Wishing On A Star

Mum and I went for a coffee in the local garden centre this morning while the cleaners did their weekly polishing in Mum and Dad's home. Everywhere was a mass of tinsel, glitter and fairy lights around the garden centre, so I decided to catch a star for today's blip. No prizes for guessing what my wish is.

Neither of us slept very well last night after seeing Dad feeling so despondent yesterday. We always wonder how we will find him when we get to the hospital ward. This afternoon he was in much better spirits, as he had at last been unhooked from the suction gauge on the wall an hour before we arrived. In that time he'd already managed to walk unaided to the bathroom and back, which was amazing after he'd hardly moved from his chair and bed for over a week. He walked there again while we were visiting. He's determined to prove to the hospital that, once he's had his permanent chest drain fitted, it will be fine to discharge him and send him home. He told us that the Doctor might fit the drain tube later today, but there was no sign of this being imminent while we were with him so I fear he has been disappointed once again which may mean he'll be feeling down again tomorrow. Because the specialist Doctors don't work over the weekend, it would mean he won't get it fitted until Monday, and so probably wouldn't be home until at least Tuesday. The dietician has said he must have a special nutritional drink to supplement his diet, because he has lost weight, but the hospital doesn't seem to have any. So that has had to be ordered and therefore he hasn't had any of that yet to help him feel better. I find myself constantly shaking my head in disbelief at this shambolic state of the NHS, where supplies desperately needed by very ill patients are frequently unavailable.

Because I've had the song "Wishing On A Star" going through my head most of the day, here's a version by Paul Weller which I didn't even know existed. I still prefer the one by Rose Royce though.