Now I have a confession to make, I am not actually a very good nurse, oh I do my very best, but I am clumsy and forgetful and I can't count the number of times Chris's stomach contents have nearly siphoned out of the PEG tube because I forgot to clamp it or squirted water all over him because I missed the PEG plug due to my early morning stupor and forgetting to put my glasses on. Thankfully my mild mannered husband can see the funny side of things.
This morning I set Chris's daily PEG feed up as usual and went to clean the PEG hole and flush the tube and Chris complained of pain. I touched around the hole and it was really red and inflamed and it looked like he could have an infection. Luckily our surgery out at St Keverne are very good and they squeezed Chris in as an emergency in the afternoon and the doctor prescribed him some antibiotics. I also picked up the prescription for his new medication. Our surgery dispenses prescriptions, but the midazolam had to be ordered so I dropped that into Tesco instead which is nearer. They said it will take a week to come, where do they get it from..China?
Prior to that I had tried to get hold of the gastro nurse. The number I had was for one based in North Cornwall as there only used to be one in Cornwall. I was greeted with a message that she no longer worked for the NHS and to ring a different number. It seems there is a nurse in west Cornwall now too which is progress I guess. I got hold of her eventually and she gave me some tips and advice and to make sure the doctor took a swab.
I told Chris I would give him his first dose of antibiotics down his PEG as soon as the day feed had finished. It was nearly time, it usually finishes around 4ish. I asked him if the alarm was beeping yet and he told me he couldn't hear it working, bear in mind that I set it going at 10am, well...I thought I had. I checked the pump to discover that I hadn't even set it going and there was a litre bag of feed still waiting to be fed to Chris!! I asked him if he was hungry and he said, 'Yeah a bit, I was really fancying a pasty.' We both laughed, I flushed the antibiotics down, then some more water and actually set it going this time.
Poor Chris, I told you I was a rubbish nurse, thankfully, in spite of that he still manages to love me.
This morning I set Chris's daily PEG feed up as usual and went to clean the PEG hole and flush the tube and Chris complained of pain. I touched around the hole and it was really red and inflamed and it looked like he could have an infection. Luckily our surgery out at St Keverne are very good and they squeezed Chris in as an emergency in the afternoon and the doctor prescribed him some antibiotics. I also picked up the prescription for his new medication. Our surgery dispenses prescriptions, but the midazolam had to be ordered so I dropped that into Tesco instead which is nearer. They said it will take a week to come, where do they get it from..China?
Prior to that I had tried to get hold of the gastro nurse. The number I had was for one based in North Cornwall as there only used to be one in Cornwall. I was greeted with a message that she no longer worked for the NHS and to ring a different number. It seems there is a nurse in west Cornwall now too which is progress I guess. I got hold of her eventually and she gave me some tips and advice and to make sure the doctor took a swab.
I told Chris I would give him his first dose of antibiotics down his PEG as soon as the day feed had finished. It was nearly time, it usually finishes around 4ish. I asked him if the alarm was beeping yet and he told me he couldn't hear it working, bear in mind that I set it going at 10am, well...I thought I had. I checked the pump to discover that I hadn't even set it going and there was a litre bag of feed still waiting to be fed to Chris!! I asked him if he was hungry and he said, 'Yeah a bit, I was really fancying a pasty.' We both laughed, I flushed the antibiotics down, then some more water and actually set it going this time.
Poor Chris, I told you I was a rubbish nurse, thankfully, in spite of that he still manages to love me.
