Moving On

I have a new home in the Churchill. Yesterday afternoon I was discharged from ICU and sent to the Renal Ward.

ICU

Renal Ward

I had been off noradrenaline for 18 hours. Although my BP had dropped during dialysis it had otherwise remained above 100 and with a good MAP throughout the day.

Before the move I completed a dialysis session and then had one of the drains removed, along with the central line and an arterial line used to measure my Blood Pressure.

This leaves me with a catheter and the remaining drain (on my right near the site of the operation). This in turn makes me much more mobile as I don’t have to drag so many ‘chains’. There were times in recent days I felt like Jacob Marley

Movement is now easier – I was actually able to walk around the bed yesterday evening.

I’m still sore in the middle which makes bending my legs difficult but this is easing.

On renal ward it is generally quieter at night although it took a long time to get to sleep partly due to my neighbour whose light was on until 11pm and watching Coronation Street on low volume but without headphones until midnight. Somewhat selfish in my opinion but part of communal living.

I awoke this morning to find my sheets covered in blood. This was a bit of a shock! This was coming from my drain which had leaked a little. The nurses and doctors don’t seem too bothered about it and will keep checking. Apparently it happens a lot. Dressing changed and sheets / gown too.

For now I’m sitting in a chair – it’s nice to be out of bed for a little while at least.