Not everybody likes talking about their illness, while others feel it is important to share experiences in order to help others when they come up against the same obstacle. I fall in the latter camp.
This is the developing story of my battle with Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL); a battle I am determined to win.
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Worn out with the barn not full
© Mrs Harveywetdog |
So where do I begin?
The 2020 hay season had been pretty bad for me and the 300 or so bales I had put in our barn had pretty much wiped me out and left me with a persistent niggly cough. Of course 2020 was Covid year and persistent coughs needed to be investigated. I took a Covid test which came back clear and I struggled on with the cough until it cleared up after a month or so.
Things got back to a reasonable normal and I didn't worry too much more about it; I was working from home, I had the decision about taking severance to distract me and a lot to do before the potential severance date of 31st March 2021. Breaking up is hard to do and it is a stressful time as you prepare to leave your workplace. Needless to say I had a lot to think about and distract me from the state of my health.
I had my first Covid vaccination on the 16th February and that passed off without incident. I had absolutely no reaction. But in early March I got the Discovery stuck in the field trying to do some harrowing and although I got the car out I pulled myself badly manhandling the harrow out the way and in many ways that was a turning point.
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Discovery field disaster - a turning point?
©Harveywetdog |
I began to notice I was tired and breathless simply climbing the stairs, walking the dogs up the slight slope in our field would mean l had to stop and get my breath; I was generally tired and lacking energy; for example I mowed the lawn for 90 mins (sitting down) and then walked the dogs but then felt wiped out for two hours. Another disturbing symptom was being aware of my heart thumping when I lay down; in other words I seem to be able to hear my heart beating indicative of it working hard.
The niggling persistent cough returned, I had a foul taste in my mouth in the morning and I was also losing a lot of weight. I'd put this down to the biscuits, cakes, beer and milky cappuccinos I'd stopped consuming for various reasons but really I was kidding myself.
One of the final meetings I'd chaired before retiring had been difficult due to the subject matter and the fact that my internet kept dropping out. At the end of the meeting I just lay exhausted with my head on my hands on the table. In this situation you think many things, heart, lungs or long Covid brought on by my vaccination. Either way I knew I had to see my GP and I ended up with an appointment on the 1st April (honestly), the day after I retired from EDF on 31st March 2021.
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Post retirement plans are put on hold
©Harveywetdog |
I honestly thought it was a persistent chest infection that I'd picked up from the hay in 2020 and never really got rid of and that with a few anti-biotics and less stress I'd be as right as rain. The GP appointment had to be over the 'phone, and ended up with two courses of action which were basically a chest X-ray and a blood test and then consult again. The chest X-ray was carried out at Gloucester Royal Hospital (GRH), and I was later told was clear, and the blood test was scheduled for the practice nurse to undertake on 14th April just before 09:00am. I was told it would take a few days to process the results.
But by the evening of the 14th April I was being admitted to Hospital!
In part 2 I will discuss what happened when I was an inpatient at GRH for two nights leading to an initial diagnosis of my condition.
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