Mum has been off medication for about two weeks now. She's been taking traditional Chinese herbal medicine; a mix of dried herbs including angelica, liquorice root, ling zhi mushrooms, and about half a dozen other things which I can't readily identify. She's been in high spirits. Last friday, she was making some juice in the kitchen when she suddenly felt quiet tired. She told me she wanted to go for a nap. I took her temperature - 34.7ºC - particularly low. I called the oncologist at the Royal Melbourne who told us to bring her in.
After a series of blood tests, the doctors at the hospital decided that she most likely had a bacterial infection which was throwing her body around. They decided it would be best if she spent the night there. Fortunately, a bed opened up in a ward at around 1 am. By Sunday, she felt well enough to head home with some antibiotics and hardcore painkillers. It's been a stressful weekend. Her cough has started again, and every time I hear her breathing heavily or coughing, I feel the sword of Damocles overhead. |
