Back in hospital

Monday blood counts:
Haemoglobin 130
Platelets 122
Neutrophils 2.38

I knew we would be back but I didn’t think it would be so soon! After Hogmanay and New Year’s day at home, we came in to get Anna’s blood count done. Her counts looked so good (neutrophils well above 1) we were thinking of going out for tea. However, a small rash on her front and back meant a 2 hour wait for a doctor and then the news that it could be shingles and Anna would need to be admitted. I had half heartedly packed a small (and inadequate) overnight bag for her and me, not really thinking we would have to stay. I’ll be making sure in the future that we always travel to the hospital with everything we could possibly need!

Anna is on intravenous antibiotics treatment for chickenpox and shingles. Whether she has them or not, they treat quickly to reduce risk.

We are on ward 4 in a cubicle because of the risks of shingles. It does feel different from ward 2. There are different rules for parents – no hot drinks allowed here at all, no access to the kitchen (they may change their mind once I start buzzing Anna’s frequent nighttime food requests through). There were a few room issues – no light bulbs in the bedside lamps (now sorted), no working tv (quickly sorted) although apparently we may lose the picture due to lack of signal.

However, as in ward 2, all the staff are kind, caring and looking after Anna well. She is fast asleep with various drips running, I’ve put her medicines through her ng tube and am settling down to sleep. Looks like we will be here for a few days.

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