Brett's been very poorly the past few days.
Constant temperatures and vomiting.
No antibiotics were working.
His temperature was still ridiculously high even whilst having IV paracetamols.
The night before Christmas eve was terrifying. Brett had a ridiculously high temperature that they couldn't get down then his blood pressure started falling and his heart rate went up.
That's what happened the last time he went to intensive care critically ill.
I didn't sleep all night. There was a constant stream of doctors and nurses checking him.
Obs were taken every 10-15 minutes and everyone looked worried.
By 5 am things had calmed down and Brett was steady again.
The doctors think it's either an infection (although none can be found that could make him this ill)
Or it's his cells engrafting. (that's the cellular punch up I talked about earlier)
With no real wellness on the horizon we prepared ourselves for the inevitable Christmas in hospital.
We knew he could theoretically have been home or had a few hours at home but we also knew he was way too ill.
Hey Ho, what's one Christmas when he has the chance of 70 more?
The real problem was keeping both kids happy.
Poppy has been struggling terribly with Brett's cancer this time.
When he was first diagnosed at 13 years old, she was only 9 and couldn't really grasp the concept.
Now she's 14 and understands fully and loves him and feels scared.
It's horrible watching her put on her grown up brave face for people.
She has developed great coping strategies but I still feel its unfair on her.
We had asked the consultant if Poppy was allowed to see him Christmas Day. They were unwavering.
Brett is in isolation for an important reason and they wouldn't allow anyone in unless he had achieved the milestone of three consecutive days with Neutrofils of 0.5 or above.
His counts had been 0.7 and Christmas Eve 1.3.
Kev and I decided early this morning to just go for it. I packed the presents and Poppy in the car and headed to the hospital. The important blood results had just come in as I parked.
Neutrofils today of 0.8
Phew!! Poppy was ecstatic to be able to spend an hour with her brother on this important family day.
We had imagined a beautiful family reunion full of joy, relief and laughter.
Life had other plans.
Poppy bounced into Brett's room and was shocked to see how he looked yet hid it well.
Brett greeted her by grabbing a sick bowl and vomiting.
Luckily this doesn't phase Poppy one bit as she's very used to it.
The present opening started and Brett descended further into a grump. It was as if it suddenly had dawned on him it was Christmas and he was staying in hospital.
When was time for Poppy and Kev to leave Brett was very surly.
He went straight back to sleep. No amount of cheering him up would make today acceptable in his eyes.
So I stopped trying and started talking about next year and what he would do if he won the lottery etc.
Sometimes you have to go "yep this is pants I totally agree"
The day hasn't been too bad. He had a sack of presents off the hospital, admittedly he's already planning if he can return them to the shops and get the money back.
Yep that's my Brett !!
The staff have tried to be silly and jovial but any attempt to cheer him up has been met with a stern look from him. He has spent most the day sleeping but hasn't vomited much at all.
Hopefully things are on the up.
No comments:
Post a Comment