I fell off the toilet seat

Did I get your attention? When you are inebriated the absurd thought of falling off the bog isn’t soo odd. Sadly a few weeks ago I did fall off the can but I wasn’t drunk I was ill/sick.

Now after living here (UK) for so long the work sick means so many things.

Sick: in the UK can refer to vomiting.

Sick in North America means sick with a, cold, flu, and viral infection anything really

Ill in the UK is more like the North American version of sick.

For the purpose of this entry I feel I should find a name for this illness / sickness / nightmare / pain in the ass situation. Give me a sec, I thinking. I would like to just call it a fucking pain but it is a pain so let me come up with a better word. When ever in doubt refer to Sesame Street. I’m going to pick a 2006 character that I don’t have any memories or affiliations with. Sorry Abby Cadabby…. I’m picking you

So on October 16^th 2014 I woke up with Abby Cadaddy! I was feeling rough as fuck and my lymph nodes were swollen. (Glands for the UK lot). I’ve always been pretty astute to my body and something was not right. I called in sick at work that morning and went to see the GP. Before even seeing the doc I knew what lymph nodes do and I’m aware that when they are swollen it’s a sign that my body is fighting an infection.

I haven’t always had the best experience with GP’s so I was so surprised when I was actually examined and the doc actually felt me. She agreed that I yep, my glands were swollen and it was probably a viral infection. She told me to take painkillers when needed, and to rest. She said I should feel better in about a week and If didn’t I would need to return for a blood test. She signed me off for a week.

I should have gone back to work the following Friday but I wasn’t getting better I was getting worse. It was that weekend when I had my ‘falling off the toilet’ incident. I had a bath and then felt dizzy and too weak to get to my bedroom so I thought I would have a little rest and sit on the (closed) toilet seat. I sat there for a not even a minute and then fell. Luckily I put out my hands and landed on all fours. My head almost hit the sick but fortunately it didn’t. Some how I managed to get up and stumble to my bedroom and landed on my bed. I didn’t move for 3 hours and remained in the same position. I fell asleep like this and my hair dried naturally un brushed. This was the beginning of my uni-dread. Think of one massive dreadlock. It was clean… but I swear birds could have nested in it. I was massive and I wasn’t fussed.

When I woke up my heart was racing and I was kind of freaking out. I had been in physical pain for weeks now and I was tired. Plus, lets not forget that I was coughing like a chain smoker. (I don’t smoke)

I was worried for me and wanted to go the A&E (ER), however I had my rational hat on. I have worked for the NHS in a hospital and I know how they work. The worst time to rock up, is on the weekend. Staffing is limited and unless you are bleeding or its more severe its not worth going. I could have explained my Abby Cadabby symptoms but its wasn’t worth it. I needed to make it through the night and Monday would arrive. I could go to the GP then.

On Monday I put on a bra for the first time in 11 days. There were only going to be one of 2 things that was going to happen that day. Either I would put on a bra or brush my hair. The uni-dread birds nest was twisted into a bun and fastened with a big clip.

I walked super slowly to the GP and wiped tears. The tears weren’t all linked to the pain, some were concern. I was not feeling any better, only worse. In the waiting room the tears were more steady. The walk there had done me in. When my name was finally called I entered consultation room 2 and was confronted with another GP. I thought I had met them all at my practice but apparently not.

I sat there and tried to explain how I felt while crying quite a bit. I was also explaining that I’ve never cried in the doctors before. (Paediatrician appointments don’t count). The whole thing was messy. He looked at me with great concern and told me he thinks I have one of 2 infections. We will call one Abby and the other Cadabby. I also had a fever at the time and when he examined my throat he told me I had tonsillitis too! He said that as soon as I left the surgery (doctors clinic) I had to go straight to the medical centre for a blood test. It was Monday October 27^th and my results would come back in a week. During this visit he also signed me off for another 2 weeks and said I was not fit to return to work. I did as I was told and went for my blood test.

On Tuesday October 28^th I was in lots of pain and watching TV in the living room was not option. I was not going to leave my bed. It’s where I spent most of my time anyway. I was too tired to do anything, even the soles of my feet ached. I was quite emotional that day. I’m youngish, I shouldn’t feel like this. My mom was calling me twice a day from Canada to see how I was doing. At about 2ish my phone rang with a withheld number. All the numbers from my employers are withheld so I thought it was work. To my surprise, it was the doctor calling me. He asked me how I was feeling and I started crying again! Poor guy… I still feel bad about that. He said he had hoped I was feeling better but seeing I wasn’t I needed to go to the hospital. He explained a few things. He had put a rush on the blood tests and my white blood cells were high… too high. Something bigger could be wrong. Also the blood test had shown that I had recently had Abby and Cadabby, so instead on having one whopping virus I had had them both. ( I know have the antobodies for them) The doctor explained that he was going to call the hospital and give them the heads up on my situation. He said I could have gone in that evening but if I went the following morning I might be seen quicker. I opted for the morning. Doc also explained that depending on how things go I might be admitted. He told me to pack a small bag when I went in.

I called my mom who was with my sister and explained the news, something was definitely wrong but I didn’t know how wrong until I had more tests etc.

The next few hours were a mixture of several phone calls. My mom was looking into flights that evening to arrive in London on Wednesday morning. This way she would go with me to the hospital and deal with anything that might need dealing with. During this time I also spoke to one of my managers who also offered to go with me to the hospital if I couldn’t find someone or if my mom couldn’t make it.

I’m a lucky grateful child. My mom arrived on Wednesday morning and we went to the hospital together.

This entry is soooo long so I’m going to fast forward a little.

At the hospital I had a load of blood tests, blood cultures, xrays of my lungs etc. My white blood cells count had improved since the Monday so they sad that I didn’t need to stay in and just carry on resting.

The recovery is long and slow. Ive been back to the GP and they are monitoring things. My sick note has been extended to January 2015! This sounds crazy but is all Abby Cadabby related. Abby Cadabby also explains why I have felt shit most of they year. I had a really bad cough in June and though it eventually went away I never really felt like the normal Leena.

I hope that I feel like the normal Leena soon.