How odd

this morning I was in a hospital getting treatment and now at 9:30 am I'm in the fifth floor hotel coffee shop beside the train station. Its a medium level buzz fest about the G20. Journos from what sounds like all over having breakfast around me and I'm looking out on the balcony where they have two Talking Heads set up. Saw two different guys but they could have been twins doing interviews. But they were obviously talking to someone in a studio somewhere.  Now its sitting all vacant. The server tells me that the sets have been used continuously from friday night.

The ride over was quiet and without any traffic jam. Lots of road blocks on the side streets but no problem getting to Roma Street station. There is a whole contingent of Police in the Transit centre but no excitement. I can't see any world leaders taking a bus out of town.

My life is very interesting...
Looking forward to seeing Bluey at 3:00pm today.
More later
Chris

More on bored people

More on what bored people do in the hospital

They have a coffee in the coffee shop downstairs and they up date their Blog.

I reckon nurses don't get as much praise as they deserve. The job has become so much about paper work and getting all the boxes ticked and yet they still seem to have time to be genuinely interested in your life as well of course of your wellbeing. I have met and re met some outstanding  nurses in this year of popping into GPH. They are all great. they keep their heads as the pressure builds they are pleasant and explain what's going on and they stick to the rules  even when its inconvenient for some prednisone boys. I just can't say enough good things. Thanks to the GPH nurses and to all the staff. And thanks to  my other nursing pals especially ones that left other careers to join nursing!

more later
Chris

Going good

Going good with my Insuin and blood sugar levels. today I start the reduced Prednisone pills and at this time last cycle my readings were still over the top but this morning I was well within range. So may get to leave on Sunday.

Had a great visit from Wal and Mary Ellen last night. They drove in after work and visited for a couple of hours. Good yarns, catch up and laughs thanks guys. Wal told a story on Pat Ehrich about figuring out  that a horse is pregnant.

Hey Jo got any other daughters looking like that?

Good eh?
more later Chris

What Bored people in hospital do

Well maybe no what ALL people do, but what I do.

Ive been looking at these cupboards and my lst room had the same problem. the two doors were out of alignment the top door tilted up and the bottom tilted  way down. As I always call my multitool I adjusted them and now they look like this

Its what I do. But its really what I do on Prednisone.

more later
Chris

Its all about the numbers

Insulin Units, BSL (blood Sugar levels), Rb(Red blood cells), Wcc (all the white cells), Neutrafils (the best of the whites, Is to the whites what a buttery oaky chardy is to white wine), Creatin, Albumen.... and on and on.

If the numbers come out right I get to go home sooner! I'm doing better this time because we have the records  of last time we did this exact procedure. Here's my guess at my doses this time around.

As you see they have been changed already! but the BSLs are better this time! So I'm on track for early release.

But release to what? We have to see how Bluey can get to here through the city or around because its all in G20 mode here and lots of roads have been closed for the weekend.

We'll get it figured out and I'll get out sometime.

more later

Chris

Just chill'n

Waiting in the hotel before I check into the Green slopes Country club.  Actually its the Green Slopes Private Hospital. some time later this afternoon I go in to start my third and last round (hopfully) in the Pontecelli Protocall for my kidneys. I will get 1000 mgs of Prednisone intraveniously each of three days then 50 mg oral. each day after that I will be in the hospital until they get my insulin balanced after the three days and that took 3 whoole days last time. I'm hoping that with the records of the doses last time, where we were just guessing the levels and then making the adjustments in the next dose window, we may get the jump on getting the levels right sooner.

Anyway I've already set out a chart of new levels for the whole 8 days I may be here and we'll see how I do at getting them right. I of course don't get to make the decision my wonderful Endo team leader Dr Who is in charge of that. or leaves it to the registrar. We'll see how acurate I've been.

I'll have lots of time to blog so watch your inboxes if you've set up notifications and if not... check back often.

Spooktacular Night talk

this is the text of a talk I was supposed to have given last night but circumstances made it not happen. I'd like to share it with you.

Hi My name is Chris Olin and part of what this evening is about Blood Donor awareness so…

·      Hands up how many folks here think that the blood you donate is used almost entirely for trauma patients, Road accidents etc.?

·      Hands up who thinks that most of it is used for surgical patients?

·      Hands up who thinks Obstetrics, Othorpedics and other medical uses takes most of the blood?

·      !!!!!

·      The biggest single use of blood from the Red Cross is cancer patients! Yep people like me take 34% of the blood and blood products.

·      Next is 19% for other causes of anemia

·      18% for Surgical, 13% for other medical patients, 10% for Orthopedics, 4 % for Obstetrics

·      And last but still important 2% of donated blood products goes to trauma patients!

Okay but what are people like me, using all that blood for?

7 years ago I had a blood cancer and was offered a Stem Cell Treatment also called a bone marrow transplant. My immune system was compromised as a result.

Hands up who thinks your immune system is in your Liver?

Hands up who thinks it in your Spleen?

Hands up who thinks your immune system is that hot new feature you got with your HI LUX turbo diesel?

For those that sat on your hands just now you are right! Its none of those.

Your immune system is a collection of blood cells wizzing around your body created from your bone marrow. So when something goes wrong with your immune cells you need to replace the missing cells with donated cells.

I’m a white wine drinker but from time to time I need red…… blood cells. I’ve also had platelets  in the past. Now, every month, I get Intragam also called Imun-Oh-glob-lin-G or IgG.  Tonite only I’m calling it Immune to gob-lins! 

This, from what I can gather, is the antibodies in a donated blood product that has been distilled down into a clear liquid that helps me fight infections.

It takes a large number of donations to get the little bits that make up the Immune To Gob-lins I need.

So if you have given blood at any time,  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for my continued great health.

If you haven’t given yet, think about this,  1 in 3 people,

 look around you! 1 in 3 will need a blood product at some point in their life. But only 1 in 30 people currently donate blood. So why not make a pledge tonight to roll your sleeves up and give.

To finish … I, like Dracula,  look forward to someday getting a little blood from all of you.

more later

Chris