Mum is back in hospital. On Xmas day her condition deteriorated.

Everything was going so well. She was eating like a horse, she was happy and full of life and even started making plans for next year. However on Xmas she had difficulty getting up from the chair and began to soil herself. Mum’s stomach had swollen rather badly and by early evening she was in a lot of pain.

We tried to cope but failed. I made the decision that we had to send her back into hospital. Perhaps she came home too soon.

I called up NHS 24 who did their best to assist me over the telephone. They sent out an emergency GP who immediately telephoned the hospital to send an ambulance to return mum to hospital.

That call was made at 11pm. The ambulance did not arrive until 5am.

Throughout the night mum put up with a living hell that was causing her so much pain. I telephoned NHS 24 several times who just could not help. It wasn’t their fault, Glasgow had a very high 999 call influx. In the end they suggested I dial 999, however I got nowhere with them. There were too many other higher risk cases to deal with first before an ambulance arrived with mum.

The ambulance arrived and the Paramedics were rather distressed as they knew about the time we waited for them. All evening they were collecting teenage drunks off the street, escorting them to hospital where nothing much could be done apart from giving them strong coffee and a Police taxi home.

Mum finally got to hospital and they discovered that she was suffering from a probable side effect from a pill called Tramadol, which kills off cancer pain. This caused impacted faeces. In other words, mum needed the toilet. She was urinating all evening but the pain in her bowels and stomach made any waste disposal not happen.

We do not know how long she will be in for. She is a weak, poor old soul right now. Mum has the will to live, nothing will ever take that away, but the cancer inside her seems to be taking its grip.

I saw the X-ray of her chest this morning. It made me vomit. The cancer is all over her breast and her lung. When I saw that, any hope I have of having mum for a few more years died.

Cancer doesn’t take a break for Xmas. It doesn’t believe in it.