Saturday 17 October 2009

Getting up to speed....

It all started at the end of May '09. I had got up as normal one saturday morning and decided to visit the local shops with the family. We had not long arrived when I started to feel unwell and we decided to return home.

After about 40mins rolling around on the bedroom floor I decided enough was enough and it was time to call an ambulance. They arrived quickly and I was soon carried downstairs and into the back of the ambulance outside. I'll always remember the look on the girls faces as they stood in the lounge looking frightened with my brother who had quickly come down when Tracey had rung for the ambulance. In the back of the ambulance I was quickly given entinox and then morphine to try and ease the pain. Tracey joined me and we were soon on our way to Bristol's Frenchay Hospital.

I arrived in A & E still in some pain where more morphine was administered until they could not give me any more as I was at my limit. Bloods were taken and I was examined by the doctor. After a while the pain eased slightly and I was visited again by the doctor who advised that she was not sure what the problem was and to my surprise advised that I could go home. If I did not feel any better then I could see my GP or visit the Friendoc!

I slowly made my way to the car some 2hrs after I had been admitted feeling like I had been kicked in the stomach. The ambulance crew who brought me in were parked up having a coffee and could not believe that I was being allowed to go home.

The rest of the weekend I felt awful. i was off my food and feeling hot and cold and generally pretty ill.

On the Monday morning I tried to get up to go to work but couldnt do my trousers up because of the pain. I phoned in sick and managed to make an appointment with my GP.

As soon as my GP saw me she advised she was sending me back to Frenchay Hospital. I was admitted to the Surgical admissions ward around 13:00hrs that afternoon.

I was soon examined by the doctor and sent for X-rays. When I arrived back on the ward I was then examined by three medical students along with the doctor. The students diagnosed Peritonitus or a perforated appendix. I was showing the classic signs known as guarding and pain on rebound tests.......I was also yellow where my system was being poisoned from the toxins in my blood.

iIwas immediatly placed on strong antibiotics and pain killers introvenously and advised that I would be operated on before midnight. The plan was to do the proceedure laprescopically (key hole) if all was ok but if when I was opened up it was found to be bad then I would be opened up fully. Great.

I was visited twice in the night by the doctor who advised that the operation would not take place until Tuesday morning as the theatres were busy. during the night I continued to go down hill and was very dehidrated.

Finally at 09:15 I was whisked down to theatre considered an urgent case.......some 4 days after the appendix had burst.

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