It had been a week since I had had the chemo and although the side affects weren't easy to cope with, I felt that I was doing well. The district nurse needs to come once a week to clean and flush my line and also take blood the day before my chemotherapy. She had been once already and I was absolutely fine, even helping her to hold the line whilst she cleaned the area. But this time around when she had got all the dressings off and it was just the line I started to feel a bit faint, I remember my Mum giving me a drink of water. Then the next thing I came round and could not work out what was happening, where I was and who this lady was next to me!! Slowly I worked it out; I could hear Alexa screaming, I knew I was sat on the kitchen floor and I remembered that I was having the line cleaning. I started panicking that the line had fallen out, but the nurse was able to reassure me that it was okay.
The nurse tried to get me to stand up but I couldn't so she laid me on the kitchen floor, not the most comfortable place to lie down!! I went from being really hot and clammy to feeling really cold, so I was covered in blankets. As I started to be more with it Mum explained what had happened; as she gave me the water my eyes rolled back and I began to jerk in her arms. As you can imagine she was in a right state; she was worried that I was fitting and then she began to worry about my heart as she knew the PICC line was going into my heart. Poor Alexa was in a state, she had been having her breakfast with Mum when I collapsed; she must have known something was wrong as she was so upset.
The Nurse decided that she should call an ambulance just to be on the safe side. I was feeling really tired and just wanted to sleep. A paramedic arrived first and checked me over, he was worried about my blood pressure as it was very low. He wouldn't let me get up as it was so low; he must have felt sorry for me lying on the cold floor as he sent Mum to get me a duvet to lie on. He thought that I had collapsed due to the low blood pressure and he checked my blood sugar levels which were also really low. Alexa was gorgeous whilst I was lying on the floor, she kept coming up and lying with me, giving me kisses and cuddles.
The ambulance finally arrived and I was strapped into a stretcher, which was a weird experience. They carried me down to the waiting ambulance and wheeled me into the back; it was all very dramatic!! Being in the back of an ambulance is very strange, you cant see out and you are strapped in so you cant move at all, not very good for someone who doesn't travel that well!! I started to feel a bit sick when the driver started the 100 point turn to get out of our drive!! It didn't help that once I said I felt really sick they decided to put the blue light on and weave in and out of the traffic! Luckily I made it to the Royal Berks without being sick.
They wheeled me straight into a side room as being a chemo patient they didn't want to expose me to lots of germs. It is amazing how you go to the front of lists and get special treatment when you have cancer, no less than we deserve I suppose!! They tested me for everything and all seemed okay, my blood sugars had dropped even more so I had some lovely NHS sandwiches!! The doctor was sure that it was just a faint, apparently you can jerk and your eyes can roll when you faint. She was sure it was due to the fact that I hadn't eaten, that the nurse was moving my line around and also the affect of the chemo on my body. The PICC line nurse came down and removed my line as it had come out too much; so I am free of my little friend for 2 weeks, which is when they are going to put it back in ready for round 2 of chemo.
So, I was allowed home and had lots of rest for the rest of the day. The moral of this story is to make sure I eat regularly, get lots of rest and listen to my body! I don't think my poor Mum could cope with any more drama!
Much Love Cx
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