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Unexpected trip to A&E

So this weekend I'm very excited for my plans! Saturday night Emily, Jayne and Victoria are coming round for facials and to have our hair done and have a girly night in! And then on Sunday Ciaran's boss has arranged for us to go to the Manchester United game in a hospitality suite which is so kind! I love going to Old Trafford and the weekend before my op me and Ciaran went to the United v Chelsea game and I did mention to Ciaran that I'd love to be able to sit down (because our tickets are in Stretford end we stand up all game).

However, on Saturday I woke up at 4am with an intense pain in my rib underneath my boob on the left hand side. I've been having stabbing pains from the pacing wires as I've mentioned but this was far more intense and more of a dull pain. I couldn't breath because it hurt so much when I breathed in and I couldn't get back to sleep. So I phoned the Jim Quick ward at 8am when the day staff start and spoke to one of the sisters and she said she'd chat to a doctor and call me back.

Because I'd had a biopsy on the monday and it was hurting when I took a breath she said they wanted me to get a chest Xray. Our local infirmary's Xray department isn't open anymore on weekends which is really annoying as it meant I had to go to A&E for an Xray. So I phoned 111 first to see if there was any other possible way of getting an Xray and they said I'd have to go to Leighton A&E but she'd let them know I was coming.

Sounds weird coming from me but I hate being around sick people! I just imagine all the germs flying about, especially in A&E where it's so busy. We arrived at about 12pm, my mum took me because Ciaran was at work, so I'd had a quick wash and put fresh clothes on as the pain was a bit better after taking paracetemol and a codeine. I don't know what other people's excuses were that were in A&E at midday in their pjamas!



The lady at the desk knew I was coming, I was very impressed! And I must add that if you can wander outside for a fag while you wait you do not need to be at A&E! And neither did the woman that was there with period pain and was worried her implant wasn't working!

I didn't wait long before I saw the triage nurse, I had an ECG, and bloods done and then waited about 20 minutes and then went through to the bed areas where I was told they'd send me for a chest Xray and they'd be giving me a heparin injection in case I had a blood clot. My chest Xray was fine and they said my clotting factors were very high but because I've just had huge surgery this is really common so it can't actually tell them if I have a clot or not.

So they said I'd need a CT scan but I'd probably have to have it the next day, which is really not ideal!! I want to get back for my pamper night and I want to go to the football!! So I phoned Wythenshawe to ask their advice because I really didn't want to stay in, but they said it was more dangerous for me to go home if I had a blood clot than it was for me to be exposed to germs.

So I stayed the night, I finally got onto the ward and saw a doctor at 1am, she went through all my medications, details and spoke to Wythenshawe about what they wanted them to do. Although while I was waiting in the afternoon I was told the doctor had spoken to Wythenshawe, they just made that up! My experience in A&E is always that the nurses are wonderful, they brought sandwiches and crisps while we were waiting, but the doctors don't even come and see you they just look at your test results. I asked for a side room on the ward to avoid germs and they agreed that was a good idea, and thankfully Beyonce performed at Coachella on the sunday so I watched that live from my room! But I was so upset to miss the football when I wasn't ill.

So I had my CT scan the following morning and I didn't have a clot, they suspect I just pulled something in my rib. So they sent me home about midday and I was shattered so I had a long nap when I got home! Because my resting heart rate after transplant is around 113bpm, when they do your observations in hospital it scores so they have to monitor me every hour even though that is a completely normal heart rate for a transplant patient!

Anyhoo, it wasn't an all bad week! Earlier in the week I decided to get Ciaran tickets to see Bastille reorchastrated, we went to see them at MEN a couple of years ago and they were great but this tour is with a live orchestra. Ciaran really wanted to go when it first went on sale but it's at Manchester Apollo and we thought it was standing so we didn't book it, turns out its a theatre and it's all seated so I booked tickets monday and we went on the tuesday. We went out for food in Manchester and had a great night out! Although, just as I thought I was being normal, the occupational therapist from Wythenshawe sat next to us at dinner! Thankfully I don't think she could place me, would have been very awkward seen as she showered me the week before! Haha.



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