February 2014 - Some gruesome pictures

I was going through my phone today deleting loads of old pictures, and came across some pictures I'd taken during my time in hospital and just afterwards. They don't show me at my best, but they do show some of the state I was in at the time. As I said in my last blog, I am a year down the line now from when it was first noted I had something wrong with me (not fully diagnosed in February 2013), so it pains me a bit to look back at these pictures....makes me remember those unhappier times.

The nose.....

This picture was taken on bed 5 on the D-Neuro ward in Southampton, the day the packing came out of my nose. For 3 days, I had cotton wool "mini-tampons" stuffed up my nose whilst the worst of the bleeding subsided. Then the nurse came along, and said it was time for the packing to come out. To say the least, it was unpleasant....they were a long way up my nostrils. For the rest of that day, and on and off for the rest of my stay in hospital I had a nosebleed. It is interesting to note that it was my left nostril then that was bleeding, and it is still my left that is a bit sore now, and the one that still produces a fair bit of mucus. Of course the main purpose of my stay there was to remove a tumour, the nose just happened to be the "way in" to my head. It gets bashed about somewhat, but is preferable to them having to open up your skull!!

The rash....

Clarithromycin, an antibiotic. I needed antibiotics to ensure I did not get an infection through my bashed up nose around the site of my operation. I'd had this drug before and I was fine, but this time I was not fine at all. Most of my body came up in this purple rash, which as time went on began to itch, and itch, and itch. In due course a combination of this and the antibiotic they replaced it with (Doxycyclin) caused the skin on virtually my whole body to peel off. Whilst it was unpleasant to look at, in the grand scheme of my recovery it wasn't terrible, but I could have done without it.

The peeling....

I would wake up in the morning and there would be skin everywhere, it really was gross. Big chunks of skin just peeled off, in all it took about 2 weeks for it to run its course. My face was largely spared, but everywhere else from my hands, arms, torso (back and front), legs and feet peeled. I've never seen anything like it and hope never to again. Deb hated this part of my illness cycle the most, she made me hoover everywhere I went around the house and wouldn't come near me until the peeling had finished....can't blame her really.

The 'elephant legs'....

If you've never seen my feet, then you have no reference to go by I suppose. But at 5 foot 6, with size 7 feet, I'm pretty petite by a man's standard. This picture of my feet however, and what you can see of my ankles and legs tells a different story. This was one of my least favourite parts of recovery. When I came out of Ward C6 in Portsmouth I had bad fluid retention, I really worried that my legs/feet would not recover from their elephantine look. The doctors and nurses assured me they would recover back to normal, and indeed they did. But it was damned uncomfortable walking around on them, and I did need to move around on them to make sure the fluid disappeared. Bloody horrible.

You'll be glad to hear, that's it. No more gruesome pictures!

In other news, with MRI Scan and blood tests in the bank, it is off to see Dr. Kar on the 17th to see how I'm doing. Another update after that......laters!