Just a brief update on a recent drama.
Sometime before Christmas I saw my GP regarding a few
palpitations I had been having. I had a short ECG and was then recently referred
for a twenty four hour ECG. I had this last week and have been waiting for the
results. Being told you have something wrong with your heart is troubling. You start
to worry that it’s not beating properly, or that any pain or twinges might be a
sign of something worse. This is all on top of the worries about the cancer
spreading.
I have been quite busy at work recently and did a twelve
hour shift on Friday which left me aching, to say the least. I worked a
standard eight hours on Monday, and then having come home I was sitting at the
computer when I had a sudden and severe pain which started in my back. I have
often suffered from back pain, as most chefs do, but nothing like this. I
actually ended up rolling around on the floor trying to ease the pain to no
avail.
Things started getting worse with the pain spreading across my
back and into my arms. I was feeling light headed and went from feeling very
hot to really cold. I have never suffered a heart attack, but was convinced
this is what was happening to me. I was just at the point of calling an
ambulance when Bim came home, so we dashed into A&E at West Suffolk Hospital.
Given my symptoms, I was seen almost immediately and taken through to have an
ECG and blood tests. The ECG results were normal with no signs of anything
worrying. The blood test results take longer, but I started to relax a little. I
was then examined by a doctor who again confirmed that he could find nothing
wrong with my heart. I still had the pain in my back, but by this time it was
not down my arms. I was then sent for a chest X-ray and we were moved to the
Clinical Decision Unit to await further results. This was like being upgraded
to Business Class from economy! We had reclining seats and a nurse brought us
tea and biscuits.
Having ruled out any immediate heart problems, the doctors
were then focussed on what else was causing the pain. I had further blood tests
and a spinal X-ray. We were in A&E for about eight hours in total. Just
before one in the morning we were seen by the doctor looking after me and she
went through all the results they had found. She was able to rule out all of my
concerns regarding heart or lung problems and confirmed that it was not an
Aortic Dissection. This was something I did not know about, but it sounded
particularly horrible when she explained it, so it was just as well that I did
not realise that is what they were looking for.
This just left one worrying potential diagnosis for what was
causing my back pain which was Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression. This is
where the cancer in the bone grows and puts pressure on the spinal cord which
can be very painful and has serious outcomes including paralysis. The doctor
said that we could go home but I would need to see my Oncologist to check if I
would need a CT or MRI scan to check for this condition.
So! We went into hospital thinking I was having a heart
attack and came out thinking I was going to become paralysed.
Needless to say I arranged to speak with my Oncologist the
next day. She has now investigated all the results further including all the
blood tests and the research nurse rang me today to confirm that there is no
possibility of the cancer having spread to my spine. Apparently she could tell this
from checking the levels of Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) which was well within
the normal level. The consultant suggested that the pain could have been a
muscle spasm, or possibly even indigestion.
What does all this mean?
The first thing is that we are not going to have to cancel
our trip to the Maldives at the beginning of April. The second is that I am not
going to agree to any more long shifts at work.
That’s all for now. Our next blog should hopefully include
lots of photos of beaches, cocktails, turtles and dolphins.
