On the way home

08:30 Monday 4th July 2016

Well, today is the day I hope to get home. Fluid balance is OK (which means I have not suffered a bout of diabetes insipidus), blood tests apparently OK despite one result with a low white cell count they are now OK, no cerebrospinal fluid pouring out of my nose (in fact just a slight bloody discharge, most especially after eating – presumably exercising my facial muscles is disturbing a clot somewhere up there).

The surgeon, Mr Nick Phillips, has just been to see me and was greeted with deepest thanks and a hug for a pain-free and, from my viewpoint, uneventful recovery so far. He said that the operation went successfully and was happy with the nasal discharges. From his viewpoint I am OK to go home. He will follow up with a further MRI in 3 or 6 months – they used to do them after 3 months but didn’t take any decisions at 3 months so are now looking to a 6 month follow-up. I asked what fills the hole left by the removal of a walnut-sized tumour; apparently the surrounding tissue, brain especially, expands even during the surgery and in the immediate aftermath it is filled with ‘gunge and blood clots’ that eventually dissolve (sometimes not for 3 months or more, hence the limited use of a 3 month MRI). The histology comes back a week on Wednesday and if, as is the case in over 99% of cases, it is non-aggressive then I will hear no more.

There is a dissolvable pack ‘up there’ which will be checked by the ENT surgeon (who cuts the hole in the sphenoid bone to enable access to the tumour for the neurosurgeon) in a few weeks time. If it has not fully dissolved then it may need a bit of a clean, but they are generally OK I was told.

09:00

Some unspecified doctor doing the ward rounds. Don’t you just hate it when they stand at the door of your room looking at the notes and talking about you rather than with you? I tried to engage them but to no avail!

…and so I wait…

12:10

The Endocrine Registrar comes round and takes about 2 minutes to agree that I can go home. Then we have a useful conversation about drug regime. Because they don’t yet know whether my pituitary is working properly, I will be on a ‘metabolic dose’ of hydrocortisone by mouth for a few weeks until the gland settles down and they get some bloods and new Glucagon Stimulation test. Meanwhile the drug may cause some weight gain, possibly over-activity or possibly acid reflux, although on the dose I have been given none of these are expected and so the Lanzoprazole I had been receiving ‘to protect your stomach’ has been discontinued. I’m happy with this because it is a Proton Pump Inhibitor and the other effects of this are some I would rather avoid.

She goes through a list of follow-up investigations, some of which I recall – blood test for hormone levels once the pituitary settles down, Glucagon test, Goldman Test for optic field, reassessment by the Multidisciplinary Team then a meeting with Rob Murray the endocrine consultant, followed by an MRI to see how much if any of the tumour is left behind.

So, I can go can I? Well no. It seems that I have to see the physiotherapist, the Occupational Therapist – a man who has been wandering around unaided, has just showered himself, has spent 2 days typing away whilst listening to the radio whilst discussing his case with various staff! Well, less than an hour later, it seems that I don’t need to see these people anyway 🙂

So I can go can I? Well no. I need to wait for the formal discharge letter and medications. The doctor is typing the letter as I chat at the ward desk but the challenge is going to be the meds. Apparently there could easily be a 1 to 2-hour wait for them to arrive from the pharmacy! I offer any help I can to speed things up but we agree that the best thing to do is to go away for a couple of hours and they will ring me when they arrive. So I go into town for lunch with Suzanne and Lucy, after which I buy a few goodies from Carluccios for the ward staff. Presented as ‘a bribe if the meds haven’t arrived and a reward if the have’. Well, as we were chatting I was told they were on their way, so reward it was 🙂

16:10 the drugs arrive and I get a quick rundown and briefing about carrying a green card to advise doctors of my current course of hydrocortisone and I am finally out of there.

Only just over three days after I went into surgery, this wonderful NHS has delivered admirably, leaving me sitting at home by 17:10 with my regular cup of Early Grey watching Andy Murray beat Nick Kyrgios (I hope).

Enough for now, the blog will continue but perhaps at a lower frequency as I expect stuff to be happening less frequently in the future.