Tuesday night fever
Having sat around all day, with very little happening, the night proved rather more eventful. We are all blaming Angela, one of the nurses, who spent yesterday asking Quent for more "excitement" to make her day go more quickly.
Quent had dose 3 at 11.10pm. He rigored at 1am and then decided to host a party in his room. It's easy getting invites out in a hospital - you drop your SATS and your blood pressure and everyone just turns up. It's faster than Facebook.
By 3.00am Quent's blood pressure was 60/29 - and then it fell further. He had blurred vision and difficulty breathing, in spite of the maximum amounts of oxygen that were being pumped into him. All the other patients on the ward must have been looking after themselves as we had all the ward nurses, the on call doctor, the nurse practitioner (top dog nurse who roams the hospital looking after acute cases) and the only doctor from Critical Care.
Unfortunately, when Quent passed out, it was just myself and one nurse in the room. She rushed out to get help and there I was, staring into the whites of Quent's eyes as his pupils rolled. I am not sure if the Scouts do a nursing badge, but if they do, maybe someone could send one over for me to sew on my pyjamas. (I have discovered there is a bossy side to nursing to which I am reasonably well suited.)
If I make it sound as if I cope well in such situations, I fear I am talking it up. I was petrified.
This time, we have been in room 8 - a fairly quiet room down the corridor. But today, they are moving us back into the naughty room (room 6), right under the nurses' noses. We had never been anywhere but the three rooms closest to the nurses' station before. Somehow it was destined not to last.
Quent was stable and fast asleep when I left him. But the long wait for the tiny tot to get off the CBeebies website means I have been away longer than intended. (Yes, you're right; I kicked her off in the end. Tiny tots never get off websites by themselves!) I had better get back. Nursing assistants can't spend all day on the internet.
Quent had dose 3 at 11.10pm. He rigored at 1am and then decided to host a party in his room. It's easy getting invites out in a hospital - you drop your SATS and your blood pressure and everyone just turns up. It's faster than Facebook.
By 3.00am Quent's blood pressure was 60/29 - and then it fell further. He had blurred vision and difficulty breathing, in spite of the maximum amounts of oxygen that were being pumped into him. All the other patients on the ward must have been looking after themselves as we had all the ward nurses, the on call doctor, the nurse practitioner (top dog nurse who roams the hospital looking after acute cases) and the only doctor from Critical Care.
Unfortunately, when Quent passed out, it was just myself and one nurse in the room. She rushed out to get help and there I was, staring into the whites of Quent's eyes as his pupils rolled. I am not sure if the Scouts do a nursing badge, but if they do, maybe someone could send one over for me to sew on my pyjamas. (I have discovered there is a bossy side to nursing to which I am reasonably well suited.)
If I make it sound as if I cope well in such situations, I fear I am talking it up. I was petrified.
This time, we have been in room 8 - a fairly quiet room down the corridor. But today, they are moving us back into the naughty room (room 6), right under the nurses' noses. We had never been anywhere but the three rooms closest to the nurses' station before. Somehow it was destined not to last.
Quent was stable and fast asleep when I left him. But the long wait for the tiny tot to get off the CBeebies website means I have been away longer than intended. (Yes, you're right; I kicked her off in the end. Tiny tots never get off websites by themselves!) I had better get back. Nursing assistants can't spend all day on the internet.
posted by Helen at 2/13/2008 12:00:00 pm
5 Comments:
Some of your regular blog readers can vouch very well for your "bossy side" based on memories of our very own "naughty room" all those years ago! Fortunately for Quent it sounds like you still have the knack!!
Seriously though, thoughts and prayers are with you both.
HLxxxxx
Well - you are having quite a week of it aren't you. Thinking of you both loads. Hopefully you've peaked on the drama front now and can have a calm rest of the week. Lots of love. Jen xxx
That's not what I meant by a "special Valentine", Quent'...
Hope the rest of the week is better for you, Helen I'm surprised Quent hasn't kitted you up with a laptop and some sort of internet wireless device ;)
Take care,
Sylvaine
Q&H&O - thinking of you lots today. Hope to see you both soon, Bob & Ali xxx
Fingers crossed (and anything else that may work) for a rather less 'exciting' end to the week. BTW - Bossy? since when...? xx
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