Update on Terry After the Frightening Night

Last night, after the IV Ceftriaxone antibiotics kicked in, Terry started feeling a little better and he immediately tried to convince me he could self-discharge. 🙄

But I insisted he stay put until his blood tests, X-ray results, ECG report and a doctor had properly reviewed him and discharged him safely.

Then, before those results had even come back, his temperature spiked again and he was shivering with rigors around 10pm — and I won’t lie, my worry was very real. When he stopped answering my calls and replying to my messages, panic really set in. I ended up texting every friend I know who works at WHH, just to see if any of them were on duty that night and could check on Terry, simply to make sure he was okay and had just fallen asleep.

By midnight, I finally managed to speak to a nurse, and honestly, it felt like there was one nurse trying to care for a room full of 20–25 patients. I was told the results still weren’t back yet, but I was reassured that if anything came back that needed escalating, Terry would be informed. At that point, he hadn’t even been offered a blanket — apparently it was freezing in there — his legs had become swollen, and there were no beds available. He was left in a chair that reclined, but with Terry being 6’3”, only about half of him actually fit on it

At around 9:04am, I finally managed to speak to the Nurse-in-Charge and specifically asked for Terry’s blood results, because that would at least give me some idea of what we were dealing with.

Here’s what I was told:

• Neutrophils: normal

• White cell count: normal

  (These are infection-fighting cells, so that was somewhat reassuring)

• CRP: 13

  (0-5 is normal, so this is mildly raised)

• Lactate: not done

• VBG: not done (Venous Blood Gas — a quick test that can help show if the body is under stress, struggling with infection, or showing signs of possible sepsis)

• Blood glucose: not done (useful to check if the body is under strain or if low/high sugar could be contributing to symptoms)

• ECG: inconclusive, but they did not seem concerned

• Chest X-ray: NAD (nothing abnormal detected)

In Terry’s case, lactate, VBG and blood glucose would have helped paint a fuller picture, especially with his temperature spike, rigors, sudden severe headache, chest pain, and how acutely unwell he looked. Unfortunately, those were not done.

By 8am, he was still waiting to be seen by a doctor.

Then by 11:25am, I called Terry… and he was already back home, in bed, tucked under the duvet, with a headache! 😩

He had been discharged, but with very little information passed on to him.

I have to be honest — it took me a while to sleep last night. I was genuinely scared that with how short-staffed things seemed, if nobody was closely monitoring Terry and he deteriorated overnight, I could only imagine the unthinkable… that nobody would even know in time.

That is the hardest part when health puzzles feel so fragmented — when you’re expected to feel reassured by a “neither here nor there” care plan, without clear answers.

For now, we are keeping a very close eye on Terry and trusting the clinical decision made by the team at William Harvey Hospital. When I spoke to him near midnight, he doesn’t feel right, but it’s achy joints and muscles, so he took two Paracetamol tablets, he was feeling lethargic and unusually cold — still wearing his hooded jumper in bed, which says a lot because Terry is normally the type who sleeps in just his pants because he’s always too hot. The hospital team have reassured Terry that they are not concerned this is Men B or sepsis, and believe it is most likely an underlying non-specific infection.

Still, after everything we’ve lived through, a spiking temperature, rigors and sudden severe headache— are never something I take lightly.

For now, Terry is home, resting — and very pleased to be reunited with an actual bed after a night trying to sleep upright in a hospital chair 😅

As always, we hold onto hope, resilience, and vigilance — because if this journey has taught us anything, it’s that when life hits hard and fast, love, grit, and staying alert carry us through.

Thank you, as always, for all your thoughts, prayers, and support. They truly help hold us up through every storm. 🫶

Attached is a photo taken on Saturday 21st March, of Terry and Maya:

Daddy-daughter date at GBK… and a freebie meal on top! 🍔 Maya absolutely adores her Daddy Terry — her safe place, her biggest smile, her favourite person. 🥺