A day in the life

Some of you reading my blog may never have had the pleasure of a stay in hospital so I thought I would do 'a day in the life of' to give you an idea of what happens. This routine is quite specific to the Intestinal Failure Unit (IFU) and may not happen on other wards or in other hospitals but this is my life at the moment. 

6am- nurse comes and does observations (blood pressure, pulse, temperature ect). If you're lucky you can go back to sleep otherwise it's an early start!

6.30am- another nurse comes to give me antibiotics. These are going into my Hickman line to try and fight the infection. 

8.30am- breakfast. We are lucky at St Marks to have to option of a cooked breakfast so I had a quorn sausage and a hash brown. Sadly toast isn't allowed incase it sets off the fire alarm (apparently last year a patient snuck a toaster onto the ward and kept it in her locker. When she used it the alarm went off and the whole of the 9th floor had to be evacuated!)

9am- daily weigh in and urine sample. On IFU we get weighed every morning as a weight is an indicator of hydration. If you lose 1kg or more it can indicate that you're dehydrated and if you put it on then it shows they're giving you too much IV fluids. We also have to give a wee sample every morning so they can test if for sodium. Again this helps them determine our hydration levels. A lot of fluid is absorbed by the bowel, especially the large bowel, so if you don't have one (as is my case) or if it's not working properly then it's very easy to get dehydrated. 

9.30am- the drug trolley does the morning rounds. There are regular medicines that we get given because the doctor has prescribed them for us to take reguarly and then there are PRN drugs which are as required that we have to ask the nurses for. 

10am- the cleaners come and clean the bay and the toilet. Each bay has its own 'en suite wet room' comprising of a toilet, basin and shower. Luckily there's only me and the Irish lady in A bay and we both like to keep the place clean and tidy. Here's a pic of A bay- my bed is the one in the top right. 

10.30am- observations again. 

11am- visiting starts. Unlike other hospitals who are super strict on visiting St Marks has a more relaxed approach. Visiting is from 11am until 8pm but they don't mind people coming that bit earlier or staying a tad later within reason. Most other hospitals I've stayed in have visiting times of 2-4pm and 6-8pm (or something similar) but I think that because people can be inpatients at St Marks for quite some time and often don't live locally they try to make it as easy as possible for you to have visitors. 

12.30pm- lunch. The meals come up from the main kitchen and are put into the meal trolley. The catering staff then put your meal onto a tray and bring it to your bed. You have to make your choices the day before, so for someone like me, who has the memory of a goldfish, every meal is a surprise!

1pm- drug trolley does the rounds again with lunchtime medications. 

2.30pm- observations again. 

5.30pm- dinner. 

5/6pm- observations again and the drug trolley with the evening medications. Every evening we are given a fragmin injection which thins out bloods. Theory being that as we are in hospital and not very mobile we are more at risk. It is the tiniest of needles but it sure does leave a massive bruise. You could do dot to dot on my stomach after 4 weeks of having them!

9.30pm- last observations before bedtime. 

10pm- drug trolley with bedtime medications. 

10.30pm- lights out. The nurses are very good at being quiet in the night and keep the big lights off in the corridors and at the nurses station. My bay is right by the nurses station and I don't hear them talking or anything at night; they're as quiet as a mouse!

There are also certain things that happen on certain days of the week. Monday is the big ward round with all the doctors, nurses, dieticians etc. You can have up to 10 people crowding around your bed on a Monday morning discussing your medication, how you've been and what the plan is for the week ahead. 

Wednesdays is the MDT meeting (multi disciplinary team meeting). This is where the IFU doctors meet with the surgeons and other doctors/nurses to discuss cases and agree a plan of action. 

Thursdays the IFU doctors have clinic all day so you know you won't see them unless it's an emergency. 

On Saturdays you get swabbed for MRSA. This involves having 3 cotton bud like swabs taking samples from your nose, throat and groin. It's totally painless and takes seconds to do. 

Sundays is the day that the dressings on Hickman lines get changed. The clear dressing keeps the line clean and stops everyday bugs from getting into the line or the exit site.

The dressing change has to be done in sterile conditions to prevent infection. 

So there you have it. People often ask if I get bored when I'm in hospital or what I do all day- now you know. The days pass quite quickly and aswell as what I've listed above I try to have a couple of walks around the hospital each day to exercise my muscles and get off the ward for a little bit. Plus there's magazines to be read, Homeland DVDs to watch and chatting with the other patients and nurses. 

But as soon as the doctors say I can go I will be packing my bags so fast, believe me! There's no place like home. 

NB x