Allergic Reaction
It started with an itch,
I never thought it would come to this,
A little rash on my right arm after washing dishes,
Antihistamine taken, to counter a skin reaction.
I took a seat to watch tv with my family,
All seemed fine till I looked down,
The rash moved from a small patch on my arm down my arm,
Now it's on both arms and it is itching,
Fingers swelling and Hives forming.
Worry starts to set in whats going on,
Then the game changes when my Philtrum swole,
Talk of calling NHS 24 squashed,
This no longer a nuisance its life-threatening,
Into the car, we pile,
I kept my cool even though I knew what was happening,
As we drive my face begins to swell.
I was surprised by how cool I remained,
I see the worry in my family,
The desk takes my name but doesn't need to ask my problem,
Shortly the nurse calls my name to take me to triage,
We Bypass it and go straight to a bed in ED,
A junior Dr came to see me,
My throat hurts, it is hard to breathe through my nose,
He noticed dysphonia and goes to get his senior,
While he went away panic started to grip as breathing became harder,
My throat closing, not instantly but slowly like a vice.
Enter Dr Yvonne Moulds,
The junior Dr seemed anxious, I was starting to fear,
But she spoke to be in a calm tone,
Reassuring me that she was in control,
I was being taken to Resus as a precaution in case things went bad,
I was wheeled in, I was aware of what the room meant,
Resus was like ICU, it was not a place for 'healthy' patients.
Canula was to be placed for the drugs that would be needed,
however, Dr Moulds gave me the first dose of Adrenaline,
Explaining why I needed it and the plan going forward,
The calmness and reassuring nature of her demeanour stopped me spiralling out of control.
The junior Dr went to place the cannula in my vein,
Adrenaline shakes making it hard,
But the air flowed into my lungs as my throat opens,
My words to the Junior Dr, "You get two goes then your out.",
Perhaps e thought I was kidding but when I told him after his second fail no more,
He looked taken aback but I am no pin cushion,
Dr Moulds took over getting the line in.
I laugh as Dr Moulds asked me if I thought, a second dose of Adrenaline needed,
My response, "If you think I do then I do too, you're the Dr.",
The second dose, not the big impact the first one had,
most of the swelling was down but not all,
Antihistamines given between doses, Family allowed in now.
Calm and to spend a day in the hospital to watch for a biphasic reaction,
Most of the swelling down before I left the ED for the Combined Assesment Unit.
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I spoke with Dr Yvonne Moulds prior to writing this to make sure she was ok with it before I wrote this. Her calmness in this very scary moment in my life changed this from me being fearing for my life to almost being relaxed. Her quick reactions most likely meant my throat did not close fully though I think a few minutes later I would have been fully closed. It should be noted that from the rash forming till my getting adrenaline was about 25 minutes which includes a 20-minute car journey. I will next month be getting allergy tests to determine hopefully what I am Allergic to.
The NHS is filled with staff like Dr Moulds who save lives on a daily basis, whom you never hear about and never seek thanks or praise. These people are the heart and soul of the NHS. Anyone who knows me will tell you, I do not give praise lightly but the NHS is the sole reason I am alive without the many Drs, nurses and supporting services it has provided my extensive health issues would have overcame me.
So if you are British and you have had treatment from the NHS and it was better than you expected or someone did something which made the experience better, please write to them and tell them they did a good job because NHS staff get alot of complaints and little in the way of positive feedback. They do a wonderful job under some difficult pressures and restrictions.
