Saturday, December 08, 2007

Sick of hospitals

First, I ended up in hospital. I got punched in the face in Leidseplein in the wee small hours of Saturday morning two weeks ago and ended up with a fractured skull. Don't ask me what happened, I really have no recollection. I wasn't even very drunk according to the hospital blood tests. Kudos to the hospital: they were AMAZING. X-rays, scans and extremely attentive care (they were concerned about meningitis and concussion). If you're going to be ill, be ill in Holland.

Then as I was getting out of hospital, my dad went in. It seems like it's a consequence of his rheumatoid arthritis medication (methotrexate, evil, evil stuff) suppressing his immune system and letting a chest infection get out of hand. He's now been in ITU for a week and it looks like he's turning the corner. What happens after he comes round is open to question, apparently RA causes lung damage too. My family have been amazing, rallying round, visiting and generally keeping the excellent ITU staff on their toes.

Fed up with hospitals. Bah.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

after those experiences, I dont blame you!

Anonymous said...

Hi Dave, I hope the punch didn't land on the good side of your head :p Seriously, hope you've recovered.

I can vouch for the lung damage diagnosis. My Mum sufferred pulmonary fibrosis as a secondary symptom of RA - I don't know how much of it was caused by the condition or the medication.