The effects of infections

[marionq]

This week I have had a bad bout of flu despite or because of the flu jab! On Thursday I began to recover slightly and was glad John wasn't affected although I noticed yesterday a few coughs and sneezes starting. When he stood up after a half eaten dinner at 6 pm he slumped to the floor.

This was new. After trying all sorts short of lifting him I got him to the bathroom by getting him to hold on to my shoulders and walked with him as a sort of cloak round my shoulders. After two hours of trying every which way to get him to stand up to take a pee or to pee in a bucket while sitting on the floor I gave up and phoned the paramedics. They lifted him onto the toilet and he peed sitting down. He is very particular and this offended but relieved him!

The upshot was a trip in the ambulance with a high temperature and a wee heart worry. I got home at 2.30am and he is still there just to see what is brewing, according to the doc. Our new mega hospital in Glasgow is like Star Wars but the staff were lovely and joked along with him. His nurse in A & E had plastered his sister's broken elbow earlier in the week which made it all quite a cottage hospital feel.

John looked a bit panic stricken when I was leaving but behaved stoically so we will see what today brings.

 

[Izzy]

Oh Marion I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope your John is ok and back home with you soon. Do you have a community alarm? Probably paramedics better in this instance but I've had to use the community alarm a couple of times when Bill has fallen in the house.

I hope you manage to get some rest before you go back to see John.

 

[marionq]

I was told I needed an alert button but in all the maelstrom I cannot remember exactly what that entails. The paramedics told me to call in future even if I just needed help lifting him up into bed. All in all it was appositive experience as I now know how the system works.

 

[Izzy]

Our community alarm is provided by the social work department. There isn't pendant for Bill to wear but we don't use that as Bill is never alone. If I need them I press the button on the small unit by the bedside. The times I've used it they have been very prompt and efficient. It's also possible to get a pressure mat linked to the system. Our smoke alarms are also connected to the system.

 

[sleepless]

Sorry to hear your news, marion q, you must be very tired yourself, so do hope you can get some sleep now, and that John will soon be home and on the mend.

 

[Cat27]

I hope both you & John are ok today Marion.

 

[marionq]

The postscript is that John is still in hospital and they have done a battery of tests. We now know lots of things which aren't wrong with him but still pursuing what caused his collapse and his fluctuating temperatures. I believe the key lies in the bad flu I had and the fact we both had flu jabs the week before all this happened. Instead of the full blown flu he got a general collapse.

They have his saliva on a culture so we'll see what the result is.

He is very subdued today and I would rather take him home but this temperature is making that impossible. I will not be having the flu jab next year even though this is the first bad outcome we've had.