Hope?

I am ever hopeful. Sometimes, I find that I am a bit fed up and down, but hope is never far from the surface. I suppose that is mostly what gets me up in the mornings. Hope, that today will be a bit better; that the poorly among us will be healed; that the politicians will see sense; that we will be able to see each other freely again soon; that I will finish (and be satisfied with) whatever job I’ve got on the go at the moment.

Hope is buoyed up by wonderful family and fabulous friends. They are just there whenever I need them. Ruddy marvellous, isn’t it? It is also buoyed up by the support of strangers or lesser acquaintances. In our case, it’s most often the NHS staff. And we were there, at Heartlands, today, for John to try out a new nebulised drug in an attempt to clear the persistent infection from his lungs. What I find amazing is that the staff and the consultants are forever beavering away, trying to improve John’s lot, hoping to see an improvement, hoping he’ll feel a bit better.

Heartlands has recently had some re-arrangement, with the oncology and haematology department moving over to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston, Birmingham. The beloved Ward 19 is no longer dedicated to this discipline but is now a COVID ward. This will mean, unfortunately, a longer trek for us in the future, should John need to be hospitalised again. However, in the meantime, the research department and the respiratory department are still there at Heartlands and keen to engage with John. In fact, they greeted him like an old friend when he arrived today, and they were delighted to see him. And those greetings, just in themselves, seem to offer hope.

Firstly, we met up with a very friendly nurse who administered the nebuliser as a trial this morning, and then we toddled off to a building called MIDRU. I had absolutely no idea what that meant and neither did the nurse when I asked her – even though she worked there! It transpires that it means: Medical Innovation Development Research Unit. Anyway, the research team want to take blood samples for part of their COVID investigations. We don’t believe John has had COVID, but they are keen to compare his samples with those who have a similar respiratory complaint and who have had it. It’s always fascinating, and John is always keen to contribute to the science. And it made me think. Being ‘an interesting case’ and a willing participant, John is a contributor to the hope for many others.

And so I am thankful for all the people, like John, who are willing guinea pigs for the benefit of the greater population. And there have been thousands of them, haven’t there, for the COVID trials? And there’s hope on the horizon, that a vaccine might be available and it might work, for a while at least, and we might get out of this enforced ‘huddling at home’ business. Fingers crossed. See? Hope – right there!!

Other than a trundle across to the hospital today, we have been busy with one thing and another. John has still been looking at the accounts in between having a rest and watching TV. I have been wrestling with stepladders, paint pots and brushes; and then, later on, wrapping paper and labels and stamps.

I decided I ought to try and get Graham and Gail’s parcel sent across to OZ earlier than normal, since we have no idea what the impact of COVID might be on the workforce and whether it might slow up the transition of any parcels. The wrapping took me all evening, would you believe it. My wrapping paper cupboard was in a mess, so I threw everything out onto the floor so that I could tidy it as I wrapped. Crikey!! I haven’t half got a lot of bits ‘n bobs. P’raps I ought to start a wrapping service.

Anyway, I finally got the parcel sorted and wrapped ready for posting. Then, I thought to myself, why didn’t I pay online and print the postage label off? Well, I did it, but I didn’t half get myself into a muddle. The parcel is multi-packeted. The online postage page asked for the weight of each item. Gosh, I don’t know! Crikey, I’ve parcelled the bloomin’ things up now! Had to make it up…….ah, well, I am sure approximations will do, she said, hopefully…..

There is hope, too, in today’s figures and the announcements made by the government today. 15,450 people have been infected with the virus today and 206 have died from it, plus 123 people in hospitals who succumbed in the last couple of days.

The figures have gone down a bit. Will it be a trend? I’m hoping so. That’s my new favourite phrase.

Take care everyone. God bless.