The Daily Echo: Day 194

After a lovely holiday, relaxing and not a care in the world, being home is a little more eventful as we settle back into our routine. The routine, of course, includes hospital visits. So, this morning, it was the regular trip to the Haematology Clinic.

We didn’t have to be there until eleven, so we whiled away most of the morning in bed just luxuriating in our lovely bed and bedroom, enjoying the fact that we are lucky to have a great roof over our heads. When we finally scooped ourselves out of bed, we realised that we were certainly going to be late. We’d enjoyed relaxing just a few minutes too long.

Fortunately, the hospital wasn’t very busy and no-one complained that we’d arrived after the appointment time. At least, I don’t think they did. I sat outside in the corridor while John went into clinic for height, weight and blood tests. He then beckoned me in when he was called into the consultant’s room, so that I could also listen to what was being said. Two heads are better than one in these situations, we find.

We saw Dr Lovell again, who is always upbeat, and has a great sense of humour. After a bit of banter, he concentrated on the results of blood tests and so on. It turns out that he wasn’t so happy about John’s chest and, on reviewing the sample John had sent off earlier in the month, said how did John fancy a couple of weeks in hospital?

Oh. Well, we weren’t expecting that. Admittedly, John’s breathing has been getting less and less good since we got back from our jaunt to Norfolk, but I put that down to him overdoing it and perhaps breathing in mucky air from the mucky jobs he’d been doing. Ahhhh. no. It transpires that John is growing exciting things in his chest – four of them, in fact – and needs yet another course of antibiotics. We both looked a bit stunned. “Well, how far can you walk, then, John?” Dr Lovell probed. Not far really. Gets out of breath coming up the stairs. Coughing a bit. “Hmmmm. Let me phone the respiratory nurse.”

The conversation went like this, “You know our mutual friend? Yes? John Sleath? He isn’t breathing quite so well, can you fit him in for a course of antibiotics? Not, like in the next twenty minutes, but next week? You can? OK.” Fortunately and to our relief, the arrangement isn’t for a fortnight in a hospital bed. It is for one day in Outpatients to have a canular fitted and the first dose of antibiotic administered. Then a fortnight of Community Nurses visiting every day for the rest. Hey!! You know what? We’ve been here before!!! Better than a stay in hospital though. Fingers crossed…….

Naturally, John felt a bit fed up on the way home, but he’d perked up by the time we got home and got on with being Mr Determined again and went out onto the front to potter about with a few jobs there. He had planned to jet-wash the drive, mend the trailer and plant the flowers we’d bought yesterday. He went out to do all of that at three o’clock this afternoon. He came back in after nearly three hours, having spent the time mending the trailer. Jet-washing and planting? Maybe tomorrow? Methinks his eyes are too big for his belly……. or his thoughts are too big for his body, anyway.

Of course, the home routine includes lots of hospital visits. Our diary is now full of them. Haematology in 4 weeks time; Respiratory clinic in 3 weeks; the Musculoskeletal team want an MRI scan in just over a week’s time and an ECG is booked at the end of October – oh, and we have flu jabs booked….. not to mention the fact that before he left clinic today, John was trundled round to the nurse for three immunisations……. John certainly keeps them all busy over at Heartlands!

I am exhausted just thinking about it. John is exhausted being a part of it. However, we both faced the world this afternoon and got on with a bit of what we wanted to do. John, as I say, got on with his great plans and me, I thought I’d do a spot of ironing but, if time allowed, I’d shampoo the upstairs carpets. In the end, I just did the ironing while watching a film about Judy Garland, starring Renée Zellweger, which I thought was really good. Well-crafted and well-portrayed.

It being Friday, John had said on the way home, “Curry night, tonight?” to which I had said yes. We ordered about six-thirty, and then sat down for a rest after our afternoon’s exertions before its expected arrival at 7.30. We were pleasantly surprised when it arrived half an hour early so we tucked in with gusto to assuage our rather rumbly tummies. Lovely.

This evening, still being Friday, was kick back and watch TV. Once again, not a great deal to entice us to watch this evening, so we checked on catch-ups and recordings to see if there was anything there. Unexpectedly, we enjoyed Episode One of ‘Britain’s Biggest Dig’ – a four-part documentary about the archaeological finds as they plough up swathes of Britain for HS2. This first episode concentrated on the area of St James’ in London and it was fascinating – just the scale of the dig, let alone what they found. Looking forward to watching Episode Two sometime soon.

We did watch the news today and understand that more restrictions are being placed on cities like Leeds, Cardiff and Swansea, with London on the ‘watch list’. Nearly 7,000 (6,874) people have been infected today; 34 (on the 28-day rule) have died in the community; and 25 in hospitals in the last couple of days.

Take care everyone. God bless.