Well what a weekend!

Saturday afternoon, had done a couple of jobs and sat on he sofa in front of Wimbledon and the GP qualifying. Nodded off. Woke up feeling very hot. Not surprising, it was a hot day. We had something to eat and I still felt hot and rough. Sharon convinced me to take my temperature. 38.1, not good. Sharon rang the oncology triage service, I wasn't worried, I was out of it. I was hoping I could pop across to The Horton, get some antibiotics and get home to bed. Triage said if I went to A+E at The Horton they would almost certainly admit me and I would probably be in all weekend. If I went to The Churchill they woulkd check my bloods, give me some antibiotics and send me home, unless I had become neutrepenic. Neutropenia is a possible side effect of chemotherapy. Basically the white blood cell count becomes so low that the body can not fight any infection and sceptisimia sets in very quickly. The chemo guidance all says you have about an hour from initial infection to intensive care.
Probably worth the drive to The Churchill then. They were fantastic, the duty doctor, Anna, did everything she could to get me through and home, but all her efforts were beaten by Pharmacy once again! I don't know why it is so difficult for a doctor to get drugs from a pharmacist. The penicillin I needed is available on the internet with 24 hour delivery. But Anna couldn't get it out of The Churchill and couldn't risk letting me go without it. So Sharon went home about 1:15am and I stayed the night. I then had to wait until 1:15 pm for Pharmacy to dispense some penicillin. Like I said, I can buy it on the internet with 24 hour delivery. Temperature had dropped back to normal by the morning, antibiotics were doing their job.

We got out of The Churchill by 1:30pm and hit the A34, heading Dorset. Some people were surprised to hear I was going to Dorset, but it was important to me, important for Sharon and LIFE MUST GO ON! I have no idea how much life I have left, I am not about to put things on hold just because I have had a bit of a temperature. I am sure I will need this level of determination at some point in the future, so I am building it up now.

Also, I love driving and travelling. Even in the Suzuki with the A34 and A303 full of Sunday drivers, it was fun. The concentration required to drive well fills the conscious part of my brain. The unconscious seems to process all the other stuff that is going on. I always feel better after a drive. Feeling well enough to drive was a milestone in the first chemo regime. Luckily, so far this regime, I haven't fell so unwell I can't drive. Lets hope it stays like that. I really fancy a day in a Morgan 3 Wheeler.
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