Echo scan

On Friday I had an Echo scan of my heart. This was to check if the infection I currently have originated from there or has affected my heart. Because a Hickman line sits in the vein that feeds into the heart I think the doctors are being extra cautious and dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.

I have to say it wasn’t a very glamorous experience- it involved me being naked from the waist up and although I was given a hospital gown to wear I had to have it open at the front so it didn’t provide much coverage! As is usually the way, it was a man carrying out the scan but I got the impression that he’d done so many over the years and seen hundreds of pairs of boobs that they were simply an inconvenience in being able to scan the heart effectively! 

The scan lasted about 15 minutes and I had to move into various positions so he could check all parts of my heart. I’m assuming I will get the results on Mondays ward round. The worst bit of the whole experience was the fact it happened at 8.30am! All the nurses know that I don’t surface before 9.30am and they all leave me alone in the mornings. Because I don’t eat I don’t get the early morning “what do you want for breakfast?” question at 7.30am and they know that there is no way I’m getting up for them to make the bed until I’m ready! So when the porter arrived I had to quickly brush my teeth and make myself presentable. At least it got me off the ward for a while! I’m so fed up of being here, stuck in the same room for all this time. I’m desperate to get home, to sleep in my own bed, to spend time with Hubby and the kids, walk the dog and see how the garden is coming along. 

For years Hubby has wanted to have the garden landscaped, the grass levelled and decking built but with dealing with my illness, the pandemic and saving up the money it’s taken us years to finally get around to it. Work started a few weeks ago but it’s a massive job with trees being cut down and roots dug up, fences and retaining walls built all the way around the garden and that’s before we even get to grass and decking!

One thing I’m looking forward to is having some raised beds built so I can grow fruit and veg like I did in our old house in Hertfordshire. At the moment I’ve got tomato, courgette and pepper plants growing as well as some sacks of potatoes. I say me, but really it’s Dad taking care of them until the garden is finished and I’m home from hospital. I get regular updates on how everything is growing which I love.