Our daughter came home from school with the news that two girls in her class have both been confirmed as having swine flu. My husband had already rung me to say that the local paper was carrying a story that the school had girls with the virus. It is the only school in the area as far as we know. But the treatment has changed, no longer are schools shut to contain the spread. So the girls are not getting an extra couple of weeks off for the summer holidays. The only way that the school will be shut is if too many staff get it and then there are not enough staff to run the school.
We have already got a cold going around the family. Everyone has runny noses. Some have headaches, some sore throats, some achy joints. All of us have more than one thing, but then joint pain is nothing new to me or our daughter.
Today though I have had a lot of problems with my hands and wrists hurting. One little finger is noticeably bigger than the other by the middle knuckle. I have assumed that the change from hot dry weather to cool and wet is causing my arthritis to play up. I have ulcers in my mouth, that will be the lupus playing up. Then there is a lovely lump on my inner elbow where the blood was taken yesterday.
For the next few days I have nothing planned, apart from food needing to be bought. Our daughter is making a cheesecake on Friday so I must get the ingredients tomorrow. Might get my husband to help me so that we can fill up the freezer. He can do all the lifting and carrying, I will chose and pay.
I have spent some time this evening looking at what course I am going to do next. I need to ring the university in the morning as there is a course that I could do but it starts this month. If I do that one and pass it and assuming I have passed the one I finished in May then I will have my degree in January. Then one more course and by the end of next year I could have an honours degree. What I will do after that I don’t know. Whilst it is hard work studying when you feel bad, it does give me something else to focus on. I will have to see what I can do after that.
I had the blood test done yesterday. IT started well as I got a disabled parking bay near the door.
I went to the new local hospital and was treated so nicely it was such a surprise. There was some confusion as to where I was supposed to go. The receptionist thought I should have been in the Day hospital and not in Out Patients. But another receptionist stopped us going to the other end of the hospital. When it hurts to walk then going to another department unnecessarily is a big deal. So I was grateful to her for making sure I was in the right place and not being sent all around the hospital. The people who design hospitals have no idea of what it is like to have restricted mobility. They build these new good looking buildings, but the departments are all over the place and the amount of walking can be a problem.
The nurse who was doing bloods in one room recognised me. She remembered that it is difficult for them to get blood from me and made sure the man who was going to take my blood realised that it would not be easy. She did not make it seem like it was my fault that they have trouble. She made me feel cared for and not just another body.
I waited for my turn, which worried the nurse as she thought maybe I was being made to wait too long. I have never caused problems or complained at that hospital, they are just more caring.
Eventually it was my turn. The man asked me where was usually the easiest place to get blood, and I pointed to a place on my left arm. He took notice of me and put the needle where I had pointed, and got blood first time. It was all over in a few seconds, not the prodding and pulling and pushing that others have subjected me to. It just goes to show that those who tell me it is my fault and then put me through pulling and pushing and twisting the needle are in fact just incompetent. They have either not had enough training or they don’t care.
Anyway between the nurse and the young man who took my blood I felt as if I was cared about. It made me realise that this is how it should be and that the atmosphere and experience of the anti coag clinic is wrong.
I also managed a bit of food shopping. Just one shop and my husband did most of the walking for me so that I could cope.
Last night I was in a lot of pain again. My right ankle and left hand were really painful. It is a worry to me when a new joint is causing so much pain. I am sure it means nothing, but I do worry that it means that another joint has arthritis. I do not allow myself to worry about the future, preferring to stay optimistic that I will not get any worse.
But you look so well! 