Looking down

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments yesterday, and I will try to reply to them in due course, but would rather comment on your journals first and see what time is left afterwards.

It was a long wait yesterday and eventually at about 16:00 Mr T was taken for his ERCP.  They explained that the technology they had now had advanced a lot since he last had one in 2011, and they were using a special piece of equipment as the gall stone was "very large".

I waited until they took Mr T away for his anaesthetic and then went to get a drink.  I knew it would be 1-2 hours so I popped back after an hour, and asked at reception how he was.  The receptionist went to check, and I was told he was just waking up but needed to go to ITU, I should go there and wait he would be there within the hour.  I asked was he OK, but was told just to go to ITU.

So off I went, and no reception so I had to phone the ward sister.  She was dealing with a crisis and said she would be with me as soon as possible.  It was horrible as someone had just died so the corridor was full of grieving relatives.  She came out a few minutes later but said he wasn't there, and they weren't expecting him, a David Grenville was expected.  By now I was quite upset.  I had the number for the theatres and she rang them and they said no Mr T had just finished his operation and was in recovery.  She took me along the back corridor to the theatres and disappeared with the receptionist.  Shortly after the receptionist came back and apologised and the rules were "bent" and I was taken to see Mr T in recovery.  I think she got a bit of a roasting as I saw the ITU ward sister leave about 15 minutes later when I was in the recovery room with Mr T.  The receptionist came back to apologise again, and she had been crying.  She had read the names wrong and got the wrong bay.  To be honest, I was just glad Mr T was OK, although it had been a very upsetting experience.

Today he has done well, and there is a chance that he might come home tomorrow.  It is a case of seeing how things progress overnight.  

My Blip today is of the main atrium from the 5th floor on the "staff" side of the building.  The stairs and lifts are to the gates where the wards split into an a or b.The wards either look out to the A38 direction or over the atrium.

Behind the coloured glass are the corridors for staff, patient transfers (and slugs).  These then link into all the theatres, imaging suites etc.  It is a very well designed hospital and the behind the scenes stuff I have seen is really quite amazing.  Being Mr T's carer has enabled me to go to the areas they don't normally allow, but he needs my support, so it is OK, and has made things much smoother for him, and the staff.

A short swim in the way home, and a nice one today as all 6 lanes were for public swimming.  It was very frustrating to have just one lane on Tuesday and only be able to do a length or two at a time without catching up slow blokes.  One was so slow on front crawl I could hardly swim breast stroke slow enough to not tap his feet, and too many people made overtaking too dangerous.