Well where to start! Steve has been through a horrendous 24 hours. Unfortunately the 4th Dose last night made him very sick, 11 times to be precise. And I should warn anyone now who has a weak stomach or who has just eaten to skip straight to the last paragraph ….
Sickness, Diarrhoea, Sharp Pains in all joints, High Fever of 40, Swollen mouth, Pain all over his body, Shakes all over the body for 35 minutes each time, Dangerously low blood pressure and not one moan from Mr Wright!!!
Steve has now had 7 Doeses of the Interlukin and every dose seems to have worse side effects on him and all of them seem to be lasting longer! The shaking, sickness and high fever are really awful to see as a bystander who feels helpless and last night it didn’t matter what the nurses did they couldn’t stop him from shaking and being sick. It felt like it was going on for hours but in fact was about 45 minutes, which is still a very long time when you have no control over your body and your body is also trying to expel the drugs they are putting in you.
We have become quite good at predicting when the side effects will start which is good as I can get all of the necessaries ready! E.g. the sick bowl, blankets and the cold drink! I also am able to go find a nurse. All such small things but I know that Steve really appreciates them and it stops me from feeling so useless.
He has the doses 8 hours apart and he only starts to feel remotely normal about an hour before the next one begins. It is all very exhausting for him and when he is not being sick or being checked by the Nurses then he is trying to sleep.
I can not begin to imagine what this whole experience feels like for Steve but I can say it is the most horrendous thing Ive ever seen anyone go through.
I’m struggling to find the right words and this is coming from someone who loves to Witter! (Steves description of my constant talking, normally used when my Mum or my friends ring up!!) of how utterly horrible and frightening this treatment is and more importantly how amazingly Steves coping with it.. I can honestly say he has not moaned once about this and battles through quietly and focussed. I thought after the awful night he had last night that he would ask them to stop! But no, when asked how he felt, his simple reply was not great but Im okay. Lets keep going!
I’m staying in the hospital room again with him tonight, as cant face leaving him like this and I know he doesn’t want me to either! He has just had the 7th dose and we are waiting for the side effects to see what horrible things they will inflict on him, this time round.
Thank you for your comments on the blog. When Steve is awake Ive been reading them to him and he is grateful for everyone’s thoughts and well wishes.
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