a favorite place of ours for a chilled day out, Houghton Hall Garden Centre just outside Carlisle. We knew Naomi ws feeling better as she chittered at 90 to the dozen all the way there and back, making up for the previous three days of quietness.
Monday and tuesday I kept her at home to make sur eshe had recovered form her virus, she seemed fine, a little run down with a touch of a cough but nothing out of the ordinary.
Wednesday came and yet again we trundled to Newcastle, had bloods done, had weights and height and blood pressure done. Naomi has, inspite of not eating very much at all, put on nearly half a kilo, whilst managing to groow in height by nearly a centimetre.
We waited to see Juliet and she came only 3/4 of an hour late to see us, so we thought our selves quiet lucky. Naomi's blood results came back whilst we were with Juliet, all was well apart from Naomi's neutraphils were very low, more than likely due to her virus attack, although the blood results did make it obvious that there was no infection at the moment.
We had the vincristine given nearly as soon as we came out of the consultation. We were finished and free by half 12. It was such a nice feeling to be free so quickly.
Thursday was rainy, very rainy Rob left to go to work at the normal time of 7.30am, Naomi and I got up at 8 and by half 8 Rob was home. The roads were badly flooded, and there was more to come. We looked at each other and decided to start moving things upstairs, just incase.
At about half 10 I went and moved my car to the highest car park where our parking permit is valid. It was then I realised we might really have problems, the river bridge to our car park not only had the flood gate shut but was also taped off with police tape. I looked at the level of water and it was about a foot from the height of the car park. I moved the car and went back to the house, Naomi and Rob were moving things up stairs putting everything we possibly could out of reach of water should the worst happen.
Rob kept popping out to go and check on the water levels, Pete came round from his house, to check we had started lifting things and stayed for lunch. He then went to go and make sure the water levels were staying within the flood gates.
Very soon Pete was back, he had a rucksack on his back and his water proof coat on. He stood with a voice of doom saying his house was done for, the flood wall next to the flood gate had been hit by a tree, knocking the wall down and leting the full force of the water come down South Street. Pete advised us to pack some things and get out of the house. He had brought us some sandbags (not I hasten to add proper ones from the council, we weren't high enough priority for them) they were ones which you run under the tap in the sink and they swell with water. I rushed up stairs and packed a bag for all of us. I grabbed the pram Naomi and we went to leave. When I went to pack the bags the water running down the road outside was just surface water coming form the roof's of the houses. By the time we got down stairs the water was brown and muddy, lapping at the kerb stone, nearly at the door step.
Rob put Naomi on his shoulders and Pete grabbed some bags for us, I carried the pram and the rain cover. I rolled up my troused legs and stepped out into the cold fast flowing water that was rushing past the house. As we shut the house door Pete threw the sandbags down at the door step in a last ditch attempt to save the house.
We walked up the street towards the corner, to get to higher ground. The water was faster there though, it was having to turn from South Street down Challoner Street. We got to the corner and there were people standing on the other side of the water, they waded in, up to their knees to help us across to safety. We got across, and I put the pram together, put Naomi, who was by now soaked, into the pram with the rain cover on to keep her out of the wind. She snuggled up and watched with great delight the firemen coming down the street to assist the mountain rescue team who were also assisting people out of their homes further down South Street.
As we stood in the alley just below the Tithe Barn, we watched the men rushing back and forth rescuing as many as would be helped we had a decision to make. Where do we go from here. We had an offer of somewhere to stay from a friend in Cockermouth, but I threw into the pot that my parents would have plenty of room, we would be on top of a hill there and we would be warm and dry.
I rang mum and it was agreed, Tebay it would be. We shot up the hill to where we had put the cars, I got Naomi out of the pram, chased her into the car and got her to strip her wet clothes off immediately. Rob and Pete went to go and see the mountain rescue to let them know we were out and safe.
I started the car and sat and waited for the boys to come back. When they got back Pete decided to stay and see if he could do anything else and to keep an eye on things. Rob got in the car and let me drive.
We queued up to get out of Cockermouth, and when we eventually did we were amazed to see people over taking like mad things on roads where visibility was poor along with the amount of rain on the roads too.
We seemed to be ok until we got along side Bassenthwaite Lake, fine on the dual carriage way, but once we were on the single carriage way the water was dreadful, the lane we were supposed to be driving in was flooded, and the other carriage way was ful of polish wagons who wouldn't budge, I ploughed through, pushing vehicles as far over as I dared, I made a mad dash for clear road as a Eddie Stobart wagon gave way and waited for us to come through. We were then clear roads until we got to Keswick where we met more standing water. I tucked the car in behind the large car infront of us, we drove through, quietly, steadily but safely through the 200 metres of deep water.
We travelled down the rest of the A66 to Penrith, joining M6 just as we turned the radio on for the travel news. It came on the radio just as we got bogged down in traffic that there had been a wagon jack knife on the motorway and there were 40 minute tail backs. Joy. But at least we were past the worst of the journey.
Once we got past the miraculous disappearing wagon, there was no sign of it when we went past where it was. We had one last worry as we went down the last bit of road to mum and dads, we had a river to cross, but when we got there the river was behaving it's self and was well under the edges of it's bank. We were safe, warm, dry and food was not long in coming once we had got everyone unpacked out of the car.
We have watched in horror as the water crept up the walls in the town centre of Cockermouth, no pictures of our street on the news but we knew that there would be a lot of water going down it.
Pete has kept us up to date with the state of play, he let us know that the water has receded, we are allowed home, but only to collect belongings, he has been in his house and the water has been above the height of the worktops in his kitchen. It doesn't bode well for our house.
We are hoping tomorrow that the roads will be opened back up (the A66 was closed rapidly after we left) so we can go and collect the cat, Dumbo for Naomi and see what the damage is.
More updates tomorrow!!
20 minutes after her lunch she was sick and after having calmed down and had some anti sickness medicine she went back to sleep on the sofa until Rob came home at 5pm, she then got up and had her tea and demanded to go back to bed. She went to bed and I noticed that she was uncomfortable in her tummy like she had been the night before, I phoned the hospital to ask about pain relief and they said she could have paracetamol syrup as long as she didn't have a temperature. I went up stairs and checked her temperature and it was on the high side, so I did what we had been taught and left her for an hour and rechecked her temperature after the hour had passed. It was still high. I phoned the hospital again and asked for more advice, they said we would have to come in to be seen by the doctors. The weather outside was dreadful, high winds and large amounts of heavy rain. I asked the hospital if there was any chance we could go to Whitehaven hospital instead of having to travel the two and a half hours it would take us to get there. They checked with our consultant and yes, it was fine to go there. Thank gawd.
We arrived at the hospital and it was after 11pm, they quickly took bloods from Naomi's wigglies, but warned us that it would take up to two hours for the results to get back as there was only one man on in the lab and he was looking after the lab for the whole of the hospital tonight.
It was after 2 when the results came in and they were fine although Naomi's temperature was still high, we would have to stay in over night so that Naomi could be observed and make sure her temperature came down.
By morning I was exhausted, I had sent Rob home when the blood results came in as there was only one bed between the three of us. Naomi and Rob had shared the one bed until I sent him home and then I tried curling up, top to tail with Naomi in the one bed, Naomi decided that instead of tickling my feet she would wrap her arms round them and snuggle her face into the soles of my feet. I could then feel how hot she really was, and by morning could tell that her temperature was coming down. We were told in the morning that the doctor was on the ward at 9am, we would need to be seen by her before we could leave.
It was after 12 noon before the doctors came and saw us, but when she did she spent a good half hour talking to us making sure how Naomi is, making sure that we were happy being let loose and what we should do if we were worried. We were told to keep an eye on her temperature and if it went above 38 degrees come back in to Whitehaven.
We went home and Naomi slept most of the way home, had her lunch and went to sleep on the sofa again. She woke up a little in the afternoon and by bedtime was chirpy enough to go to bed without a fuss.
Sunday we got up and took a quiet trip up to a favorite place of ours for a chilled day out, Houghton Hall Garden Centre just outside Carlisle. We knew Naomi ws feeling better as she chittered at 90 to the dozen all the way there and back, making up for the previous three days of quietness.
Monday and tuesday I kept her at home to make sur eshe had recovered form her virus, she seemed fine, a little run down with a touch of a cough but nothing out of the ordinary.
Wednesday came and yet again we trundled to Newcastle, had bloods done, had weights and height and blood pressure done. Naomi has, inspite of not eating very much at all, put on nearly half a kilo, whilst managing to groow in height by nearly a centimetre.
We waited to see Juliet and she came only 3/4 of an hour late to see us, so we thought our selves quiet lucky. Naomi's blood results came back whilst we were with Juliet, all was well apart from Naomi's neutraphils were very low, more than likely due to her virus attack, although the blood results did make it obvious that there was no infection at the moment.
We had the vincristine given nearly as soon as we came out of the consultation. We were finished and free by half 12. It was such a nice feeling to be free so quickly.
Thursday was rainy, very rainy Rob left to go to work at the normal time of 7.30am, Naomi and I got up at 8 and by half 8 Rob was home. The roads were badly flooded, and there was more to come. We looked at each other and decided to start moving things upstairs, just incase.
At about half 10 I went and moved my car to the highest car park where our parking permit is valid. It was then I realised we might really have problems, the river bridge to our car park not only had the flood gate shut but was also taped off with police tape. I looked at the level of water and it was about a foot from the height of the car park. I moved the car and went back to the house, Naomi and Rob were moving things up stairs putting everything we possibly could out of reach of water should the worst happen.
Rob kept popping out to go and check on the water levels, Pete came round from his house, to check we had started lifting things and stayed for lunch. He then went to go and make sure the water levels were staying within the flood gates.
Very soon Pete was back, he had a rucksack on his back and his water proof coat on. He stood with a voice of doom saying his house was done for, the flood wall next to the flood gate had been hit by a tree, knocking the wall down and leting the full force of the water come down South Street. Pete advised us to pack some things and get out of the house. He had brought us some sandbags (not I hasten to add proper ones from the council, we weren't high enough priority for them) they were ones which you run under the tap in the sink and they swell with water. I rushed up stairs and packed a bag for all of us. I grabbed the pram Naomi and we went to leave. When I went to pack the bags the water running down the road outside was just surface water coming form the roof's of the houses. By the time we got down stairs the water was brown and muddy, lapping at the kerb stone, nearly at the door step.
Rob put Naomi on his shoulders and Pete grabbed some bags for us, I carried the pram and the rain cover. I rolled up my troused legs and stepped out into the cold fast flowing water that was rushing past the house. As we shut the house door Pete threw the sandbags down at the door step in a last ditch attempt to save the house.
We walked up the street towards the corner, to get to higher ground. The water was faster there though, it was having to turn from South Street down Challoner Street. We got to the corner and there were people standing on the other side of the water, they waded in, up to their knees to help us across to safety. We got across, and I put the pram together, put Naomi, who was by now soaked, into the pram with the rain cover on to keep her out of the wind. She snuggled up and watched with great delight the firemen coming down the street to assist the mountain rescue team who were also assisting people out of their homes further down South Street.
As we stood in the alley just below the Tithe Barn, we watched the men rushing back and forth rescuing as many as would be helped we had a decision to make. Where do we go from here. We had an offer of somewhere to stay from a friend in Cockermouth, but I threw into the pot that my parents would have plenty of room, we would be on top of a hill there and we would be warm and dry.
I rang mum and it was agreed, Tebay it would be. We shot up the hill to where we had put the cars, I got Naomi out of the pram, chased her into the car and got her to strip her wet clothes off immediately. Rob and Pete went to go and see the mountain rescue to let them know we were out and safe.
I started the car and sat and waited for the boys to come back. When they got back Pete decided to stay and see if he could do anything else and to keep an eye on things. Rob got in the car and let me drive.
We queued up to get out of Cockermouth, and when we eventually did we were amazed to see people over taking like mad things on roads where visibility was poor along with the amount of rain on the roads too.
We seemed to be ok until we got along side Bassenthwaite Lake, fine on the dual carriage way, but once we were on the single carriage way the water was dreadful, the lane we were supposed to be driving in was flooded, and the other carriage way was ful of polish wagons who wouldn't budge, I ploughed through, pushing vehicles as far over as I dared, I made a mad dash for clear road as a Eddie Stobart wagon gave way and waited for us to come through. We were then clear roads until we got to Keswick where we met more standing water. I tucked the car in behind the large car infront of us, we drove through, quietly, steadily but safely through the 200 metres of deep water.
We travelled down the rest of the A66 to Penrith, joining M6 just as we turned the radio on for the travel news. It came on the radio just as we got bogged down in traffic that there had been a wagon jack knife on the motorway and there were 40 minute tail backs. Joy. But at least we were past the worst of the journey.
Once we got past the miraculous disappearing wagon, there was no sign of it when we went past where it was. We had one last worry as we went down the last bit of road to mum and dads, we had a river to cross, but when we got there the river was behaving it's self and was well under the edges of it's bank. We were safe, warm, dry and food was not long in coming once we had got everyone unpacked out of the car.
We have watched in horror as the water crept up the walls in the town centre of Cockermouth, no pictures of our street on the news but we knew that there would be a lot of water going down it.
Pete has kept us up to date with the state of play, he let us know that the water has receded, we are allowed home, but only to collect belongings, he has been in his house and the water has been above the height of the worktops in his kitchen. It doesn't bode well for our house.
We are hoping tomorrow that the roads will be opened back up (the A66 was closed rapidly after we left) so we can go and collect the cat, Dumbo for Naomi and see what the damage is.
More updates tomorrow!!
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Week 6 of 27
It struck me today how much has happened in the last 3 months. Such a shock to start with, to say the very least. Then sitting and waiting, the easy acceptance of all the things happening by Naomi, as if everything is everyday and normal.
Naomi has done really well since the last lot of chemo, a little bit sicky first thing in the morning but generally chirpy and energetic. She went to school Thursday and Friday morning, had a weekend with dad whilst I went and played with ponies.
Monday was Naomi's first full day at school, she took her lunch in the lunch box she had chosen over the weekend whilst shopping with dad. I was lost without her on Monday and Tuesday, I had forgotten what it was like to have me time.
Wednesday came and it seemed to have been ages since we trailed to Newcastle. We arrived just after half ten, and Naomi was ushered off with the nurse to be weighed, then off with another one to have bloods taken and to have one of her two lines flushed. The other one would be done when she got her chemo after she had seen Juliet. So all this was done by half 11 which was when our appointment was.
We sat chatting with other parents, one who had been waiting since 9.30 for her appointment. Hmmmm not bodeing well for our appointment then.
Naomi's blood results came back, all fine and dandy. Still waiting for Juliet though.
It was just after half one when Juliet eventually came for Naomi. She was happy with how Naomi was coping, that she was bouncy and wired. Juliet was even astonished that Naomi was walking to and from school every day, when she is awake enough that is! Some times she goes in the pram for some of the way.
Once Juliet had seen us we just had to wait for the chemo to be got ready and then we could leave, luckily then nurses were ready for us very quickly after we had seen Juliet so we were out by 2pm, ready to go and get some lunch from Marks and Spencers.
We got home at 20 past 5 and had a quick tea and even though Naomi had slept most of the way there in the car and most of the way back she was still tired and was in bed by half 6. We will see how she is tomorrow if she ends up at school or not.
Naomi has done really well since the last lot of chemo, a little bit sicky first thing in the morning but generally chirpy and energetic. She went to school Thursday and Friday morning, had a weekend with dad whilst I went and played with ponies.
Monday was Naomi's first full day at school, she took her lunch in the lunch box she had chosen over the weekend whilst shopping with dad. I was lost without her on Monday and Tuesday, I had forgotten what it was like to have me time.
Wednesday came and it seemed to have been ages since we trailed to Newcastle. We arrived just after half ten, and Naomi was ushered off with the nurse to be weighed, then off with another one to have bloods taken and to have one of her two lines flushed. The other one would be done when she got her chemo after she had seen Juliet. So all this was done by half 11 which was when our appointment was.
We sat chatting with other parents, one who had been waiting since 9.30 for her appointment. Hmmmm not bodeing well for our appointment then.
Naomi's blood results came back, all fine and dandy. Still waiting for Juliet though.
It was just after half one when Juliet eventually came for Naomi. She was happy with how Naomi was coping, that she was bouncy and wired. Juliet was even astonished that Naomi was walking to and from school every day, when she is awake enough that is! Some times she goes in the pram for some of the way.
Once Juliet had seen us we just had to wait for the chemo to be got ready and then we could leave, luckily then nurses were ready for us very quickly after we had seen Juliet so we were out by 2pm, ready to go and get some lunch from Marks and Spencers.
We got home at 20 past 5 and had a quick tea and even though Naomi had slept most of the way there in the car and most of the way back she was still tired and was in bed by half 6. We will see how she is tomorrow if she ends up at school or not.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Week 5 of 27
We arrived at Newcastle well in time for our half past 10 appointment. I spoke to Cerys the receptionist and she ticked us off her list and advised us to go and get bloods done "whilst the nurses were quiet". She must have known that I had every intention of doing so.
We went through to see the nurses and Mary came after about half an hour and took bloods, she also let me put Naomi's antibiotics in the fridge too.
We then sat and waited until just after 12 to be seen by Quentin as Juliet was away. he was happy with the infection in the wound, and reccomended that we continued with the antibiotics for the next couple of days.
Quentin said that as Naomi's blood tests had come back as nearing normal again she would be safe to go back to school. Naomi was delighted to hear she could go back to school, she thought it was still closed for holidays, bless her.
Once we had seen Quentin we trundled back to ward 14 and waited for the chemo to be given. We got our chemo once the anti sickness had been made up in the pharmacy.
Then we were free, quarter to one!!
Fabulous!!
Naomi has had a good morning at school today, she is going again tomorrow morning and will be starting to go full days next week. She still has chemo next Wednesday so will have a day off from school so will have a break and if she gets really tired we will bring her back down to half days again. Naomi decided she wants to have packed lunches to set off with, I think once she sees everyone else eating school dinners she will want to join them. We'll see.
We went through to see the nurses and Mary came after about half an hour and took bloods, she also let me put Naomi's antibiotics in the fridge too.
We then sat and waited until just after 12 to be seen by Quentin as Juliet was away. he was happy with the infection in the wound, and reccomended that we continued with the antibiotics for the next couple of days.
Quentin said that as Naomi's blood tests had come back as nearing normal again she would be safe to go back to school. Naomi was delighted to hear she could go back to school, she thought it was still closed for holidays, bless her.
Once we had seen Quentin we trundled back to ward 14 and waited for the chemo to be given. We got our chemo once the anti sickness had been made up in the pharmacy.
Then we were free, quarter to one!!
Fabulous!!
Naomi has had a good morning at school today, she is going again tomorrow morning and will be starting to go full days next week. She still has chemo next Wednesday so will have a day off from school so will have a break and if she gets really tired we will bring her back down to half days again. Naomi decided she wants to have packed lunches to set off with, I think once she sees everyone else eating school dinners she will want to join them. We'll see.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Week 4 of 27
From coming home last week we have had a good weekend, we travelled to Rob's parents and spent some quiet time whilst Naomi played with Granny Liz and the dogs. We arrived on Friday evening (just in time for tea). It wasn't until I put Naomi to bed that I realised that I had forgotten to pack nappies in the bag for Naomi at bedtime. Oh bugger, pass the hand towel and we'll fuddle up a terry nappy. Luckily Naomi thought it was hilarious, a hand towel in her knickers, she looked like she had a huge bum, she looked like a duck waddling to get her teeth cleaned.
Next morning we decided that Granny Liz and I should go into Selkirk and get nappies, (coz I didn't know how to get there on my own) and Naomi would have to come with us as she is surgically attached to Liz as soon as we arrive.
We waited until after lunch and set off, we went through Selkirk and ended up at Galashields. It's only 18 or so miles away but the roads are very twisty, like old fashioned back roads should be.
We shopped in Mattalan first, and then back to the car for Tesco extra at the other end of the town. We eventually remembered what we had come to the shops for and quietly trundled back, via the Baxters factory shop obviously. It was more like a trip to Lakeland Plastics than a soup factory outlet!! Posh and peaceful though.
When we got back we found that Rob was sleeping on the sofa, Spotty dog by his side.
On Sunday we were visited by Helen, Rob's aunty from Edinburgh, who was delivering her mother (Aunt Elizabeth) to Lily's (Rob's Gran) where she will be staying for a couple of days whilst the contents of houses are swapped around. Naomi was of course centre of everyone's attention, and being delightfully behaved as always.
We left in the afternoon as we had one more session of Radiotherapy to complete on Monday.
Monday came and Alison and Lois came to collect us to go to Newcastle for the therapy. Arrived in good time and when it came to being our turn Naomi trundled off with lois and showed her and Alison what she had to do on the big hard bed to get her radiotherapy. We all then went into the control room to count for Naomi. I counted to 10 for each side and that was us done. All the radiotherapy sessions finished. The head radiotherapy person, liz, was waiting for us when we had got Naomi's t-shirt back on again. A present for Naomi and a bravery certificate. A little furry kitten, just what Naomi had been asking for. She was made up.
We all went into Newcastle afterwards to do a "little bit" of shopping. We were doing fine till we got to Primark, and I spotted something that would suit every male in the family. all of a sudden I needed a basket. Oooops. We started shopping just before 12 noon and we looked for a taxi back to the Freeman at quarter to 6pm. My feet were hurting but it was soooo worth it. We all had a fab time.
On Wednesday Rob and I trundled queitly over to Newcastle, arriving a little before 10am. We organised the nurses to take bloods and went to see the receptionist about getting an appointment with Juliet. As it happened she was on the phone with another patient who was cancelling their appointment with Juliet. As she crossed out the other patients name I asked if she would put Naomi's name in the space as we hadn't an appointment. She raised an eyebrow but did as I asked. So that was an appointment for 11am. Superb.
Naomi was called to be weighed, the nurse was really annoyed, she accused us of being pushed in to her list. She really got my back up, how long does it take for her to weigh a patient and measure their height?? About 3 minutes, and how much out of her way is she going to put Naomi on the scales instead of the person who had just cancelled?? Grrrrrrrrrrrrr, it was the whole attitude.
After we were weighed and measured we went back and sat down and waited for Juliet to come and call us. The grumpy nurse came back again and shouted at every one. "If you're waiting to be seen in clinic can you come through and wait in the waiting room" She was cross again, we had always waited in the ward, but being as we were due (according to the clock) to see the consultant soon, we moved. Grouchy cow.
We sat and waited, and waited, it was half 12 before Juliet called for Naomi. She took us in and discussed the wound that Naomi has at the top of her chest, which had become slightly inflamed and a little weepy. I mentioned that we had had antibiotics about a fortnight ago and due to the allergic reaction to the orange flavouring. Hmmmm how to piss a consutlant off. She looked back in Naomi's notes, "there's no mention of her being allergic to oranges in her first consultation" hmmmmm I think there was but I am not going to argue the point. So Juliet has a look at the wound, you're not going to like this, she says, but you need to be in on the ward for some antibiotics. And as she was very sick last time we'll do them via her wigglies. No problem I say, where are we staying? oh we'll find you a bed SOMEWHERE.
Naomi and I went back out to the ward (where we were allowed now seeing as we had been seen in clinic).
I had been prepared for an over nigth stay clothes wise, but had forgotten the phone charger, the laptop, and the ipod touch with the games on it. And yes the mobile was already nearly flat before got to the hospital. Joy.
I sent Rob home to the starving pussy cat at about half 3, by which time we had had our first lot of antibiotics, via Naomi's wigglies. I assumed that she would have an infussion, but no it was a bolus straight in to the wigglies. It went in, with plenty of saline water behind it, and then the heparin to stop the line from clotting. I looked at Naomi and asked the nurse for a sick bowl, she looked at me and said "oh its ok its not a sicky drug" I looked at Naomi and asked again for a sick bowl, by which time Naomi was about to burst, we managed to get a sick bowl under her nose just as it came out. Good timing mother. Marvelous. But as soon as she was sick she was fine again. Chirpy and cheerful. Thank god she doesn't cry and get upset like some of the kids.
We were waiting for the vincristin now, nothing more, and eventually it came through. At about half past four. Once we had had the Vinc, we were told we would be escorted over to ward 9, the surgical ward so that we could stay over and they would look after us and do Naomi's antibiotics via her lines. At 5pm I went and asked them how long it would take as it was now ward tea time and Naomi needed feeding. Oh we won't be long. Hahaha how many times have I heard that line!!
At quarter past I went back to the nurses and asked if we should just go across our selves as we knew where we were going. And all of a sudden there was someone to take us across. Funny that.
We were put in bed one on the ward, right opposite the kitchen. fab, this meant that I could be first in the queue for the revolting food coming out of the door for the patients to eat. I ended up going to the shop for both mine and Naomi's foor, for every meal as there was nothing that I would feed her. It was the most disappointing experience of ward food. Usually the food hasn't been too bad but this time it was (even with me being first there) cold, and just very unapetising especially to someone who needs encouragement to eat. Not impressed, especially when it came to breakfast, no coco pops, just plain bread (no toast remember, not allowed toasters on the ward) or cornflakes. I started a war as I went to the shop and bought a packet of coco pops, luckily I kept the receipt as there had been some boxes gone missing during the night!! Wooo big crime spree.
By this point my phone battery was completely dead, no sign of a payphone on the ward and Naomi was being her normal chirpy self and not letting me leave her alone to go anywhere exept quickly to the shop and back.
Thursday came, and although the nurses had been in at 6am to give Naomi her the antibiotics we didn't see anything of anyone until Les the mad nurse popped his head in to say lunch was ready. Hmmmmm thanks, me thinks not. It was after 2pm when the onocology doctor came and saw Naomi, I mentioned that Naomi had had a runny poo that morning but hadn't passed anything since. She asked if Naomi had had the lactulose last night, and yes she had. The doctor thought for a minute and asked if when Naomi next produced a poo would I catch it in a sample tray and they could send it away to be checked, make sure that it wasn't a tummy bug (what with her having been sick this morning after I got her to eat cornflakes, hence the coco pops purchase!!) Fine, no problems. We carried on as normal for the rest of the afternoon, playing in the play room, watching a dvd in her room. The water horse was the choice for the afternoon, she wanted to watch it twice but we decided to go back to the play room. Whilst I was there I organised all the toys, put the small childrens toys where they could reach them, moved the ones with more and smaller pieces higher up so the little ones couldn't reach them. I sat down on one of the kids chairs, and looked at the rest of the room. The ward is new, the nurses had put Thomas the Tank engine stickarounds round the playroom, but when I sat and thought about it, they were all at about 4 foot off the ground. Not for kids to look at and be cheered up by. so being in a grump already I picked them off one by one and moved them. I redesigned the whole room in about half an hour, putting the trains down one by one, right round the room. What a difference by the time I had finished. Another parent walked past and commented how different it looked. I felt better but was by this point missing contact with the outside world and Rob especially. By the time I had got Naomi into bed and found that there was no one esle around to talk to I decided to have an early night. I went to bed very lonely and had a little cry before I went to sleep.
Friday morning the builders started outside very early, yet Naomi slept on, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. It was after 9am before she rolled out of bed. We got up and I wanderedout into the corridor to get some milk for Naomi's coco pops. As I wandered out Joan, our nurse from the day before came towards me, she started to asked me why I was out of the room without a red apron on. I in return asked her what the hell was all that gumph outside our room. Ahhhh right, the night nurses had decided in their wisdom that as Naomi had had a runny poo the day before she should be in isolation. OMG can you imagine trying to keep her cooped up in a rool by herself.... hmmmm but luckily Naomi came to the door at that moment with a poo sample in a tray for Joan to have a look at. It was fine, so being as she was head nurse for the shift she turned round the sign on the door which warned that we were on isolation nursing and took away the tray of red aprons and antibac wipes. Oh thank gawd someone has some sense!
Kevin the mad onocology doctor came round after lunch on Friday, checked how Naomi was reacting to the antibiotics and discussed the results from the swab that was taken from her wound. He said that there was a bug in the wound, a staphla coccus thingy, I'm not sure what it is. Kevin said there were two drugs they could give us for the infection, one was the one we had last time, he had checked with the pharmacy and they only had orange flavour. (I had checked on line and it is available in other flavours). So I asked about the other medicine, it was a penicillin based one, hmmmm I am allergic to penicillin, my mother is allergic too and because of this we assumed that Naomi is too. Hmmmmm it's gotta be worth a shot, anything rather than taking orange flavoured medicine which makes a fight out of medicine taking. Kevin phoned Juliet to check with her that it was ok and then sent off the prescription to the pharmacy. 2.30pm, and we were given a dose of the pink pineapple flavoured antibiotic to give her. Luckily we were back in the room, because after it hit her stomach she sat and looked wide eyed at me, and yep sicked it up into a scik bowl luckliy!! So I went back down to the nurses station and asked for some anti sickness medicine and another dose of the pink pineapple.
I got the anti sickness down her neck and then I sat with Naomi and talked to her about having to be in control of what she does when she has her medicine. When Joan gave us the other dose of medicine we sat down and talked about it. Naomi took the anti sickness meds without a fuss, and she took the dose of pink pineapple and although she gagged on the flavour I got her attention and she got control of herself and wasn't sick. Break through!! We did however have to wait an hour to make sure there was no immediate allergic reaction to the penicillin. An hour later we went and packed our things in our room and got ready to go home. (3.30pm)
We were told that we would have to wait until the medicines came up from pharmacy, which we were told should be by 4pm, so back to the play room we went. I kept popping back to the nurses station to get them to check on where the medicines were. By 5pm they still hadn't been sent up, I asked if I was allowed to go and get them from pharmacy, no not allowed, they have to come to the ward.
They eventually turned up at quarter past 6. I was so relieved to see them that I could have hugged Joan who came to bring them to us.
I grabbed our things, trundled downstairs and grabbed the taxi that was waiting outside. We got the taxi to the train station, and got on the 7.10 train back to Carlisle where Rob was waiting patiently for us. I was never so pleased to see him ever. Naomi shot off across the platform at Carlisle screaming for her daddy. Think she missed him too.
I was very grateful to get home, to Rob, to our home and to go to sleep in our bed.
Naomi is doing really well in taking her pink pineapple four times a day. She is so brave, being even more so now she gets reward stars for being brave!! She is a star.
Next morning we decided that Granny Liz and I should go into Selkirk and get nappies, (coz I didn't know how to get there on my own) and Naomi would have to come with us as she is surgically attached to Liz as soon as we arrive.
We waited until after lunch and set off, we went through Selkirk and ended up at Galashields. It's only 18 or so miles away but the roads are very twisty, like old fashioned back roads should be.
We shopped in Mattalan first, and then back to the car for Tesco extra at the other end of the town. We eventually remembered what we had come to the shops for and quietly trundled back, via the Baxters factory shop obviously. It was more like a trip to Lakeland Plastics than a soup factory outlet!! Posh and peaceful though.
When we got back we found that Rob was sleeping on the sofa, Spotty dog by his side.
On Sunday we were visited by Helen, Rob's aunty from Edinburgh, who was delivering her mother (Aunt Elizabeth) to Lily's (Rob's Gran) where she will be staying for a couple of days whilst the contents of houses are swapped around. Naomi was of course centre of everyone's attention, and being delightfully behaved as always.
We left in the afternoon as we had one more session of Radiotherapy to complete on Monday.
Monday came and Alison and Lois came to collect us to go to Newcastle for the therapy. Arrived in good time and when it came to being our turn Naomi trundled off with lois and showed her and Alison what she had to do on the big hard bed to get her radiotherapy. We all then went into the control room to count for Naomi. I counted to 10 for each side and that was us done. All the radiotherapy sessions finished. The head radiotherapy person, liz, was waiting for us when we had got Naomi's t-shirt back on again. A present for Naomi and a bravery certificate. A little furry kitten, just what Naomi had been asking for. She was made up.
We all went into Newcastle afterwards to do a "little bit" of shopping. We were doing fine till we got to Primark, and I spotted something that would suit every male in the family. all of a sudden I needed a basket. Oooops. We started shopping just before 12 noon and we looked for a taxi back to the Freeman at quarter to 6pm. My feet were hurting but it was soooo worth it. We all had a fab time.
On Wednesday Rob and I trundled queitly over to Newcastle, arriving a little before 10am. We organised the nurses to take bloods and went to see the receptionist about getting an appointment with Juliet. As it happened she was on the phone with another patient who was cancelling their appointment with Juliet. As she crossed out the other patients name I asked if she would put Naomi's name in the space as we hadn't an appointment. She raised an eyebrow but did as I asked. So that was an appointment for 11am. Superb.
Naomi was called to be weighed, the nurse was really annoyed, she accused us of being pushed in to her list. She really got my back up, how long does it take for her to weigh a patient and measure their height?? About 3 minutes, and how much out of her way is she going to put Naomi on the scales instead of the person who had just cancelled?? Grrrrrrrrrrrrr, it was the whole attitude.
After we were weighed and measured we went back and sat down and waited for Juliet to come and call us. The grumpy nurse came back again and shouted at every one. "If you're waiting to be seen in clinic can you come through and wait in the waiting room" She was cross again, we had always waited in the ward, but being as we were due (according to the clock) to see the consultant soon, we moved. Grouchy cow.
We sat and waited, and waited, it was half 12 before Juliet called for Naomi. She took us in and discussed the wound that Naomi has at the top of her chest, which had become slightly inflamed and a little weepy. I mentioned that we had had antibiotics about a fortnight ago and due to the allergic reaction to the orange flavouring. Hmmmm how to piss a consutlant off. She looked back in Naomi's notes, "there's no mention of her being allergic to oranges in her first consultation" hmmmmm I think there was but I am not going to argue the point. So Juliet has a look at the wound, you're not going to like this, she says, but you need to be in on the ward for some antibiotics. And as she was very sick last time we'll do them via her wigglies. No problem I say, where are we staying? oh we'll find you a bed SOMEWHERE.
Naomi and I went back out to the ward (where we were allowed now seeing as we had been seen in clinic).
I had been prepared for an over nigth stay clothes wise, but had forgotten the phone charger, the laptop, and the ipod touch with the games on it. And yes the mobile was already nearly flat before got to the hospital. Joy.
I sent Rob home to the starving pussy cat at about half 3, by which time we had had our first lot of antibiotics, via Naomi's wigglies. I assumed that she would have an infussion, but no it was a bolus straight in to the wigglies. It went in, with plenty of saline water behind it, and then the heparin to stop the line from clotting. I looked at Naomi and asked the nurse for a sick bowl, she looked at me and said "oh its ok its not a sicky drug" I looked at Naomi and asked again for a sick bowl, by which time Naomi was about to burst, we managed to get a sick bowl under her nose just as it came out. Good timing mother. Marvelous. But as soon as she was sick she was fine again. Chirpy and cheerful. Thank god she doesn't cry and get upset like some of the kids.
We were waiting for the vincristin now, nothing more, and eventually it came through. At about half past four. Once we had had the Vinc, we were told we would be escorted over to ward 9, the surgical ward so that we could stay over and they would look after us and do Naomi's antibiotics via her lines. At 5pm I went and asked them how long it would take as it was now ward tea time and Naomi needed feeding. Oh we won't be long. Hahaha how many times have I heard that line!!
At quarter past I went back to the nurses and asked if we should just go across our selves as we knew where we were going. And all of a sudden there was someone to take us across. Funny that.
We were put in bed one on the ward, right opposite the kitchen. fab, this meant that I could be first in the queue for the revolting food coming out of the door for the patients to eat. I ended up going to the shop for both mine and Naomi's foor, for every meal as there was nothing that I would feed her. It was the most disappointing experience of ward food. Usually the food hasn't been too bad but this time it was (even with me being first there) cold, and just very unapetising especially to someone who needs encouragement to eat. Not impressed, especially when it came to breakfast, no coco pops, just plain bread (no toast remember, not allowed toasters on the ward) or cornflakes. I started a war as I went to the shop and bought a packet of coco pops, luckily I kept the receipt as there had been some boxes gone missing during the night!! Wooo big crime spree.
By this point my phone battery was completely dead, no sign of a payphone on the ward and Naomi was being her normal chirpy self and not letting me leave her alone to go anywhere exept quickly to the shop and back.
Thursday came, and although the nurses had been in at 6am to give Naomi her the antibiotics we didn't see anything of anyone until Les the mad nurse popped his head in to say lunch was ready. Hmmmmm thanks, me thinks not. It was after 2pm when the onocology doctor came and saw Naomi, I mentioned that Naomi had had a runny poo that morning but hadn't passed anything since. She asked if Naomi had had the lactulose last night, and yes she had. The doctor thought for a minute and asked if when Naomi next produced a poo would I catch it in a sample tray and they could send it away to be checked, make sure that it wasn't a tummy bug (what with her having been sick this morning after I got her to eat cornflakes, hence the coco pops purchase!!) Fine, no problems. We carried on as normal for the rest of the afternoon, playing in the play room, watching a dvd in her room. The water horse was the choice for the afternoon, she wanted to watch it twice but we decided to go back to the play room. Whilst I was there I organised all the toys, put the small childrens toys where they could reach them, moved the ones with more and smaller pieces higher up so the little ones couldn't reach them. I sat down on one of the kids chairs, and looked at the rest of the room. The ward is new, the nurses had put Thomas the Tank engine stickarounds round the playroom, but when I sat and thought about it, they were all at about 4 foot off the ground. Not for kids to look at and be cheered up by. so being in a grump already I picked them off one by one and moved them. I redesigned the whole room in about half an hour, putting the trains down one by one, right round the room. What a difference by the time I had finished. Another parent walked past and commented how different it looked. I felt better but was by this point missing contact with the outside world and Rob especially. By the time I had got Naomi into bed and found that there was no one esle around to talk to I decided to have an early night. I went to bed very lonely and had a little cry before I went to sleep.
Friday morning the builders started outside very early, yet Naomi slept on, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. It was after 9am before she rolled out of bed. We got up and I wanderedout into the corridor to get some milk for Naomi's coco pops. As I wandered out Joan, our nurse from the day before came towards me, she started to asked me why I was out of the room without a red apron on. I in return asked her what the hell was all that gumph outside our room. Ahhhh right, the night nurses had decided in their wisdom that as Naomi had had a runny poo the day before she should be in isolation. OMG can you imagine trying to keep her cooped up in a rool by herself.... hmmmm but luckily Naomi came to the door at that moment with a poo sample in a tray for Joan to have a look at. It was fine, so being as she was head nurse for the shift she turned round the sign on the door which warned that we were on isolation nursing and took away the tray of red aprons and antibac wipes. Oh thank gawd someone has some sense!
Kevin the mad onocology doctor came round after lunch on Friday, checked how Naomi was reacting to the antibiotics and discussed the results from the swab that was taken from her wound. He said that there was a bug in the wound, a staphla coccus thingy, I'm not sure what it is. Kevin said there were two drugs they could give us for the infection, one was the one we had last time, he had checked with the pharmacy and they only had orange flavour. (I had checked on line and it is available in other flavours). So I asked about the other medicine, it was a penicillin based one, hmmmm I am allergic to penicillin, my mother is allergic too and because of this we assumed that Naomi is too. Hmmmmm it's gotta be worth a shot, anything rather than taking orange flavoured medicine which makes a fight out of medicine taking. Kevin phoned Juliet to check with her that it was ok and then sent off the prescription to the pharmacy. 2.30pm, and we were given a dose of the pink pineapple flavoured antibiotic to give her. Luckily we were back in the room, because after it hit her stomach she sat and looked wide eyed at me, and yep sicked it up into a scik bowl luckliy!! So I went back down to the nurses station and asked for some anti sickness medicine and another dose of the pink pineapple.
I got the anti sickness down her neck and then I sat with Naomi and talked to her about having to be in control of what she does when she has her medicine. When Joan gave us the other dose of medicine we sat down and talked about it. Naomi took the anti sickness meds without a fuss, and she took the dose of pink pineapple and although she gagged on the flavour I got her attention and she got control of herself and wasn't sick. Break through!! We did however have to wait an hour to make sure there was no immediate allergic reaction to the penicillin. An hour later we went and packed our things in our room and got ready to go home. (3.30pm)
We were told that we would have to wait until the medicines came up from pharmacy, which we were told should be by 4pm, so back to the play room we went. I kept popping back to the nurses station to get them to check on where the medicines were. By 5pm they still hadn't been sent up, I asked if I was allowed to go and get them from pharmacy, no not allowed, they have to come to the ward.
They eventually turned up at quarter past 6. I was so relieved to see them that I could have hugged Joan who came to bring them to us.
I grabbed our things, trundled downstairs and grabbed the taxi that was waiting outside. We got the taxi to the train station, and got on the 7.10 train back to Carlisle where Rob was waiting patiently for us. I was never so pleased to see him ever. Naomi shot off across the platform at Carlisle screaming for her daddy. Think she missed him too.
I was very grateful to get home, to Rob, to our home and to go to sleep in our bed.
Naomi is doing really well in taking her pink pineapple four times a day. She is so brave, being even more so now she gets reward stars for being brave!! She is a star.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Week 3 of 27
The call for Naomi's antibiotics never came. Naomi stopped being sick within hours of not having to take them.
The weekend was quiet (for Naomi anyway!) We had a wonderful visit from Paula, Tom and Cody on the Saturday afternoon. The children played brilliantly together whilst Paula and I cooked tea and drank copious amounts of coffee and tea whilst Tom and Rob supervised the children.
Bliss.
Sunday morning was the first time I have left Naomi properly since the 11th of August to do something for ME.
I tootled over to an event organised by our carriage driving club at Inglewood Equestrian Centre, just outside Penrith. It was so nice to see my friends and their ponies. I tried not to get involved with the events, but having taken the camera I took lots of piccys, and ended up doing the scores for them too. I helped build the obstacles and after the first one had been altered and the drivers needed to drive them again I offered to sit up and hold the reins of my friend Jackie's horse. She decided that although this was a good idea she had a better one. She sent me and her groom / husband back into the arena to walk the obstacle so that I could take her horse and drive it. As I walked the obstacle the nerves started kicking in, when I came out I got up and took the reins. The horse picked up on my adrenalin and started picking his feet up well. We drove into the arena and as we went through the start timer gates we went for it. Whoooops we went wrong in the 3rd gate, meaning we had to back track, redrive the 2nd gate and then take the correct turn for gate 3. But luckily we get to drive it twice, with only the fastest time counting. The second time we came through the start gates we were flying, we hit the right gates this time and when I looked at the times as I finished the scores i saw that we had been second fastest throught the obstacle. What a buzz... Jackie was so pleased that she let her hubby Dougie, who is normally banished to the back step, drive her horse and for me to groom for him. That was nearly as much of a buzz as driving. When we came out and unharnessed the horse, Jackie decided that at the next event, she and I will be both competing her horse. Wow, what a buzz and something for me to look forward to. Excellent.
Monday morning came and so did the hospital transport. We had our bag packed for the whole week. We remembered the car seat, the pesky rabbit and as a precaution, a cardboard sick bowl.
We left on time and quietly trundled along the road to Newcastle. We got half way across the moor before Naomi was quietly and unceromoniously sick into the well prepared sick bowl. I blame it on having been on starvation from midnight, and that the car had at sometime recently been smoked in. Joys. I then sat beside Naomi in the back, praying that I didn't get car sick too. We arrived at Newcastle Freeman hospital with Naomi having chatted to me all the way about what we were going to be doing today. She suprised me on the way, deciding all by herself that she wanted to try to do her radiotherapy without the sleepy medicine. Amazing.
We asked in radiotherapy if she could do it without the anasthetic and they were delighted that she would try. I had to leave the room to go and talk to her through the monitor, we counted to 10 each time and it was done. I cried. I was immensley proud of her for being so brave and deciding all by herself to do it. We were then escorted back to the RVI and taken to ward 16 to wait and see where we were going to be sleeping for the week. Sandra the senior sister on the ward came to see us and apologised for there being no bed at the minute. She had meant to shut out our room from before the weekend so we could have it back again.
The notion of us going home every day was starting to surface as Naomi now didn't need to have recovery from her anasthetic. Sandra got the receptionist on the ward to contact the hospital transport to see if they could bring us in every day, I had no intention of Rob driving every day, he really should be working, especially as his bosses have been so good about him being off to look after not just Naomi, but me too.
Eventually Sandra came back through and said she had us a bed for that night and Tuesday night on ward 9, Rob would come and pick us up on Wednesday after the chemo (and radio therapy) and after that we could have hospital transport in and home on Thursday and Friday.
Naomi and decided on Tuesday that we would go for a walk into Newcastle after we were delivered back to the RVI. We set off with Naomi in the pram and we wandered down to Haymarket, through the streets to Eldon Gardens and wandered in to the centre of Newcastle. It was only after I had been in a couple of shops I realised that I had no idea where we had wandered to. The further I wandered, the more lost we became. I didn't panic, just kept calm, there had to be a sign somewhere that would point us back to the Haymarket or the RVI. Nope, no signs, no familiar landmarks, nothing, and fewer and fewer people around. The light was fading too. Hmmmm I saw a Holiday Inn and it had a taxi outside it. Do I ask for him to take us back and risk him doing 6 laps of Newcastle when he realises how lost we are??? Then my prayers were answered, a guy walked past, he could have been wearing a t-shirt that screamed "Student" it was so obvious that he was one. He looked kind of normal, for a student. So I asked him for directions, he said he was heading that way himself. Hmmmm my heart started thimping, have I used my raydar and picked a wierdo?? It took us a good 20 minutes to walk the distance to Haymarket, I am so glad he walked with us, it was a very long way, especially at long legged bloke speed. I saw the entrance to china town, some very old walls and did feel a bit like an old lady as I was watched across the road and chastised as I was eventually ponted in the final direction of the RVI. The young man (I never did find out his name) did say as he crossed the road to go into Haymarket that next time I went out I really should make sure I had a street map with me. Oooops.
Come wednesday after we had had the radiotherapy we went back to the RVI to have the chemotherapy. Whilst we waited we were given two medical students to scare as the consultant (Debbie) had five of them and she wanted two of them to talk to me about Naomi and her diagnosis.
They were doing really well discussing everything until Naomi came back from getting her injection of chemotherapy. Naomi had buggered off with the nurse to go and get it with her pesky rabbit to hold her hand. She left me to continue talking to the students. When Naomi came back she had her shirt off and had her scar on show. It was then that the male student turned very red in the face and his eyes welled up. He managed to control himself and his tears. The big softy!!
Once the students had finished talking to us we wandered down stairs and sat in the cafe area to eat our lunch and await Rob to take us home. Naomi ate more and more the longer we sat, and when Rob phoned to say he was waiting outside the front door we packed up our little bit of left over lunch and went down to escape back to our own home and more importantly our own beds for the night.
Thursday morning and we have a different patient transport driver. The car again smells of smoke and has been masked with some grotty air fresheners but as Naomi had had two different anti sickness drugs and had her travel bands on too she was grand all the way there and back. We left at quarter to 9 in the morning and were home at 2pm. Superb. Same again tomorrow. the driver has just phoned to say he will be outside the door for half past eight in the morning. so it's another new driver. Excellent.
And when we get back tomorrow we are off to Rob's parents for the weekend. Back Sunday ready for our last radiotherapy on Monday, to be escorted by Alison and Blois. Shopping afterwards then me thinks... and maybe this time we won't get lost!! Well I hope not!!
Wednesday. Rob had text me to say that he was setting off just as Naomi had had her chemotherapy which meant that we were done.
The weekend was quiet (for Naomi anyway!) We had a wonderful visit from Paula, Tom and Cody on the Saturday afternoon. The children played brilliantly together whilst Paula and I cooked tea and drank copious amounts of coffee and tea whilst Tom and Rob supervised the children.
Bliss.
Sunday morning was the first time I have left Naomi properly since the 11th of August to do something for ME.
I tootled over to an event organised by our carriage driving club at Inglewood Equestrian Centre, just outside Penrith. It was so nice to see my friends and their ponies. I tried not to get involved with the events, but having taken the camera I took lots of piccys, and ended up doing the scores for them too. I helped build the obstacles and after the first one had been altered and the drivers needed to drive them again I offered to sit up and hold the reins of my friend Jackie's horse. She decided that although this was a good idea she had a better one. She sent me and her groom / husband back into the arena to walk the obstacle so that I could take her horse and drive it. As I walked the obstacle the nerves started kicking in, when I came out I got up and took the reins. The horse picked up on my adrenalin and started picking his feet up well. We drove into the arena and as we went through the start timer gates we went for it. Whoooops we went wrong in the 3rd gate, meaning we had to back track, redrive the 2nd gate and then take the correct turn for gate 3. But luckily we get to drive it twice, with only the fastest time counting. The second time we came through the start gates we were flying, we hit the right gates this time and when I looked at the times as I finished the scores i saw that we had been second fastest throught the obstacle. What a buzz... Jackie was so pleased that she let her hubby Dougie, who is normally banished to the back step, drive her horse and for me to groom for him. That was nearly as much of a buzz as driving. When we came out and unharnessed the horse, Jackie decided that at the next event, she and I will be both competing her horse. Wow, what a buzz and something for me to look forward to. Excellent.
Monday morning came and so did the hospital transport. We had our bag packed for the whole week. We remembered the car seat, the pesky rabbit and as a precaution, a cardboard sick bowl.
We left on time and quietly trundled along the road to Newcastle. We got half way across the moor before Naomi was quietly and unceromoniously sick into the well prepared sick bowl. I blame it on having been on starvation from midnight, and that the car had at sometime recently been smoked in. Joys. I then sat beside Naomi in the back, praying that I didn't get car sick too. We arrived at Newcastle Freeman hospital with Naomi having chatted to me all the way about what we were going to be doing today. She suprised me on the way, deciding all by herself that she wanted to try to do her radiotherapy without the sleepy medicine. Amazing.
We asked in radiotherapy if she could do it without the anasthetic and they were delighted that she would try. I had to leave the room to go and talk to her through the monitor, we counted to 10 each time and it was done. I cried. I was immensley proud of her for being so brave and deciding all by herself to do it. We were then escorted back to the RVI and taken to ward 16 to wait and see where we were going to be sleeping for the week. Sandra the senior sister on the ward came to see us and apologised for there being no bed at the minute. She had meant to shut out our room from before the weekend so we could have it back again.
The notion of us going home every day was starting to surface as Naomi now didn't need to have recovery from her anasthetic. Sandra got the receptionist on the ward to contact the hospital transport to see if they could bring us in every day, I had no intention of Rob driving every day, he really should be working, especially as his bosses have been so good about him being off to look after not just Naomi, but me too.
Eventually Sandra came back through and said she had us a bed for that night and Tuesday night on ward 9, Rob would come and pick us up on Wednesday after the chemo (and radio therapy) and after that we could have hospital transport in and home on Thursday and Friday.
Naomi and decided on Tuesday that we would go for a walk into Newcastle after we were delivered back to the RVI. We set off with Naomi in the pram and we wandered down to Haymarket, through the streets to Eldon Gardens and wandered in to the centre of Newcastle. It was only after I had been in a couple of shops I realised that I had no idea where we had wandered to. The further I wandered, the more lost we became. I didn't panic, just kept calm, there had to be a sign somewhere that would point us back to the Haymarket or the RVI. Nope, no signs, no familiar landmarks, nothing, and fewer and fewer people around. The light was fading too. Hmmmm I saw a Holiday Inn and it had a taxi outside it. Do I ask for him to take us back and risk him doing 6 laps of Newcastle when he realises how lost we are??? Then my prayers were answered, a guy walked past, he could have been wearing a t-shirt that screamed "Student" it was so obvious that he was one. He looked kind of normal, for a student. So I asked him for directions, he said he was heading that way himself. Hmmmm my heart started thimping, have I used my raydar and picked a wierdo?? It took us a good 20 minutes to walk the distance to Haymarket, I am so glad he walked with us, it was a very long way, especially at long legged bloke speed. I saw the entrance to china town, some very old walls and did feel a bit like an old lady as I was watched across the road and chastised as I was eventually ponted in the final direction of the RVI. The young man (I never did find out his name) did say as he crossed the road to go into Haymarket that next time I went out I really should make sure I had a street map with me. Oooops.
Come wednesday after we had had the radiotherapy we went back to the RVI to have the chemotherapy. Whilst we waited we were given two medical students to scare as the consultant (Debbie) had five of them and she wanted two of them to talk to me about Naomi and her diagnosis.
They were doing really well discussing everything until Naomi came back from getting her injection of chemotherapy. Naomi had buggered off with the nurse to go and get it with her pesky rabbit to hold her hand. She left me to continue talking to the students. When Naomi came back she had her shirt off and had her scar on show. It was then that the male student turned very red in the face and his eyes welled up. He managed to control himself and his tears. The big softy!!
Once the students had finished talking to us we wandered down stairs and sat in the cafe area to eat our lunch and await Rob to take us home. Naomi ate more and more the longer we sat, and when Rob phoned to say he was waiting outside the front door we packed up our little bit of left over lunch and went down to escape back to our own home and more importantly our own beds for the night.
Thursday morning and we have a different patient transport driver. The car again smells of smoke and has been masked with some grotty air fresheners but as Naomi had had two different anti sickness drugs and had her travel bands on too she was grand all the way there and back. We left at quarter to 9 in the morning and were home at 2pm. Superb. Same again tomorrow. the driver has just phoned to say he will be outside the door for half past eight in the morning. so it's another new driver. Excellent.
And when we get back tomorrow we are off to Rob's parents for the weekend. Back Sunday ready for our last radiotherapy on Monday, to be escorted by Alison and Blois. Shopping afterwards then me thinks... and maybe this time we won't get lost!! Well I hope not!!
Wednesday. Rob had text me to say that he was setting off just as Naomi had had her chemotherapy which meant that we were done.
Friday, 16 October 2009
Week 2 of 27
We arrived in Newcastle in time for our appointed time for the echocardiogram at the RVI. We were seen quite quickly, and Naomi was very chirpy and unphased by it all. Once that was finished we were sent back upstairs to ward 14 to have bloods done.
Juliet came through and called for us, we went through and discussed a small redness in Naomi's wound that I was a little concerned about. Juliet decided to prescribe her some antibiotics, to be on the safe side. She also prescribed some anti sickness drugs for us to take home and some more lactulose to keep Naomi "regular". Juliet did say when she prescribed the antibiotic that it was prone to making people sick too so she was prescribing an extra anti sickness drug as well.
Once the results of both the echo and the bloods came back (all within an hour) we could start with the 3 doses of chemo.
The first two were as normal, through the hickman line with a syringe. The third one, the new one had to be infused over 4 hours on a drip. Before the chemo's were given 2 anti sickness drugs were given via her hickman line too. This is because two of the chemo's are prone to making people feel sick.
We had half of the chemo and a call came through to say that the room on ward 16 was ready for us and we could be escorted down as we still had a line attached as the IV drip of chemo was still running.
Arriving back at ward 16 was like coming home in many ways. So many familiar faces in the nursing staff and the other patients and parents too. Gill our angel nurse from the first time we were there was on duty and we were put under her wing until the shift finished. she comented on how much Naomi had grown, she no longer was a toddler but now a little girl (Naomi as not impressed "I am a big girl now" she said afterwards!)
We settled into our room, unpacking what we needed out of the case and trying to keep things tidy in the small space!! Rob was allocated a bed in the hospital's home from home, Crawford house and was taken off by Maureen the CLICK Sergent social worker to find his bed.
Naomi and I sat and chilled whilst the last of her drip was pumped through. After the chemo was finished in the machine they pumped a rehydration drip through the lines to make sure they were clear of chemo, again on the machine. It was after tea before they took the drip off fully and Naomi decided she was very tired. She had been a little reluctant to take the medicines but was quite bidable about it.
Naomi's night was not the best she was quite sick over night, needing to have lots of antisickness medicines and she woke feeling quite tired out and not wanting to do much really but she found a baby and a pushchair to play with in the play room and was quite happy trundling up and down with that.
We were told the ambulance transport was coming for us to take us to the Freeman Hospital for the radiotherapy. It arrived early, just after 9am, our appointment had been brought forwards as someone had cancelled their appointment. So we trundled down to the minibus that sat awaiting. Once we were all in Alan our driver said that if we were to make it to the Freeman on time we would have to "blues and two's it". You should have seen Naomi's face!! Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head! We hurtled down those roads like our tail was on fire. I was no better, sqeaking with excitement and cor could Alan judge distances, he knew exactly how wide that bus was. The gaps he went for made me breath in!! If I ever get sick of carriage driving I am retraining as an ambulance driver. Cor talk about a buzz!
We went down to the play room in the radiotherapy ward and Naomi sat and played, quite happy, she was greeted by mad Tim Murphy the anethatist that had watched over her when she had her surgery and she just gazed at him, not speaking but not retreating either.
I walked with her into the radiotherapy unit and lifted her onto the bed. She chose which wigglie Tim used and as always had a little cry as the white sleepy medicine went in and she drifted off to sleep. We went back to the play room and waited for Tim to come and get us.
About 35 minutes later he came and said she was starting to rouse did we want to come through. We went through and after some tickling and asking if she wanted to come and play she woke up. She wanted to be up and away straight away, the brain was on full function but the body was still drunk. She could not get her legs to behave. I carried her to the play room where she immediately wriggled off my knee and tried to go to the dolls pram and the doll across the room. her legs still weren't funstioning on sober mode and she got quite firm when I tried to get her to wait. Determination is not something us Millard women lack even when half anethatised!
When Naomi had fully come round we wandered quietly back to the ambulance bus and were transported back at a more leisurely pace back to the RVI and ward 16.
When we got back our nurses (Rachel, fully qualified, and Nichola, student) went to get Naomi's next dose of medicines. We managed to get some beans and a fish finger into her for lunch whilst we waited for the medicines to arrive. When they arrived we got the clear liquids into her no problem but the yellow one was a fight. as soon as she had taken the yellow one she was sick. So the nurses went and got her another dose and we had the battle of getting it down her neck which upset her and she lay on her bed and went to sleep.
Naomi woke about 3pm, had some more medicines and drifted in and out of sleep on my bed, or near to wherever I was. She was not about to be seperated from me.
At 4pm we wandered down to the teenagers chill out room at the far end of the ward, it was already full of patients waiting for Franz Ferdinand (a famous musical band) to come and play some tunes accoustically for them. We took a seat, Naomi on my knee and Rob sat on the floor at my feet and these four guys came in. Well for rock stars they did a good job of looking like students!! And geeky students at that!! The two main singers each sat on a chair with their guitar and thanked us for letting them come in to see us. (Duh?) Then they played and sang four songs. I was really pleased that they sounded better live and accoustic than they did on the radio and studio recorded. By the time they had finished the four songs Naomi was starting to get a bit hot round the edges, and wanted to leave so as they had finished the music bit and they were just posing with patients now for pictures we got up and left.
We walked back to the room and Naomi sat on the bed, lifted a sick bowl and was sick again. Poor love, she never grumbles either before or afterwards. She doesn't cry, or complain. She just takes it on the chin and gets on with it. Afterwards I went and got some more anti sick medicine from the nurses, Naomi is on a concoction of 3 anti sickness medicines, one is every 6 hours, one is every 12 hours and one every 8 hours. So the nurses were always lost as to what she could have next. Erm me too...
Naomi went to sleep about the usual time, Rob watched her for a couple of minutes whilst I went to the shop to see what I fancied for tea.
I came back and we went and had our ready meal of lasagne / bolognaise with a wine glass of water and sat and watched the beeb. Watchdog if I remember rightly. Rob went back to Naomi's room to check on her twice and the first time she was fine, sleeping tightly. The second time he came back and asked me about the IV drip she had on. Ermmmm what drip?? I thundered back to the ward, and as I appeared in Naomi's room door way a nurse came to me and said, "oh I hoped you would come bakc I have put Naomi a hydration drip on, she hasn't had much fluids today, just 500 mls" Erm yeh that would have been true at 3pm but since then she's had a bottle of ribena and some water and a glass of milk. To which the nurse looked in amazement and went to check if she could take the drip off. If someone had bothered to come and ask us what she had had to drink we could have told them, saved wasting a bag of whatever it was that they put on.
Naomi didn't sleep badly that night, she retched terribly when the hurse gave her the yellow medicine in the night but wasn't actually sick, nor was she actually sick when she had the yellow medicine amongst all the other anti sickness medicines at quarter to seven in the morning. She wasn't happy though and each time it came to the yellow one it was more and more of a fight to get it in to her mouth.
We had our second bout of radiotherapy today, Friday, and a more sedate trip to the Freeman in a different van. We arrived there and Naomi looked worried, she didn't want to play, or leave my knee. She sat there and when the anetatist came in he was not Tim, and he didn't have the charm the children out of the playroom effect. he was a nice guy but not especially child friendly in his manerisms. Naomi was now clinging ot me. It wasn't until she was lying on the bed in the radiotherapy theatre that she said "why do I have to have my sleepy medicine again mummy??" and I realised although I had explained that she would have to have the sleepy medicine to have her radiotherapy I hadn't explained to her that she had to have it more than once. Ooooops....
Naomi did not want to wake up after her radiotherapy, she lay determindley sleeping, enjoying the after effects of the anasthetic. I decided the best place for her would be to be in the play room in my arms and I reaced down on to the theatre bed and picked her up, as I lifted her she opened her eyes, saw it was me and went back to sleep. I carried her back to the play area and sat with her until she quietly woke up by herself. She heard us discussing food and she wanted bacon. She ate a little of what Rob had bought from the shop. he had guessed she would want a bacon sandwich and so thats what he had bought. Smart people, Daddy's!!
We waited until Naomi was fully up and then quietly went back out to the ambulance, Naomi decided that she wanted to walk there, and no pursuading otherwise would change her mind. Until she got just out of the radiotherapy unit and found that she was actually quite tired and could mummy carry her, daddy carry the baby and that man carry the pram for the baby. (that man being the driver!) We sedately drove back to the RVI and Naomi decided that looking for buses was probably going to be a better bet than looking for Steady Eddies.
We arrived back just in time for lunch, and more medicine was waiting for us. The nurses said she could have some dinner first and so beans and sausages it was. She had a good appetite and ate most of what she was presented with.
It would be about quarter of an hour afterwards when our nurse appeared with Naomi's lovely yellow medicine. Naomi sat on Rob's knee, and I gave her the medicine. She was to battle to get it down but we did, and after she had a sip of juice to wash it down I stood up and stepped back.
As I did Naomi's stomach contents exploded back out of her mouth, instinctively I cupped my hands to catch as much as I could before it hit the floor. I got about half of it. The rest went over Robs knee, his hands and of course Naomi and the floor. Disaster.
I rinsed my hands passed Naomi a sick bowl and went to go and see if I could have some assistance in getting the mess cleaned up. i stopped at the nurses station, 4 nurses were stood talking, I asked them if I could have assistance as Naomi had just been sick alove her self and Rob and me. I then turned back to the room and awaited their assistance. It's just as well Naomi wasn't holding her breath because not one of them came.
It took the nursery nurse to walk past and see that Naomi has been sick and to ask if we needed assistance. She went off to get Paul the cleaner and to see what the nurses could do to help. one of the senior staff nurses came in, grumpy as ever, stating that the cleaner isn't allowed to clean "that" up. I had at least by this time got Naomi out of her sick covered clothes and got her washed with a wet tissue and Rob was trying to get the sick out of his jeans. (Nope he hadn't put another pair in the suitcase, me thinks he will in future) After the nurse had wiped up the sick off the floor Paul came in and mopped up the rest of the smell and sanitized the floor. all we could smell was sick. Curdled strawberry milk shake.... eugh!! Once things had calmed down we were given some more anti sickness medicine and asked to give her ten minutes before we gave her another dose of yellow medicine, she was so shell shocked that she took it and only gagged a little. Poor little love.
After about another 20 minutes we were given the all clear to go home, with our big back of medicines and some small pots to pour the medicines into to get them into the syringes.
The journey home was uneventful, the traffic was busy but it took our minds off the lingering smell of vomit, by the time we were on the outskirts of Newcastle Naomi was asleep.
We were home in time for tea, we had decided on pizza for Rob and I and Naomi had decided she wanted a bowl of plain pasta. No problems.
Half way through the pasta I asked Naomi to stop whilst I got her medicines and she could take them and have the rest of her pasta to take away the taste fo the medicines.
After a short battle I got the yellow medicine down her neck, the clear ones much easier to do as usual. It was as I put the bottle of vile yellow liquid into the fridge that I spotted the word orange on the label. My blood started to boil. Naomi is allergic to oranges. Please let me and my dyslexia have read that wrong. Nope I read it again, right under where it states what medicine it is, contains orange flavouring. For fuck sake. I showed it to Rob. Not impressed. Fuming. Bloody hell, is that what she won't take it without a fuss? Is that why she's being sick immediately afterwards?? Maybe not, but bloody maybe too!!!!
I phoned ward 16, explained who I was and told the staff nurse my issue.
She went and got Kevin one of the onocology doctors. I explained again. He agreed that it was not good to continue the treatment, and that he would ring our doctors and see if they were still open, get them to put up a prescription of something else in the antibiotic line rather than the orange poison they were feeding Naomi. He rang me back to let me know that they were already shut, but he would ring them in the morning if they were open and if they weren't he said he would ring the West Cumberland General to put a prescription through there for her. He did say that although Juliet was the one who wrote up the prescription she would have written it for the generic drug not specifically that flavour. Apparently there is no system of getting allergies which are on the patients notes to the pharmacy. Do you think they might need one???
So the prescription tomorrow will be for penicillin, which the rest of the familly are allergic to. Naomi hasn't been treated with penicillin before and it is on her notes that she is probably allergic to that too, so we will see what then new day brings.
Juliet came through and called for us, we went through and discussed a small redness in Naomi's wound that I was a little concerned about. Juliet decided to prescribe her some antibiotics, to be on the safe side. She also prescribed some anti sickness drugs for us to take home and some more lactulose to keep Naomi "regular". Juliet did say when she prescribed the antibiotic that it was prone to making people sick too so she was prescribing an extra anti sickness drug as well.
Once the results of both the echo and the bloods came back (all within an hour) we could start with the 3 doses of chemo.
The first two were as normal, through the hickman line with a syringe. The third one, the new one had to be infused over 4 hours on a drip. Before the chemo's were given 2 anti sickness drugs were given via her hickman line too. This is because two of the chemo's are prone to making people feel sick.
We had half of the chemo and a call came through to say that the room on ward 16 was ready for us and we could be escorted down as we still had a line attached as the IV drip of chemo was still running.
Arriving back at ward 16 was like coming home in many ways. So many familiar faces in the nursing staff and the other patients and parents too. Gill our angel nurse from the first time we were there was on duty and we were put under her wing until the shift finished. she comented on how much Naomi had grown, she no longer was a toddler but now a little girl (Naomi as not impressed "I am a big girl now" she said afterwards!)
We settled into our room, unpacking what we needed out of the case and trying to keep things tidy in the small space!! Rob was allocated a bed in the hospital's home from home, Crawford house and was taken off by Maureen the CLICK Sergent social worker to find his bed.
Naomi and I sat and chilled whilst the last of her drip was pumped through. After the chemo was finished in the machine they pumped a rehydration drip through the lines to make sure they were clear of chemo, again on the machine. It was after tea before they took the drip off fully and Naomi decided she was very tired. She had been a little reluctant to take the medicines but was quite bidable about it.
Naomi's night was not the best she was quite sick over night, needing to have lots of antisickness medicines and she woke feeling quite tired out and not wanting to do much really but she found a baby and a pushchair to play with in the play room and was quite happy trundling up and down with that.
We were told the ambulance transport was coming for us to take us to the Freeman Hospital for the radiotherapy. It arrived early, just after 9am, our appointment had been brought forwards as someone had cancelled their appointment. So we trundled down to the minibus that sat awaiting. Once we were all in Alan our driver said that if we were to make it to the Freeman on time we would have to "blues and two's it". You should have seen Naomi's face!! Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head! We hurtled down those roads like our tail was on fire. I was no better, sqeaking with excitement and cor could Alan judge distances, he knew exactly how wide that bus was. The gaps he went for made me breath in!! If I ever get sick of carriage driving I am retraining as an ambulance driver. Cor talk about a buzz!
We went down to the play room in the radiotherapy ward and Naomi sat and played, quite happy, she was greeted by mad Tim Murphy the anethatist that had watched over her when she had her surgery and she just gazed at him, not speaking but not retreating either.
I walked with her into the radiotherapy unit and lifted her onto the bed. She chose which wigglie Tim used and as always had a little cry as the white sleepy medicine went in and she drifted off to sleep. We went back to the play room and waited for Tim to come and get us.
About 35 minutes later he came and said she was starting to rouse did we want to come through. We went through and after some tickling and asking if she wanted to come and play she woke up. She wanted to be up and away straight away, the brain was on full function but the body was still drunk. She could not get her legs to behave. I carried her to the play room where she immediately wriggled off my knee and tried to go to the dolls pram and the doll across the room. her legs still weren't funstioning on sober mode and she got quite firm when I tried to get her to wait. Determination is not something us Millard women lack even when half anethatised!
When Naomi had fully come round we wandered quietly back to the ambulance bus and were transported back at a more leisurely pace back to the RVI and ward 16.
When we got back our nurses (Rachel, fully qualified, and Nichola, student) went to get Naomi's next dose of medicines. We managed to get some beans and a fish finger into her for lunch whilst we waited for the medicines to arrive. When they arrived we got the clear liquids into her no problem but the yellow one was a fight. as soon as she had taken the yellow one she was sick. So the nurses went and got her another dose and we had the battle of getting it down her neck which upset her and she lay on her bed and went to sleep.
Naomi woke about 3pm, had some more medicines and drifted in and out of sleep on my bed, or near to wherever I was. She was not about to be seperated from me.
At 4pm we wandered down to the teenagers chill out room at the far end of the ward, it was already full of patients waiting for Franz Ferdinand (a famous musical band) to come and play some tunes accoustically for them. We took a seat, Naomi on my knee and Rob sat on the floor at my feet and these four guys came in. Well for rock stars they did a good job of looking like students!! And geeky students at that!! The two main singers each sat on a chair with their guitar and thanked us for letting them come in to see us. (Duh?) Then they played and sang four songs. I was really pleased that they sounded better live and accoustic than they did on the radio and studio recorded. By the time they had finished the four songs Naomi was starting to get a bit hot round the edges, and wanted to leave so as they had finished the music bit and they were just posing with patients now for pictures we got up and left.
We walked back to the room and Naomi sat on the bed, lifted a sick bowl and was sick again. Poor love, she never grumbles either before or afterwards. She doesn't cry, or complain. She just takes it on the chin and gets on with it. Afterwards I went and got some more anti sick medicine from the nurses, Naomi is on a concoction of 3 anti sickness medicines, one is every 6 hours, one is every 12 hours and one every 8 hours. So the nurses were always lost as to what she could have next. Erm me too...
Naomi went to sleep about the usual time, Rob watched her for a couple of minutes whilst I went to the shop to see what I fancied for tea.
I came back and we went and had our ready meal of lasagne / bolognaise with a wine glass of water and sat and watched the beeb. Watchdog if I remember rightly. Rob went back to Naomi's room to check on her twice and the first time she was fine, sleeping tightly. The second time he came back and asked me about the IV drip she had on. Ermmmm what drip?? I thundered back to the ward, and as I appeared in Naomi's room door way a nurse came to me and said, "oh I hoped you would come bakc I have put Naomi a hydration drip on, she hasn't had much fluids today, just 500 mls" Erm yeh that would have been true at 3pm but since then she's had a bottle of ribena and some water and a glass of milk. To which the nurse looked in amazement and went to check if she could take the drip off. If someone had bothered to come and ask us what she had had to drink we could have told them, saved wasting a bag of whatever it was that they put on.
Naomi didn't sleep badly that night, she retched terribly when the hurse gave her the yellow medicine in the night but wasn't actually sick, nor was she actually sick when she had the yellow medicine amongst all the other anti sickness medicines at quarter to seven in the morning. She wasn't happy though and each time it came to the yellow one it was more and more of a fight to get it in to her mouth.
We had our second bout of radiotherapy today, Friday, and a more sedate trip to the Freeman in a different van. We arrived there and Naomi looked worried, she didn't want to play, or leave my knee. She sat there and when the anetatist came in he was not Tim, and he didn't have the charm the children out of the playroom effect. he was a nice guy but not especially child friendly in his manerisms. Naomi was now clinging ot me. It wasn't until she was lying on the bed in the radiotherapy theatre that she said "why do I have to have my sleepy medicine again mummy??" and I realised although I had explained that she would have to have the sleepy medicine to have her radiotherapy I hadn't explained to her that she had to have it more than once. Ooooops....
Naomi did not want to wake up after her radiotherapy, she lay determindley sleeping, enjoying the after effects of the anasthetic. I decided the best place for her would be to be in the play room in my arms and I reaced down on to the theatre bed and picked her up, as I lifted her she opened her eyes, saw it was me and went back to sleep. I carried her back to the play area and sat with her until she quietly woke up by herself. She heard us discussing food and she wanted bacon. She ate a little of what Rob had bought from the shop. he had guessed she would want a bacon sandwich and so thats what he had bought. Smart people, Daddy's!!
We waited until Naomi was fully up and then quietly went back out to the ambulance, Naomi decided that she wanted to walk there, and no pursuading otherwise would change her mind. Until she got just out of the radiotherapy unit and found that she was actually quite tired and could mummy carry her, daddy carry the baby and that man carry the pram for the baby. (that man being the driver!) We sedately drove back to the RVI and Naomi decided that looking for buses was probably going to be a better bet than looking for Steady Eddies.
We arrived back just in time for lunch, and more medicine was waiting for us. The nurses said she could have some dinner first and so beans and sausages it was. She had a good appetite and ate most of what she was presented with.
It would be about quarter of an hour afterwards when our nurse appeared with Naomi's lovely yellow medicine. Naomi sat on Rob's knee, and I gave her the medicine. She was to battle to get it down but we did, and after she had a sip of juice to wash it down I stood up and stepped back.
As I did Naomi's stomach contents exploded back out of her mouth, instinctively I cupped my hands to catch as much as I could before it hit the floor. I got about half of it. The rest went over Robs knee, his hands and of course Naomi and the floor. Disaster.
I rinsed my hands passed Naomi a sick bowl and went to go and see if I could have some assistance in getting the mess cleaned up. i stopped at the nurses station, 4 nurses were stood talking, I asked them if I could have assistance as Naomi had just been sick alove her self and Rob and me. I then turned back to the room and awaited their assistance. It's just as well Naomi wasn't holding her breath because not one of them came.
It took the nursery nurse to walk past and see that Naomi has been sick and to ask if we needed assistance. She went off to get Paul the cleaner and to see what the nurses could do to help. one of the senior staff nurses came in, grumpy as ever, stating that the cleaner isn't allowed to clean "that" up. I had at least by this time got Naomi out of her sick covered clothes and got her washed with a wet tissue and Rob was trying to get the sick out of his jeans. (Nope he hadn't put another pair in the suitcase, me thinks he will in future) After the nurse had wiped up the sick off the floor Paul came in and mopped up the rest of the smell and sanitized the floor. all we could smell was sick. Curdled strawberry milk shake.... eugh!! Once things had calmed down we were given some more anti sickness medicine and asked to give her ten minutes before we gave her another dose of yellow medicine, she was so shell shocked that she took it and only gagged a little. Poor little love.
After about another 20 minutes we were given the all clear to go home, with our big back of medicines and some small pots to pour the medicines into to get them into the syringes.
The journey home was uneventful, the traffic was busy but it took our minds off the lingering smell of vomit, by the time we were on the outskirts of Newcastle Naomi was asleep.
We were home in time for tea, we had decided on pizza for Rob and I and Naomi had decided she wanted a bowl of plain pasta. No problems.
Half way through the pasta I asked Naomi to stop whilst I got her medicines and she could take them and have the rest of her pasta to take away the taste fo the medicines.
After a short battle I got the yellow medicine down her neck, the clear ones much easier to do as usual. It was as I put the bottle of vile yellow liquid into the fridge that I spotted the word orange on the label. My blood started to boil. Naomi is allergic to oranges. Please let me and my dyslexia have read that wrong. Nope I read it again, right under where it states what medicine it is, contains orange flavouring. For fuck sake. I showed it to Rob. Not impressed. Fuming. Bloody hell, is that what she won't take it without a fuss? Is that why she's being sick immediately afterwards?? Maybe not, but bloody maybe too!!!!
I phoned ward 16, explained who I was and told the staff nurse my issue.
She went and got Kevin one of the onocology doctors. I explained again. He agreed that it was not good to continue the treatment, and that he would ring our doctors and see if they were still open, get them to put up a prescription of something else in the antibiotic line rather than the orange poison they were feeding Naomi. He rang me back to let me know that they were already shut, but he would ring them in the morning if they were open and if they weren't he said he would ring the West Cumberland General to put a prescription through there for her. He did say that although Juliet was the one who wrote up the prescription she would have written it for the generic drug not specifically that flavour. Apparently there is no system of getting allergies which are on the patients notes to the pharmacy. Do you think they might need one???
So the prescription tomorrow will be for penicillin, which the rest of the familly are allergic to. Naomi hasn't been treated with penicillin before and it is on her notes that she is probably allergic to that too, so we will see what then new day brings.
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