137 – Circling the Drain, Part 4: 4 January 2025

Margaret often talked about her beautiful patient Sara.  Sara’s life was cut far too short by cancer.  I found this newspaper cutting amongst a handful of Margaret’s things just before I wrote this Blog.  Margaret has written “80s” on the right hand side at the top of the cutting.

Sara and Margaret both look so beautiful.

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This is another photo of me (far right) taken at First Falls Morialta on Sunday 17 July 2022.  The rain in the Park that day was very heavy and I got soaked.  By then, although I felt it was unlikely I would die in the near future, Margaret’s life was once again about to be threatened by her cancer.

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In May 2021, my life hung by a slender thread.  I was admitted to hospital on Friday 30 April 2-21.  I felt ghastly in the morning that day and I rang Dr Aiyapan’s rooms seeking urgent help.  I knew I was going down and it was unlikely I would ever be able to get back up.

Dr Aiyappan arranged for me to be urgently admitted to hospital.

That first period of hospitalisation lasted from Friday 30 April to the morning of Friday 7 May 2021.

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I updated my diary of symptoms very shortly after I got home on 7 May.  This is my diary of symptoms for Saturday 1 May to Tuesday 4 May 2021

Symptom	Saturday 1 May 2021	Sunday 2 May 2021	Monday 3 May 2021	Tuesday 4 May 2021
Asthma	Asthma controlled by medication while in hospital	Asthma controlled by medication while in hospital	Increasingly severe asthma attack from 7:30 pm onwards; required additional medication to control the asthma; attack continued until about 9:00 am Tuesday 4 May 2021	Continuation of asthma attack from previous night until about 9:00 am; eventually controlled by medication; Further asthma attack at 8:25 pm – not quite as severe as previous evening and controlled by medication before midnight; put on oxygen all night to help with breathing
Persistent Cough	Coughing controlled by medication while in hospital	Coughing controlled by medication while in hospital	Severe coughing attack from 7:30 pm onwards; required additional medication to control the coughing; attack continued until about 9:00 am Tuesday 4 May 2021	Continuation of coughing attack from previous night until about 9:00 am; eventually controlled by medication;
Reflux	No change	No change	No change	No change
Sinus/ Hay Fever	Sneeze attacks and nasal discharge controlled by medication while in hospital	Sneeze attacks and nasal discharge controlled by medication while in hospital	Severe sneezing attack with severe nasal discharge from 7:30 pm onwards; required additional medication to control the sneezing and discharge attack continued until about 9:00 am Tuesday 4 May 2021	Sneezing and nasal discharge from about 8:25 pm – not as severe as previous evening
Sleep Disorders	Slept in hospital after given sleeping pill	Slept in hospital after given sleeping pill	Terrible night’s sleep even though administered sleeping medication	Sleep possible only because of sleeping medication, extra cough medication and supply of oxygen to help breathing
Gluten Intolerance	Avoided food with gluten	Avoided food with gluten	Ate 2 biscuits with wheat – bad results as detailed	Avoided food with gluten
Lots of Bloating and Flatulence	Bloating controlled by medication while in hospital	Bloating controlled by medication while in hospital	Severe bloating from 7:30 pm onwards; not controlled by medication; bloating continued until about 9:00 am Tuesday 4 May 2021	Continuation of bloating from previous night until about 9:00 am; eventually went away. Bloating returned at about 8:25 pm but not as severe as previous evening; gone by 7:30 am on Wednesday 5 May 2021
Hiccups	Hiccups controlled by medication while in hospital	Hiccups controlled by medication while in hospital	Severe hiccupping all night	Hiccups controlled by medication while in hospital
Optical Migraines	Nil	Nil	Nil	Optical migraine at 8:30 am
Loss of Sense of Smell	Unable to smell since mid December 2020	Unable to smell since mid December 2020	Unable to smell since mid December 2020	Unable to smell since mid December 2020
Miscellaneous	(1) Able to eat while in hospital (2) Airways closing down whenever I speak to anyone	(1) Able to eat while in hospital (2) Airways closing down whenever I speak to anyone (3) Very hard night	(1) Able to eat while in hospital (2) Airways closing down whenever I speak to anyone (3) Very hard night	(1) Unable to eat breakfast while in hospital (2) Airways closing down whenever I speak to anyone (3) Hard night but not as bad as Monday night

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My circling of the Death Drain nearly became terminal nearly unstoppable on Tuesday 4 May.  I remember I was in my room when my airways began to completely close down at about 11.30 pm.  I began Perimeter Prowling around the inside of my tiny hospital room.  I did not press the nurse call bell.  My actions were automatic.  My breathing was about to stop so I immediately started the strategies I used when this happened at home.  

I was in a hospital and I did not have the sense to press the nurse call bell.

I was walking circuit number three when the night duty nurse knocked and entered the room.  She felt something was wrong, so she entered to check on me.

I cannot even remember the name of this wonderful nurse who saved my life that night.

She immediately placed me on oxygen to help me with the breathing and tried to get approval from the doctor on duty to give me stronger pain relief than Panadol.  Without examining me or coming to see me at all, the doctor refused to allow anything other than Panadol.  My hero nurse then gave me up intravenous Panadol.  I was in extreme agony, but eventually the intravenous Panadol dulled the pain.

I survived that night because of the compassion and skill of someone I had never met before, someone I have never met since.

Thank you to every one of the multitude of carers who remain unknown but without whom our community would collapse.