Hannah Elizabeth

After a week in the hospital, it was nice to be discharged home  even though I didn't feel ready. I have my own sats machine and so I was comparing it to the hospital one and it was pretty similar. My sats were consistently 93% in hospital for the last 12 hours or so before I was discharged, which seemed really low to me but nevertheless, they discharged me home.  The second day at home, I started to feel a lot better in general and my oxygen levels improved to 94% consistently which made a nice change. Over the next 4 days it slowly increased to 95% and then 96 which felt great. I still had a high heart rate the entire time which was worrying me a bit. My resting heart rate is usually 60 - 75bpm and it was 110 - 120bpm, even when lying down. I didn't do it regularly when walking around, but even just walking to brush my teeth and back, it increased above 130bpm. I felt well otherwise, but got very out of breath when I would do anything. I felt so unfit and unhealthy, it was de

With my Master's university journey almost coming to an end, I thought I would link all my posts in one place for reference! I've had 5 modules, one of which was worth double the credits, and for each module, I've tried to share my thoughts before and after the module. Then also share my experience of the assessment and the result.  Of course, I also shared my thoughts of  getting accepted  into the course,  funding  and of  starting university  as a postgraduate student.  Promoting Normal Childbirth is worth 30 credits and I got 58%. Pre-Thoughts  After Thoughts  Assessment  Result Facilitating Complex Childbirth  is worth 30 credits and I got 66%. Pre-Thoughts   After Thoughts  Assessment  Result Professional Midwifery Advocate is worth 30 credits and I got 55% and a "pass"  Pre-Thoughts   After Thoughts  Assessment: Part 1 Essay and Part 2 Booklet Result: Part 1 Essay and Part 2 Booklet Before starting the second year of my part-time Master's Degree, I

I feel like I've been really messed around by Royal Caribbean and this Hawaii Cruise that I booked well over a year ago. First of all, it's very frustrating that their single occupancy rate is almost the same as their double occupancy rate. For an all inclusive, all you can eat and limited but all you can drink 14 day cruise, it was just the taxes that were an extra to book for 2 people instead of 1.  The original cruise I booked was literally a dream come true and I couldn't have been happier to find it. It ticked off all the places I wanted to visit and was just wonderful. I was originally booked for the Quantum of the Seas ship. It started in Vancouver, British Columbia and then travelled down to Victoria, British Columbia, before stopping in Seattle, Washington. I loved that this allowed me to visit 3 cities in Canada and spend 1 - 2 days in each and Seattle was a place I really wanted to visit because of Grey's Anatomy (although I know little is filmed there nowada

After spending almost 48 hours in the private ward , the following morning, we turned the oxygen down to 2L which I felt very comfortable with and my saturations remained 94% the majority of the day. In the evening, I asked to reduce it to 1L overnight but because they were still borderline, they were reluctant, understandably. It ended up getting turned down to 1L in the morning and then when the consultant came round for ward round, she turned it off completely. It had only been 3 hours and I had already started to struggle with my breathing again but she didn't seem to care.  She came back into the room less than 30 minutes later, checked by saturations and they were 94% so basically said I was fit to go home which did not feel good. Especially, given what had happened last time. I knew it would still be a little while before I could go home as I had to ait for medications and things, but I also said my mum had just gone back to Leeds as yesterday the doctor had said it would be

This is a very quick post just to say that there will be no vlog this week, so I do apologise. I am hoping vlogs will be back at the end of the month, otherwise it will be November (!) and be prepared for probably a few extra bonus vlogs as I then catch up with holiday content! 

I shared last week my final assessment mark for my Master's degree, which was documented as 71% but I got such detailed feedback, I thought I would share exactly where I lost marks. I was genuinely really happy when I saw my score, but with being in hospital and having pneumonia, it took me a couple of weeks before I looked through the feedback and with that I ended up questioning my grade.  The project was marked by two separate markers but it looked like the first marker gave me a much higher mark, so it was a little disappointing that there was such a large difference, but the biggest error was that the marks given correlate to my total score. I'm sure it was just an admin error, however when I added up the individual section scores for them all, Chapter 3 totalled 20 and not 17, therefore I actually got 74%.  With that being a very clear mistake, I then questioned a couple of the other sections as the marks had boundaries and the actual mark given wasn't documented. In

After spending the night in A+E , I got woken up bright and early with an ambulance crew. I hadn't been told but they were transferring me to another hospital who were apparently more specialist for respiratory care. I was still on 1L of oxygen and my chest still felt tight, but nowhere near as bad as it was. The second we got to the ward, it was a Respiratory Assessment Unit, they turned the oxygen up to 3L because my saturations had been consistently 92-93% and I still had a very high heart rate and respiration rate. I was absolutely shattered because I'd been awake all night, so just wanted to sleep but they kept doing my observations hourly throughout the day.  Towards the end of the day, I was then moved to another ward. It wasn't great as they were over capacity so I ended up sharing a bedspace with another woman, which then meant my oxygen cable didn't reach and kept coming undone, it also went over her head, there was no call buzzer and the curtains couldn't

The last week has been a little hectic between doctors appointments and holiday prep!  Click here for the vlog or watch below.  After almost a month of feeling absolutely terrible, I was finally starting to feel better and with the all clear from the GP and consultants, it was time to focus on my travels. I bought a whole bunch of clothes and things from Amazon so a try on was much needed to ensure I had some nice clothes that fit. With a few hours at the salon for hair and nails being done.  The weather took a turn for the worse. The last time I left the house it was lovely and hot. We've had a few days of rain and storms, even with thunder and lightning! The temperature well and truly dropped so it was defintely time for a thick jacket weather. I did have to go to the GP to get another blood test but the healthcare assistant was lovely.  I spent the rest of that day trying to charge all my devices and the most frustrating thing was my GoPro. It worked, it recorded, it took pictu

In the middle of the scariest week of my life, whilst in the hospital I also got my final Master's module results back for the Major Project. Of course, I couldn't really celebrate at the time because I was in the hospital, but nevertheless I am so pleased with my grade and happy it's the final result I needed. I got the highest grade for the duration of the degree...71%! I really felt like I put my heart and soul into this submission and I felt like I hit the mark scheme and wrote a really good piece of research so I am happy that the mark reflects that. Of course, I am a little disappointed that I didn't get the extra 3 marks that I needed to get my Distinction overall (yet to be confirmed) but nevertheless, the feedback was thorough.  Overall, the markers commented that it was a very interesting project and that it was completely thoroughly. They hoped that the findings will be taken back to the practice setting to help improve preceptorship programmes at my trust.

On Sunday 8th September, I went to A+E really struggling to breathe and catch my breath. I'd been poorly for a while but just about making it through the days, but over the last few days it had gotten worse and worse and then suddenly peaked. I'd originally called for an ambulance, but then I got called back to say that there was going to be a 2 hour wait so I decided to get a taxi instead.  When I got to A+E, I was really struggling and crying and scared. I had to register at reception and was shocked they made me sit down and wait. My initial observations were through the roof: oxygen saturations 89%, heart rate 159bpm, respirations 35. My blood pressure and temperature were normal throughout.  They did a first set of observations in the first 10 minutes and then took me to a separate area to be assessed. The observations weren't improving so then I moved somewhere else and very quickly had an ECG done, a cannula inserted and bloods taken, including 2 sets of 2 cultures t

I've had the scariest week of my life. I couldn’t breathe, my oxygen saturations dropped to 90% (reducing further to 89% in hospital), and after more observations, x-rays, CT scans, cannulas, bloods and samples, I was diagnosed with pneumonia!  Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  I've shared all the details on my Bilateral Community Aquired Pneumonia over the last few weeks, with the background, symptoms and my recovery so be sure to read those posts if you're more interested! I've had quite a few questions asked, so I may do a question and answer post full recovery. I have a chest x-ray after 6 weeks so I will share the end of the journey after that hopefully.  I did film a little room tour of the last ward I was on. I ended up being moved to 4 different wards in the space of 3 days and the last was defintely the nicest. 

My final Master's assessment, the big dissertation has finally been completed and submitted! I cannot believe it's finally finished and I don't think reality has quite hit yet. I've shared quite a few posts regarding the last big Major Project module, with my thoughts before , of the teaching and starting writing . I also shared some thoughts throughout the experience in a dissertation diary ( Part 1 ,  Part 2  and  Part 3 ) format from the end of May to the end of July and it's taken a lot of time and effort to complete.  It took me a long time to get started writing and of course, once I started I very much regretted not starting. I used some of the information I had already used in my Research Methodology  as I specifically picked the same topic. This meant for Chapter 2 I could just rewrite the section to begin, before adding a lot more information. Chapter 1 ended up being fairly easy and enjoyable to write as I was able to adapt small sections from Chapter 2 a

I shared last year that I had big travel plans for this year. Well, this year isn't quite going to plan and there has been so many changes and rearrangements along the way which has been very frustrating. As I've mentioned, I've been incredibly poorly with a week long hospital admission so actually going on holiday is up in the air as I write this. My plan is to reassess the week before and hopefully rest as much as humanely possible in the meantime.  It's all made it very difficult to be excited and prepare to travel but I thought I would share the new travel itinerary as I hope to still go. I have written posts for each city / state with my plans for each location, which I will share and fingers crossed it will follow on my return with all the vlogs, pictures and reviews!  I'm starting off in London, then travelling to New York, Washington DC and Niagara Falls. The original plan was to then head to Toronto and Vancouver for a couple of days each before getting on

I've had a few colds and migraines over the summer and I just put it down to being so busy and getting a little rundown. I recently went to Wales to visit my dad and see my sister's family and on the last night they were there, I didn't feel great and ended up falling asleep with my niece on the sofa whilst watching a film. When I woke up, tea was nearly ready but I wasn't very hungry so I just had some carrots and mash potatoes. I also started to develop a bit of a cough and so had an early night and a lie in the next day, as I had the house to myself for the morning.  When I got back to Nottingham, I ended up spending the next two days in bed, before heading to work for my first of 4 consecutive night shifts. My temperature had spiked to 38.6 but settled to 38.1 with paracetamol and since then been normal for 48 hours before going to work. For the first time ever, I had to leave early and half way through a shift. I stayed until 2330 and then had to let the Flow Coord

I took a trip to Wales to spend some time with my dad. My sister and her family were also there. We had a horse hack, went to Lake Vyrnwy and Park Hall Countryside Experience. I was then really poorly, just about made it to a Sikh wedding and then I got worse! Click here to watch the vlog or see below. To start the trip in Wales, we headed to Lake Vyrnwy and the National Sculpture Park. By the time we got there, we only had an hour to walk round and explore, before needing to head off as my niece has a horse riding lesson booked.  When we got to the stables, it honestly looked a little run down and the horses didn't look very well cared for, so I was a little sad, but the lady who took us round seemed lovely and knowledgeable. My niece sat on the horse as the instructor led her, then we walked next to her for a half an hour hack.  The best day by far was a day at Park Hall Countryside Park. It was a lot of fun and there was so much to do. My favourites were feeding the animals and