Monday 3rd November 2008 - At midnight last night my nurse came in and took my last continuous drug away! My heparin was stopped as my INR levels are now stable enough for me not to need it anymore and so my warfarin is, at long last, working!
When mummy and daddy came in this morning I was in my pushchair watching the tv. Daddy saw straight away that my heparin was gone so mummy asked him to check with a nurse to make sure they hadn't forgotten to put it back on. My nurse told mummy and daddy the good news and said the doctors would tell them more when they did their rounds. Mummy and daddy were very happy because they can now carry me about without having to worry about the line in my foot.
When my doctors came to see me they explained to mummy and daddy that my warfarin was now working correctly as the antibiotics had finally worked their way through my system. They explained that my INR was a little too high now and that they were reducing my warfarin today so that it will be within the levels needed for me to be able to go to surgery to have my hickman line removed. They said that as long as it is ok tomorrow I will have it taken out at some point during the day and could, hopefully, go home a day or two later! They did say that they would like me to spend a couple of days at my local hospital though, so they can catch up with what's been happening since I left them on the 6th September. Mummy and daddy said that was brilliant and are just hoping my operation goes smoothly, which I'm sure it will.
One of my doctors said she was still concerned with my weight as it had gone down again but another one said he wasn't unduly concerned as I'm eating solids now and he's sure I'll start gaining weight in time. I agreed and ate over half a jar of porridge for breakfast to try to get a bit fatter!
Me, mummy and daddy had lots of cuddles and went for a walk. I really enjoyed being able to go out of my room without the tube in my leg and couldn't help staring at all the people all around when we got downstairs. Mummy and daddy took me outside for a little bit but it was a bit cold so we didn't stay outside for too long. When we came back in, mummy and daddy got a drink and we all went back upstairs so I could have my lunch. Daddy gave me cheesy vegetables again and I ate half a jar.
I had a little sleep while mummy and daddy went to get their lunch and was wide awake and ready to play when they got back. We all played peek-a-boo and had some cuddles but I was getting a little annoyed with the canular that was still sticking in my foot. I decided that I would take it out but couldn't get to it so left it alone for a little while.
Mummy was tired today so she had a little sleep and me and daddy played for a bit. Daddy tried to take some pictures of me but I kept hiding and rolling onto my tummy so he couldn't see my grin. Then daddy changed me and mummy woke up and I had a cuddle with her. Earlier, when I'd tried taking my canular out, I must have done better than I thought as I could feel it leaking so tried telling mummy and daddy by crying a little bit. They didn't quite get why I was crying though so patted my back in case I had a tummy ache. Then mummy put me in my pushchair so I could watch some tv. Daddy saw my foot and asked mummy to get a nurse quickly because my foot was bleeding! It had gone through my bandage and sleepsuit and had made quite a mess! My nurse came and took my bandage off and I was very brave while she finished taking my canular out and didn't cry once! Mummy and daddy then decided to take me out for another walk so we all went downstairs and mummy and daddy had a drink in the cafe. Daddy tried to give me some yoghurt but I only had a few spoonfuls and was sick a lot.
Mummy and daddy took me back to my room and cleaned me up and I had a cuddle with mummy while daddy started to do my update. Then I got sleepy so mummy put me in my cot and I fell asleep.
Tomorrow is another big day for me and mummy and daddy are nervously waiting for me to have my operation. They know that, because I'm on warfarin now, I bleed a lot more than other babies so they're hoping my hickman line comes out without too many problems. The other problem with it being removed is it will mean I will have to be stabbed more often by my nurses so I'm not looking forward to that! My feets have just repaired themselves after all the other stabbing incidents so they're actually looking more like feets again... for now anyway!
I'm going to have a good nights sleep and hopefully tomorrow will go well and Wednesday or Thursday we might be allowed to go back to Norfolk - and closer to home...
