Another Setback

First, a Happy New Year to you. Sorry it's a bit late, but I've had a bit of a strange start to 2012. Why? Well here goes.

At my first pre-chemo check of the new year my temperature was over the dreaded 37.5 limit. This figure is deemed to be a warning sign that all is not well. Having gone through the usual questions about side effects and establishing that the only one I was having was fatigue it was decided that as long as my blood test results were OK we would go ahead with the following week's chemo. I then asked the doctor to take a quick look at a rather angry looking swelling that had developed around the site of one of my daily Clexane injections. As soon as he saw it and felt how hot it was he said "that's your problem". It was decided that chemo would be suspended for a week while I went on a course of antibiotics to deal with the infected area. Apparently the two don't work well together.

So I set off on seven days of Flucloxacillin. As time went on I started feeling weak and tired, which was a bit strange as the effects of my previous chemo session had started to wear off, but the leaflet in the tablet box did indicate that this antibiotic can cause neutropenia (shortage of white cells) as does chemo.

A week later at my next appointment (last Friday) I was hoping that the go ahead for this week's chemo would be given but the doc decided that as my temperature was still up and the swelling hadn't subsided a further five days of antibiotics was called for and my chemo session was put off yet again. I told the doctor that I had considered sticking a needle in it to try to drain it, and she said she'd considered the same but but felt that more tablets were the answer.

Over the weekend I seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. My appetite was all over the place and by yesterday I had all on to walk upstairs. Then, yesterday afternoon the infected area started to weep at one end. I decided that now was the time to act! I lifted the very thin layer of skin over the wound and set about squeezing the infected area. I was absolutely amazed at what came out. This horrible mess just poured out, and when I'd finished I had a hole in my side about 15mm x 10mm and about 10mm deep. It looked as if I'd been stabbed!

Fortunately we have a drawer at home full of the various medical supplies I have to use and was able to find a sterile dressing to cover the area. What I was now concerned about was further infection so I rang my GP surgery to see if one of their nurses could clean and dress the wound properly. Despite clearly explaining my overall situation I was told that the nurse was in surgery and that they MIGHT be able to fit me in next morning! Very helpful - NOT.

As it happened Marie had a scan appointment that evening to sort out her bad back which she probably got running about after me and my mother, so I decided to call in at A&E to see if my injury needed further attention. They were very good. The doctor cleaned the wound and took swabs to send to microbiology. Later he came back with a prescription for different antibiotics based on their findings, and a lovely nurse to further clean and then dress the area. I have to go back on Friday to have it checked, which is quite convenient as that's when my next chemo clinic visit is.

What surprised me more than anything is how quickly I started improving after the wound had burst and been cleaned up. It was as if someone had put some new batteries in me. I hope they were Duracell!. Judging by the mess that came out it must have been pumping poison into my blood for a couple of weeks. At this stage of chemo the immune system is rock bottom and my body just couldn't cope with the infection, even with the antibiotics.

So, I woke up today feeling much better and have just enjoyed a bacon sarnie. Hopefully I can now get back to what passes for normal in my life. Unfortunately that's pretty crap right now but better than the last two weeks. Signs are that by the end of the week the problem will almost have cleared up and next week's chemo, the fourth of six fortnightly sessions, can go ahead. Yes, that'll knock me out for a few days but at least it's doing some good - hopefully!