PMH stay

My latest hospital stay was vastly different from the Sunnybrook ordeal. For one, I was less sick and less medicated, and I was in a private room rather than sharing with two others. The main difference though was that the approach of the hospital was very different. The nursing staff worked as one team and the floor was presided over by one staff doctor who did only that - oversaw the progress of all the patients on his floor, all day, every day. This left little room for missed medication and mixed messages. We were able to keep our door closed too, which meant that inside the room was restfully quiet. There were no visiting hours - patients could have family and friends at any time of the day or night, as long as they were not rowdy. Family could sleep over, and cots and bedding were available to this end. Miriam stayed with me for her two nights in Toronto, coming straight from the train station to the hospital, and Eric slept there on Saturday night when she returned to Montreal. The result was that I actually left on Sunday feeling better than when I came in, and today was feeling strong enough to go grocery shopping with Eric.

I met with my oncologist several times during my stay - the chemo seems to no longer be attacking the cancer, so it is being cancelled. Just my luck that it does still attack hair, so once again I will be bald, and I am already shedding fast and furiously. We will be meeting with her again next Monday to discuss my options (she has given me this week for recovering from the fever - urinary tract infection - and to get used to my daily injections of blood thinner to help dissolve the blood clot).