Bit of a blip

Pads was up and out again today. But at about midday he got a little nosebleed, and little blotches started appearing on his skin. These are sure signs of low platelets. When the result came back from the blood count this morning it said he had 2 (two - HB was over 10 but neutrophils less than 1 so he's still neutropenic, as expected). The threshold for invoking an infusion of platelets in brain op patients is slightly higher, so, while the rest of us had great fun rowing on Roath Park lake, there was no escaping a visit to the ward for mum and P. That was all fine and quite routine, until he started to react a bit, or it was the start of an infection..? Either way, with a 'rigor' and his temp on the rise, measures were taken: Piriton and a bolus of IV fluid, plus IV antibiotics - fairly dramatic. He looked and felt pretty awful (feeling cold, groggy, juddering a bit, cold extremities), temp went up to 38, and so the nurse put up IV paracetamol. Within half an hour, he was a lot brighter, temp read 36.5, enjoying the European Championship Athletics with a cup of tea. He's sleeping now and we're in 'splendid isolation' on Sky ward so hopefully this will just be a short stay, a blip.
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