Second verse, same as the first
May. 2nd, 2010 11:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrewduckerPart 1
Got to sleep at 2:30am, and was awoken by the sound of rushing water, as the pipes for the bathroom clearly connect directly to the metal frame of the bed I'm sleeping in. It was about 9am, and someone was having a shower.
Dad called Bournemouth Hospital at 10:00, as instructed, to be told that the Trauma Unit didn't accept incoming phone calls until 11:00. So we had breakfast(Mmm, sausages, eggs, bacon and a waffle. There's a reason why Mike's Ex (Tamsin) used to refer to a Ducker weekend as "Meatmas".) And dad called back at 10:45, because apparently impatience runs in the family, and was told that she was going in to surgery. Which was good, as it meant we weren't going to have to pick her up and then take her back the next day.
We headed over for 3:00, as that was when she was expected to be compos mentis again (the op was going to happen under general anaesthetic). We arrived over, to discover that she was happily reading the paper and had regained all of the feeling in three fingers of her hand. However, her pulse had dropped a bit low during the operation, so they wanted to keep her under observation until it was normal, and also check that she could do a short walk, etc. We were told this would be ok by 5:30-6:00.
So we went for a walk with the dogs down on the beach, which was lovely. Quite a pretty view, other dogs about, and Tara/Uther constantly tying their leads in knots around each other. And came back to the hospital at 5:30 exactly. To discover that while she was clearly fine (Dad had a quick look at the chart - an advantage to having a doctor in the family) she would have to be examined by a junior doctor before she could be discharged, and the SHO wouldn't be around until at least 7:00. At which point Dad calmly and firmly made a fuss. Another advantage of having a Doctor in the family is that they know how the system works, and how to bend the rules to best advantage. I retreated down the corridoor to avoid getting in the way, and when I saw Dad go back into Mum's (shared) room and the nurse go into a different room I wandered back down, and could hear the nurse on the phone to the SHO saying "I have a problem, and only you can help me." :->
So, we wandered off again to get some coffee, and came back to find the SHO typing up the discharge sheet. The only problem then being that we needed Mum's dicharge meds (just some antibiotics) before would leave - and on a Sunday those are handed out by a specific senior nurse, who had 15 other people to see to on different wards.
The following hour did give me a chance to read the entirety of The Sunday Times (which fine except for anything to do with the election, which made me want to punch someone), but eventually boredom set in. We wanted to just get out and go home, especially as Meredith was making dinner for 7:30. Which, coincidentally was exactly when the nurse finally appeared, signed two bits of paper, handed some pills to mum, and we made a run (well, slow walk, Mum being a bit shaky on her feet) for the car park, and then back to the flat.
Where Meredith had baked some chicken breasts, perfectly boiled some carrots and green beans, and made a vegatarian risotto with parmesan in it. Which was delicious. We then followed it up with a game of Citadels for an hour (I had a great start and then did very badly by not capitalising on my cards well), and then bed. Where I sat with a dog on my feet and caught up with Julie for an hour.
And then wrote this. And will now go to sleep. Very happy that Mum is back in one piece - albeit with a small piece missing.
Got to sleep at 2:30am, and was awoken by the sound of rushing water, as the pipes for the bathroom clearly connect directly to the metal frame of the bed I'm sleeping in. It was about 9am, and someone was having a shower.
Dad called Bournemouth Hospital at 10:00, as instructed, to be told that the Trauma Unit didn't accept incoming phone calls until 11:00. So we had breakfast(Mmm, sausages, eggs, bacon and a waffle. There's a reason why Mike's Ex (Tamsin) used to refer to a Ducker weekend as "Meatmas".) And dad called back at 10:45, because apparently impatience runs in the family, and was told that she was going in to surgery. Which was good, as it meant we weren't going to have to pick her up and then take her back the next day.
We headed over for 3:00, as that was when she was expected to be compos mentis again (the op was going to happen under general anaesthetic). We arrived over, to discover that she was happily reading the paper and had regained all of the feeling in three fingers of her hand. However, her pulse had dropped a bit low during the operation, so they wanted to keep her under observation until it was normal, and also check that she could do a short walk, etc. We were told this would be ok by 5:30-6:00.
So we went for a walk with the dogs down on the beach, which was lovely. Quite a pretty view, other dogs about, and Tara/Uther constantly tying their leads in knots around each other. And came back to the hospital at 5:30 exactly. To discover that while she was clearly fine (Dad had a quick look at the chart - an advantage to having a doctor in the family) she would have to be examined by a junior doctor before she could be discharged, and the SHO wouldn't be around until at least 7:00. At which point Dad calmly and firmly made a fuss. Another advantage of having a Doctor in the family is that they know how the system works, and how to bend the rules to best advantage. I retreated down the corridoor to avoid getting in the way, and when I saw Dad go back into Mum's (shared) room and the nurse go into a different room I wandered back down, and could hear the nurse on the phone to the SHO saying "I have a problem, and only you can help me." :->
So, we wandered off again to get some coffee, and came back to find the SHO typing up the discharge sheet. The only problem then being that we needed Mum's dicharge meds (just some antibiotics) before would leave - and on a Sunday those are handed out by a specific senior nurse, who had 15 other people to see to on different wards.
The following hour did give me a chance to read the entirety of The Sunday Times (which fine except for anything to do with the election, which made me want to punch someone), but eventually boredom set in. We wanted to just get out and go home, especially as Meredith was making dinner for 7:30. Which, coincidentally was exactly when the nurse finally appeared, signed two bits of paper, handed some pills to mum, and we made a run (well, slow walk, Mum being a bit shaky on her feet) for the car park, and then back to the flat.
Where Meredith had baked some chicken breasts, perfectly boiled some carrots and green beans, and made a vegatarian risotto with parmesan in it. Which was delicious. We then followed it up with a game of Citadels for an hour (I had a great start and then did very badly by not capitalising on my cards well), and then bed. Where I sat with a dog on my feet and caught up with Julie for an hour.
And then wrote this. And will now go to sleep. Very happy that Mum is back in one piece - albeit with a small piece missing.
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-02 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-02 11:10 pm (UTC)On the plus side - socialised medicine, so it was all free!