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.

Luggage still in transit

He is recuperating well so far, and has moved to A9 ward, which is cardiac recovery, where it is now possible to visit.  It seems he will need a long course of antibiotics, but I have still to catch up on the details of the operation: the headline is that it worked!

Unfortunately the hospital has not yet managed to re-unite him with his belongings.  He left two bags on his bed in the John Humphrey ward, as instructed, before he went for surgery, and two days on no-one can track them down.  Currently he has no glasses, phone, dressing gown....So phone contact for the moment has to be via the ward.

Battered but brave again

I have just been looking back through the blog, and I find it hard to believe that we are back at square one.  However, this is actually a better square one;  there was quite a bit of incredulity last time when he was unable to get out of bed at a similar stage after a similar op, and I think the physio and some of the nursing staff just thought he was being difficult.  Now one can see what they are used to: in spite of all he has been through, and because of the intensive treatment of the systemic infection, he was already out of bed and in a chair when I arrived this morning.  This is clearly what the staff were expecting last time (though I dont think the senior medical people were) and what would be considered normal after this kind of surgery.

So that's all good.  He was stuck with any number of needles for drips and drains of various kinds, but I already thought he looked better (may be wishful thinking.....).  The operation took about 4 hours, and he was kept sedated until late yesterday evening when I was able to have a quick word with him on the telephone.  He was about to have lunch when I left today, after which he will move to the High Dependency Unit again, where he should be for a day or so.

Post operative

The op went ahead this morning as expected: it seems to have gone to plan and the mitral valve has been replaced.  I spoke to the nurse looking after him; he is still under sedation, and it may be that they won't rouse him until later tonight or tomorrow morning.  The nurse and I recognised each other from last time! She is on duty until 8 so I will speak to her again before then and post any further news.

Weekend waiting

I was able to replenish the stocks of reading material on Saturday, and we tried the hospital restaurant which didnt offer anything excitingly different from the food on the ward.  I also brought in a supply of vitamin supplements. He had two more blood transfusions on Saturday evening, which kept him pumping until 3 in the morning: hope he is getting an afternoon nap.  There were a few fireworks to be seen over Wormwood Scrubs, but no bonfires.

We await what tomorrow brings - certainly happy birthday wishes to Susan.

All prepped up but nowhere to go

He was pretty hungry (nil by mouth since midnight) by 2.30 when it was decided that there is no post-operative bed available, so the operation has been postponed until Monday.  He had chicken sandwiches for mid-afternoon breakfast.

TINA time

The surgeon came to see him on Monday, and it seems There Is No Alternative - so another operation is scheduled for Thursday.  There is a leak in the heart valve, and his GP compared the effect on his blood to a waterfall going over the rocks.  The damage to the blood is being contained by the blood transfusions, but a long term solution is required.