Amar is Hospitalised

Originally posted on 19th of May 2006 on Mynn's blog:

A lot has happened in the past 24 hours both during and after my oncalls . I'll detail what happened during my oncalls later but just would like to tell you guys that now Amar is warded in Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital.

It happened so quickly.

Yesterday when Amar woke up, we noticed his left middle finger has become red, swollen and hot - a sign of infection. This is the third time Amar has had an infection affecting his left fingers, and it is twice now on the same digit. There was no evidence of any trauma, and as far as we know nothing has ever happened to his fingers. It's really strange. We went to see our GP, and he prescribed yet another course of flucloxacillin.

After my oncalls last night I arrived home and went to sleep. Immediately after I woke up, Nisa worriedly showed me Amar's finger which has now looked sickeningly black and has grown to 3 times it's original size since yesterday. Black tissue means necrotic tissue, a worrying sign. Still groggy from being awoken and without even a proper chance for me to get ready (and have "breakfast"), we all got in the care and drove to Walsgrave Accidents & Emergency.

This time we were seen relatively quickly (within 1 hour?). The doctor who saw Amar immediately referred us to the orthopaedic surgeons at a hospital the other side of town.

I have just now returned, just with Sarah. Poor Sarah is upstairs right now, fast asleep from the tiring day. Amar and Nisa is at the hospital. The surgeons are still reviewing Amar now, but most likely he will have to have his finger operated to drain the pus.

This picture is just to give you an idea of what it looks like, but please be assured Amar's finger does not look quite as bad as this:


Nisa took lots of pictures just now, as soon as I have more news I'll post more in the blog. I hope everything would be okay by tomorrow.

PS:
what with my recent night oncalls, frenetic studying, exams, oncalls again and then this; it feels to me as if the week has gone on and on. My long week has been punctured by only scatterings of sleep.

*Update* 19 May 2006 10am
Nisa called at 9am just now saying that the consultant orthopaedic surgeon has finished his ward rounds. Amar's abscess has popped by itself so I guess they are abandoning the procedure. The consultant would like Amar to be admitted for 48 hour intravenous antibiotics as well as a test to rule out diabetes.

Hm, my heart skipped when Nisa mentioned diabetes. It's strange as there's no history of type 1 diabetes in both my family's side nor Nisa's. However, Nisa has mentioned diabetes since December.

Anyway, at the moment I've just finished bathing Sarah and she's eating breakfast (toast and cheese while watching a DVD). After I get ready, we're going to pay Amar & Nisa a visit.

Day 2
Picture:

• (Upper Right) The ward Amar is staying in. It's the tall white building.
• (Upper Left) We spent the whole afternoon in the games room of the ward. Sarah really enjoyed herself.
• (Lower Right) This was Amar yesterday, while waiting to be seen by a doctor in Accidents and Emergency.
• (Lower Left) A view of the ward.

First of all, Mama Sarah and I really would like to thank all our friends who have been so concerned about Amar. Thanks for all your wishes, calls, comments & prayers.

Amar and Nisa is still in Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital. Amar has been seen by the consultant this morning. To update you guys with previous events, Amar's abscess has popped and so the operation to incise the finger was abandoned. The consultant requested for intravenous antibiotics.

Today, nothing much has progressed! Amar has had an x-ray of the finger to rule out a bone infection (note: a bone infection is extremely serious as bony joints could be destroyed by the infection very rapidly: within hours). He has also undergone a blood test. I heard from Nisa that the staff has had GREAT DIFFICULTY getting blood from Amar. Having worked in paediatrics in the past, I absolutely understand - last night I had a look at Amar's arms and I knew blood taking procedures would be difficult as his veins are extremely scarce.

They have also failed to obtain intravenous access, and so instead of IV antibiotics, Amar is having oral flucloxacillin; which is the exact medication he was taking before admission, at home!

This is the third time Amar has suffered a spontaneous infection of his fingertips and the surgeons are planning to rule out diabetes by doing further tests. There is no history of type 1 diabetes on my side of the family nor Nisa's side, and I really hope to God that Amar doesn't have it.

I am slightly annoyed. For one, Amar is only receiving oral antibiotics, the exact one he would have taken if he had stayed at home. Furthermore, Amar has missed two doses of his antibiotics while in hospital, while the surgeons were trying to get IV access. I'm also annoyed that although Amar has had his xray during early hours of this morning, the xray was only reviewed at around 8pm!

Although it has been a testing few days, everyone in the family seems to be holding well. Amar today seemed extremely happy to see Sarah and I as we walked into his cubicle. Soon after, Amar and Sarah were both chasing each other around the whole ward (while we watched everyone else's children sitting quietly by their beds). Amar's finger has only slightly gotten better.

Nisa, poor Nisa, looked understandably tired and slightly sleep deprived. Because we hadn't planned for Amar to stay in hospital last night, we overlooked bringing spare clothes, nappies, toiletries, money, a fully charged phone and any food. I would leave describing Nisa's state to fellow readers' own imagination, as it'd be too unpleasant for me.

Sarah, I cannot really tell. At the moment it's only the two of us in the house, and at times she does mention "Mama?" and "Amar?". However, whatever she's feeling inside, she's putting up a brave, cheerful face and I honestly could not tell if she's unhappy.

As for me, I'm still trying to recover from my nights oncall. I'm quite sleep deprived, managing only 2 hours of sleep last night (but I feel absolutely fine!). I'm also not eating anything proper (as is Nisa, I'm sure) because all the time I have is split between visiting and taking care of Sarah.

On that note, I think I'll catch up on some sleep now. Mama Sarah sends her love to everyone and said, "Sorry I couldn't update my blog, I will as soon as I get back. Thank you everyone for all the kind words."

Note:
I know staying in hospital is mind-numbingly boring. Today I have bought for Nisa:
1. A sudoku puzzlebook
2. Narnia DVD (she has always been hinting she wanted to watch Narnia as she is a fan of the books).
3. A book (I'll keep the title a secret as not to embarrass her).
4. A magazine (also a secret).
5. I lent her my phone for internet access (Using Opera Mini 2.0, of course)
6. LOTS OF FOOD. Chocolates, sandwiches, sushi, pasta, juice and sweets.

Written by mynn (posted here on Mama Sarah's request).