Hospital Stay - 12/5/14 to 30/5/14

So, I go for a routine outpatients appointment and end up staying for three weeks!

Why?  I was in need of IV antibiotics which would clear and infection quicker than taking oral antibiotics!

After waiting all day for a room (my outpatients appointment was at 9am, I got a room just after 5pm), they assessed me, fitted the cannula in my arm, took blood and started the antibiotics.

A few days later my bloods dropped (life if an anaemic) so they gave me an iron infusion.

Towards the end of the first week the antibiotics had completely kicked in and I was starting to feel better but still had to stay in and have several tests (MRI scan x2, colonoscopy, skin biopsy, blood tests daily).

As I was under the care of the dermatology team they also prescribed some creams alongside all of the drugs and when the IV antibiotics was finally stopped after 16 days I was given steroids to take along with my folic acid, vitamin D.

In the beginning I thought the food was great.

I hadn't been eating properly for a year as I had no appetite and no energy to even prepare myself any decent meals, so when everything is done for you, you appreciate it more and make the effort to eat.

But then as my appetite came back the food just seemed so boring and bland but I had to eat!

The good thing was that they catered very well for a gluten free diet, not so much for a dairy free diet though, however I can not complain. I think there was only two occasions where there was nothing I liked on the menu and had to get my mum to bring me some food.

I was on the 12th floor of the hospital and had an ok view of the area.

Now I am home I do feel 10 times better than than I have done in the past year and I am very grateful for everything that the team did for me over the three weeks that I was in their care, especially the nurses who were so caring and understanding, I will always remember what they did for me and the little chit chats we had!

I still have a long way to go but I feel that things are under control and I have the right support in place to help me get through this. It was an experience that I would not want to go through again so have learnt my lesson to always question and get a second opinion when it comes to my health as there is always another option.