Steadily recuperating

The district nurse is coming in daily, but hopefully the intravenous antibiotics will finish next week, which will make it easier to have a family Christmas in Hampshire.  He does sometimes overdo things, but uses that as guidance about how cautious he needs to be.  We are optimistic that everything is going well. He can be contacted on his home phone or the mobile, or go and visit!

Home and cosy

The home system is finally shaking down .  The district nurses come every morning to administer the intravenous antibiotic, all the pills are arranged in alphabetical order, and family have been filling in the gaps when it became clear that social services help would only be available once a week.  Private help is now organised every day, so that should help greatly as all the everyday tasks take a very long time, and going up and down stairs has to be planned to keep it to a minimum. The heating has been on practically full time in this freezing weather, so the house is warm, the bed is comfortable and the food is a pleasure not a chore.  So far so good!

In or out? Finally out!

First thing yesterday he was coming out in the morning, then not coming out until maybe Monday, then definitely coming out after all - so collection was in the middle of the rush hour, home just before 8.  At least it meant that he had supper before he left the hospital, so all he had to do was get used to being home and get into his own comfy bed.

He still has a Hickman line in, and to complete 4 weeks of intravenous antibiotics he will need a nurse to visit daily for another 11 days - unfortunately the convalescent home we had in mind cannot provide this service. He is also expecting someone daily, organised by social services.  We all hope he will take things as slowly as he needs to while he convalesces.

It is 17 weeks today since he first went to A&E in the ambulance

Peace and calm

What a different a few days of tranquillity can make! He looks much better, and yesterday started to feel more himself again.  Still of course much recuperation to be done.  He may well leave hospital early next week. Fingers crossed again!

Upgrade to first class

The hospital have found him a bed in the private wing (Room 2, Sainsbury Wing).  I think he will really enjoy a bit of peace and quiet, with his own bathroom and an entirely different menu.  Hopefully it will give him a chance to recuperate and get his appetite back. Visiting hours are from 10 till 10, which makes it much easier to plan getting to the hospital without getting caught up in the rush hour.

The cardiac surgeon won't be in the hospital until next week, so I am sure he will have a few days to convalesce before we work out a plan for making the transition from hospital to home.

Can we smuggle in a kettle?

The kettle is needed for two reasons: first of all of course the cup of tea: impossible to obtain anything other than 'hot(ish) and wet' on the ward. Secondly the hot water system isnt working as it should, so shaving is something of an issue. Actually we cant think of a clever solution to the tea issue, but a half-decent latte from the shop helps things along.

He is feeling pretty poorly. It is ironic that the recovery from the first heart operation was masked by being so ill from the effects of the endocarditis; this time I think perhaps expectations were a little unrealistic and we all thought results would be instant.  He is finding hospital food a bit of a struggle, perhaps because he has been round the menu many times and even the appeal of halal chicken nuggets is beginning to pall.  Imported ham sandwiches are going down well, though a Paxton & Whitfield's mini pork pie probably disappeared fastest.

Thank you to the kind security men at the hospital, who knew exactly who had my car when I stupidly (!) parked on a single yellow on a Saturday, and assumed that the sign saying 'Mon to Fri 8-5' meant what it said.  They helped me make the best of a bad job, and I will definitely be challenging Hammersmith and Fulham Council's ideas about fair parking.  Bad for me, worse for the poor father-to-be who was getting his wife to the maternity suite....

Thanks to you all for staying in touch in various ways: it is keeping us all going!

He can see!

I finally managed to locate a very helpful person on the John Humphrey ward, and she was able to find and deliver his two bags with all the vital contents.  Thank goodness: he now has his glasses, and can be contacted on his mobile again.

On the medical front he seems to be making good progress.  He will need intravenous antibiotics for at least three weeks, so he now has a new Hickman line.  Mr Punjabi, the surgeon, has warned him that he will be keeping a close eye on his recovery, so that is reassuring. Apparently it wasnt the repair that leaked but a separate hole in the valve, but no doubt we will learn more.