Well, it was close.... BUT I GOT HOME!!
A gorgeous day out, ETD about 1.30. At 1.15, they say I can go home right after they've transfused four units of platelets. All packed and ready, I lie down and they start the platelets through the port that goes stright towards my heart. Nice brisk gravity drip -- rattity tat. Out of here in a minute.
Well, two minutes later, my face is bright red, my lips are swollen and tight, my tongue is tingling and my chest feels like a hippo is sitting on it. Thank ghod the RN stayed in the room to observe -- just as I croak "I think I'm having a reaction", she gets a look at my face, unclips the bag of platelets (instant relief) and calls for backup. Flurry of injecting benadryl and stuffing tylenol down my throat, and I'm more or less back to normal, except more scared than I was, with a much tighter breathing pattern.
That little episode took up another five hours before we got out of the hospital -- take blood, do bloodwork, check platelets, readminister benadryl and tylenol, administer new bag of platelets at a much slower rate.
Finally got out of there about 6.00pm, feeling tired but as relieved as I ever have. I just wanted to get home, I kept saying. Just let me get home...
Of course, en route home required two stops at drug stores to try to complete the raft of prescriptions I had (almost no drug stores carry 50mg Prednisone tablets, and I rather gave up on one CVS after the pharmacist assured me he could give me four 20mg tablets instead of one 100mg tab, and it would "come to the same thing".)
But then I was home, the cats were purring and making butter, and the dog was rolling over gently for a tummy rub and mooing. Sheer bliss.
Sleep! In my own bed! Shower! In my own bathroom! Pee! Without having to pee into a measured bucket thing! Home cooking!
Life just doesn't get much better than this.
Posted by maddy at October 15, 2003 08:05 PM