Monday, 26 May 2014

SHE'S BEEN IN HOSPITAL & I'VE BEEN IN A CAGE FOR THREE DAYS - Part two.

Don't panic.. don't panic Dear Readers.. for we are home and out of reach of the Surgeon's knife!

Ok.. back we go to the beginning of this little bit of un-expected 'excitement'.

On Thursday, in the late afternoon, we had our supper. The reason she eats, if by herself, very early is that IF she has a 'drama' in the morning at, let's say eight of the morning clock, she will have been 'Nil by Mouth' for over twelve hours.

This is the critical length of time needed with no intake of food before a Colonoscopy can be performed.

She had had a strange week, on Tuesday she had felt extremely tired, almost as if the stuffing had been taken out of her. 

Wednesday was a bright and sunny day and she was feeling full of vim and vigour (I have always wondered about that vim bit, for Vim is a cleaner, is it not?) and she cut all the grass at the allotment.

Thursday was another good day in terms of her energy and the weather and she came home at a sensible hour and went upstairs to have delicious Japanese Green tea with Tereza. They tried out the new Pop Corn machine, then she came downstairs and we had supper at about half past six.

And were in bed and asleep by half past ten as the weather forecast for Friday was for fine weather and as the shed and the terrace need lots of work as mr.weed has taken up residence, we were both going as I would be in the large cage and within her sight all the time.

On Friday we were up early and into YumYum HQ, she had a large slice of a new watermelon, what! It had NO seeds, not one! But never fear, Dear Readers, as I had a soft boiled egg and rye bread on my plate so I was not feeling in the slightest bit deprived.

She pottered about, bathroom, got dressed, made the bed, took somethings into the sitting room to be ironed later.

Then, huh, she felt a bit weird and 'drama' rode into our lives, she had haemorrhaged and was continuing to do so..

Now. We don't panic in this house. Never. No, not ever. She called her surgery and told them to pass a message onto her GP, she called the hospital, she packed a very small case with stuff for three or four days, then she collected together a credit card, her mobile, her iPad, BOTH their chargers, some money and the very important letter from her Consultant Gastroenterologist which would tell the hospital A&E department all about her.

She explained to me that I was having to go to the Aviary for a while, she did not know for how long but that I would be safe and that was all that what was important and, with that, she put me into my small travelling bag.

And off we went, the traffic was light, a 74 bus came immediately, we got off at Earls Court Road and walked two blocks, they checked me in (I know this place well and they ALL know me)!

She kissed me on Beaky and left for the hospital.

Who reacted immediately upon seeing the letter and she was on a comfy trolley bed in a gown within ten minutes of entering A&E! Pretty quick I call that!

After answering lots of questions, some rather strange, her blood was taken and then another blood man came and a stent with two junctions was put into her left arm, she was hooked up to two drips and left to relax and be quiet.

A couple of hours later a senior nurse came to tell her that she was bring admitted and she was transported by the trolley up into a huge lift and whisked up high into a bit of the hospital where she had never been before, into one of the four wings that sit facing North, South, East and West above the main base building of the hospital.

Through the big doors and, almost opposite to the big central nurses's station, she was wheeled into a single room.

The room was lovely, it was light and bright, the bed did all sorts of wonderful things like going up and down in different angles! She asked for another pillows and they provided her with an extra blanket. 

She changed into her own night dress and sprayed the room with her mix of five essential oils in a high quantity suspended in water. The magic five she calls them, they are big powerful germ killing oils that have the benefit of smelling wonderful!

All manner of things happened to her over the next sixty hours, some funny, some not-so-funny!

The not-so-funniest was being visited on Saturday afternoon by the Registrar and a (very attractive) American. She smiled at them both, she'd met the Registrar previously on Friday afternoon. 

She asked the (very smiley) American "are you a new member of my Gastroenterologist team?".. his reply was not so funny, for he said "No ...., I am a Surgeon".. 

"GULP.. Surgeon" she squeaked.. "yes, you are in a surgical ward" were his next words!

Oh.. heaven's to Betsy.. oh.. SURGERY? Where were 'HER' Gastro guys? Luckily, they soon disappeared with no talk of knives or of operation preparation. Phew!

She was wondering what was a'going on, she was still NIL by MOUTH and now had had nothing to eat for well over twenty four hours except for a slice of water melon? This had given them time to perform a Colonoscopy on her. How very curious.

She was hungry, she was drinking masses of water to try and fool old stomach that he was full but he wasn't in the slightest bit taken in by that old trick.

The worst was having to smell the other patients' food go by her door, sigh.

Suddenly a man walked into her room and said "Hello ...., how are you, what's going on, tell me what on earth has happened?" She gawped at him and got wet-eyed and he tugged her big toe.

Dear, dear Readers.. We are both wet-eyed again as she taps this.. for it was one of HER Gastro guys! Who had found out, totally by a fluke as he was off-duty, that she was in the hospital! He had come immediately to see her.. what a nice man!

"WHAT. HOW LONG. NO, I AM NOT HAVING THAT" and he tore out of the room to the ward station and said "feed her immediately with a lot of food, no-one is here to do a Colonoscopy, it should have been done yesterday to be any use and .... .... ...." which she did not hear properly.

He came back and explained that she was to eat lots of food now, to continue to drink lots but not so much with her supper, to have a big breakfast and to tell them if ONE drop of blood appeared at any time, that he would speak to her head consultant and tell him everything. 

He tugged her toe again and said, "I apologise for all this, don't worry, we will find out what causes it" and he left.

The student nurse came in a few minutes later and asked her what she would like to eat, "but our kitchen is closed" she replied, the sweet girl then explained "your Gastro man spoke to another kitchen up in the private wing and they have said yes, of course"

She wolfed down delicious yumyum, was given a sleeping pill, slept the sleep of the dead, woke up, not a drop of blood. 

Had breakfast. With permission she went to get the Sunday papers, came back, ate lunch. Not one drop of blood to be seen!

The Registrar appeared again (sadly without the smiley American) and asked her if there had been any blood. Upon hearing there was not a trace, he told her that she was being discharged!

Out of bed, washed, into street clothes, bag packed, papers into a carrier, chargers into bag, bed stripped (that did make her student nurse laugh!)

Oh. YIPPEE. Now they had all been utterly charming, every single one of that nursing staff she would be happy to meet again but she wanted. You got it in one. She wanted me, her little fat African Grey Parrot.

She escaped at 4.15 promising them that she would return on Tuesday to collect two medical preparations she has to have before certain tests can be performed.

Whoosh.. She flew out of the door, across the road, big hurry, she had less than forty minutes to make it to the aviary to get "her girl"!

Zoom.. She made it with ten minutes to spare! They are all so very sweet the staff of Animal Fair in Abingdon Road, London W8. They looked after Dagga for many years and now they look after me if she has to go somewhere I cannot go. 

She paid for the extra day that I had been with them, bought a new bag of Parrot Mix, as I regret to say that Sandy sneaked and said I had chomped my way through several dishes of Safflower and Corn etc, etc! 

No, she does not plan to stop my human food (phew) but she does think it a good thing if I have a dish of this for when I feel an attack of 'peck', as in peckish, coming upon me.

We left and jumped onto a little C1 bus which brought us to Brompton Road. Down Yeoman's Row, a wiggle at the bottom of which brought us across a street and then we were home again, home again, jiggedy jig! 

Once we were inside, I was 'released' from captivity and flew up and down the hall, in and out of all the rooms to stretch my wings and then I landed on her head and it was time for a serious cuddle. 

So there you are, Dear Readers, the very full story of how 'drama' rode into town and how she packed us up and we went to the aviary and the hospital for three days.

She was planning to go to the garden to do a sort out and wash the floor, she recounted this in an email to a friend, Sally, who normally lives in France but is staying up in Herefordshire, she vetoed this idea and somehow got old weather to pull a dirty trick on us down here, for we awoke to a cloudy and dismally wet day. 

But clouds have silver linings, do they not? For this has given her the time to tap old iPad. Now you know the full story of why no post appeared on my Blog for those two days, mr.weed lives to grow a other day but the best is that.. we are back in bed.. serious canoodles have been canoodled and you know what? That ironing can be done tomorrow.

For, as Scarlet said "Tomorrow is another day".

It is now our lunch time. But more thanks have to be thanked.. specifically to Debbie, Diane, Faith, Leigh, MaryLou, Pegeen, Sally, Tereza and the team at Animal Fair and last but not least, to that very kind member of her Gastro team.

"The friendship, kindness, love and other such stuff which you have extended and shown to me over this last few days has been.. sniff sniff.. so kind and sweet.. many thanks to all of you"

GeeGee Parrot.
May 26th, 2014.  

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