The Road to Recovery (WeekSix)
Thursday May 25th.
In terms of Val’s overall situation there was no change. When I arrived the physio was with her but because her blood pressure was deemed to be too low then that was the end of that session. I am sure we were told what seems a lifetime ago now but was probably only three weeks, that standing up and starting to move around would help normalise her blood pressure. Also with the Bank Holiday coming up exactly what can Val expect over those three days?
It also transpired that Val’s catheter is no longer working. Val’s producing urine but it was leaking out from around the catheter rather than through it. The nurse looking after Val said that in her opinion if it wasn’t doing its job then it would be better to take it out. Who could disagree with that because with it out Val could do her pelvic floor exercises and start to work on controlling her new bladder.
The highlight of the visiting session was Jason bringing us in a McFlurry each which was delicious. I have been bringing in food for Val and receiving feedback – the sandwiches needed more salad cream, the crispbreads were too soggy, the custard fool needed some jam to stop it being bland Our daughter Helen said that I now know what it must be like to be on Great British Bake-off to which I replied that Val was definitely more Paul Hollywood than Mary Berry.
I did help Val out into her chair where she was still sitting when I left. Jason was going to leave later to go to work and then another friend was going to visit. I left early because Mile and Manya who live opposite had invited me for supper and then onto the theatre afterwards – an evening which I enjoyed.
Friday May 26th.
Not much change really. Val was upset that for two consecutive nights her nurse had refused to help her when she needed to change her incontinence pad on the basis that she would be going home soon and would have to get used to managing. Now Val has lost the strength in her arms to lever herself off of the bed so it struck me as both cruel and potentially dangerous as Val could have fallen as a result – hands up who would like to see her hospital stay lengthened by a broken hip? When I arrived for visiting I raised this with the sister and she said she would look into it – but perhaps best not to hold our breath.
With temperatures touching the high twenties outside it was very warm and uncomfortable on the ward and in Val’s room.
During the time that I was visiting I did help Val to get out of bed and to the toilet. The first time, when she had finished her nurse came and sorted her out and helped her back to her chair. The second time, with two nurses in attendance, I had to go into the toilet to help Val stand up because the nurses are not allowed to lift her because of the risk of damaging their backs. This would seem to reinforce the thought that Val would be better off at home where I can help her free from such concerns!
There did seem to be some confusion around the timeline for Val’s discharge:
Val had two friends visit her at 15.00 and before they came I took some food into her and spoke to the sister as mentioned above. The friends left at 16.00 and then I stayed with her when we were joined by Jason and Beth our eldest grand-daughter. They left at 17.30 and I stayed on to 18.15.
I have always thought that hospitals should be 24/7 organisations for 365 days of the year. Health issues can arise at any time and yet hospitals go into “ticking over” mode at weekends and bank holidays. Expensive equipment and operating theatres stand idle and it is accepted. Witnessing this at first hand with Val has reinforced this view particularly as we were now entering the second bank holiday knowing that most specialist nurses, dieticians and physios who she may need to see are simply not there until Tuesday morning. A waste of three days!
Saturday May 27th.
A hugely frustrating day! Val sent me a text message to tell me that the doctors had said that her infection was significant and that she would need to complete the course of IV antibiotics meaning that she would be staying in hospital until next Friday.
The morning had been enlivened by Lorna, Ryan and Dylan calling in along with Jason.
When I arrived at the hospital I asked to see a doctor because I wanted to know what was “significant” about the infection and where it had come from. The significance apparently came from the fact that the infection was in her bloodstream and therefore could get to any of her organs. The micro biologist had ruled out completing the course orally.
I took Val for a little walk to the end of the nursing station and back which she enjoyed. I was slightly worried that her arms and legs are once again puffy due to fluid retention.
I got a little cross with Val because when I arrived she didn’t ask how I was but proceeded to issue a slew of instructions. Three times I went to the shop to buy items for her. I told her it wasn’t all about her and became frustrated with her when she questioned whether she should have gone ahead with the operation. I reminded her that she may have been the one who had the surgery but our family and friends had been affected by what had happened. And also she needed to think of the alternative which in my opinion was one where she wouldn’t have seen her next birthday in July. I reminded Val that tomorrow I am driving down to Oxford to see Helen, Tim and the children. It would be the easiest thing to say that as it will be a long day I will give visiting a miss but as I don’t like the thought of Val going all day without visitors, I will drive back from Oxford and go straight to the hospital.
Hospital visits are, in my opinion, quite superficial. It is hard to have a proper conversation with someone whose world is so limited. There is little privacy and staff are coming in and out to insert cannulas, take blood and doing their observations. It is very difficult to just be yourselves. I suppose this is a product of the length of visiting hours so maybe the answer is to have shorter visiting hours and to keep those hours free of routine medical interventions.
Sunday May 28th.
I started my day with an early start as I drove down to Oxford to see Helen, Tim and the grandchildren. It was good fun and we enjoyed a barbeque sitting under their gazebo. I then drove back and visited Val.
Val had had a good night but there had been a big problem inserting a fresh cannula into her arm. This was finally achieved but only with the aid of an ultra sound scan. I do wonder whether, given the state of her arms and the difficulties of inserting cannulas, and taking blood by the way, she will be able to finish the course of antibiotics intravenously.
I helped Val to the toilet a couple of times and she did seem steadier on her feet although she has to carefully navigate many hazards to get there due to the size of her room and the amount of furniture in it. Chairs have to be moved, the table pushed out of the way, the door to the toilet can’t fully open because there is a waste bin in the way, the hand basin juts out and then there are the IV stands. If Val is connected to a drip then this has to be disconnected and then reconnected afterwards. It’s quite a performance.
Val’s legs looked less puffy although her arms still look swollen. Her weight has been steadily rising but I wonder how much of that might be due to fluid retention? Still, as the saying goes “if you don’t want to know the answer then don’t ask the question”.
I was very tired when I arrived home and eventually settled on the sofa to watch a programme on the truth behind sleep. I am not sure that I am an insomniac but I could relate to the presenter who like me has no difficulty getting to sleep but has a problem staying asleep. I am fed up seeing three o’clock every morning and hoped that the programme would supply some answers but sadly I had fallen asleep before it finished. Maybe that’s the answer – watch this programme!
Monday May 29th.
There is now agreement amongst the doctors, nurses, friends and family that Val’s recovery would benefit from her being at home. The problem is that the microbiologist is insisting that she needs to complete her two week course of IV antibiotics which means that she won’t be released, sorry discharged, until Friday at the earliest.
The surgeon came to see Val yesterday and told her that she was fortunate as there were few places in the world that would have attempted the operation. Now from some people that might have sounded like conceit or arrogance but not with this man. Is he modest? To do what he does takes great expertise and self-belief and yet I would say that he is very grounded – and we were very lucky. He said that her recovery was down to her strength and tenacity. Apparently Consultant B at Hospital A was incredulous when the surgeon telephoned her to explain what he had done and that Val had survived.
Val was asleep when I arrived at 15.00 and so I sat and went through some messages and other stuff on my phone waiting for her to wake up which she did at 16.15. She was eating quite well and managing to get to and from the toilet a lot better so things are progressing well.
This was a Bank Holiday weekend and for the third consecutive day the league of Friends cafeteria was not open. Visitors, patients and staff were therefore dependent on two vending machines and a W. H. Smith outlet that closed at 16.00. In this day and age I would argue that this is not good enough. If the League of Friends cannot provide a necessary and dependable service then I think the hospital should look to franchise the cafeteria to a commercial business that will run it properly.
Toilets for visitors are another issue. I have identified three male and three female toilets that the public can use and I would argue that this is insufficient. My solution would be to make them unisex and I don’t think this should be a problem – I’ll admit that I have used a Ladies toilet on the basis of “any port in a storm” and “when needs must”. It seems that once again visitors are viewed as a necessary inconvenience – why?
Tuesday May 30th.
Based on my experience of writing this blog, I think I have worked out why the newspapers and television news programmes are stuffed full of misery stories – mishaps, blunders, deaths and atrocities. It’s because it’s what people want to read and hear about. Happy stories do not sell newspapers.
Today’s entry will therefore be brief – Val is making very steady progress, although she has a bed sore which necessitates her only sitting out in her chair for two hours at a time, and will be home on Saturday. Val had, in addition to me, visits from our friends Sue, Jason, Meg and Beth brightened up her afternoon.
Also heard that our friend Martin had suffered a heart attack He and his wife Jeni were another couple due to go to Paris this weekend for Peter’s 70th birthday celebrations but sadly Martin is not fit to travel.
Wednesday May 31st.
Nothing really new to report. Val continues to make progress and desperately wants to come home.
It was probably just as well that Rod and Liz came to visit and on the way to the hospital we enjoyed a pub lunch and when we got to Val’s room at 15.00 she was asleep but quickly woke up when I tickled her toe. She was waiting for another cannula to be fitted and a call had gone out for a doctor to come and do it. Rod and I joked that we had just seen a group of doctors playing rock, paper, scissors in an effort to determine who was to insert the cannula into someone with veins that were so problematical. Spending two hours with such good friends lifted our spirits although worryingly Liz herself is due to have an interior ultra sound scan tomorrow.
I had taken in a piece of Battenberg cake, a bag of crisps, a mousse, a crème caramel and two individual cheeses. All were well received.
Afterwards Rod and Liz came back to our house for a cup of tea and a piece of cake and after they had left I enjoyed spending some time sitting in our garden. So peaceful!
