I arrived at the hospital at 8:45am having taken the day off to be with Heather. She had a number of tasks today that I wanted to be around for, including many visits from the occupational therapist.
I arrived on the ward to find Heather missing. It turns out she was having a wash. Breakfast was late arriving, but it finally came. Scrambled eggs again.
Later in the morning, the physio came round and Heather walked round the ward. Tomorrow, they are going to see how she deals with stairs. It'll be a key task once she comes home.
At 10:30pm, we spoke with one of the doctors about what was going to happen to Heather once she had left the hospital. The stent in her kidney should last about six months and is unlikely to become dislodged. The kidney stone itself could be smashed with ultrasound or could be hoiked out (as the doctor put it). Once she returns home, Heather will need to stay home from work for another month. Same goes for driving, though she is likely to get a trip with a driving instructor to gain some confidence and try driving again with someone who can get her out of trouble if needed.
As Nicky and Margaret arrived, Heather got whisked off by O.T. to see how she would copy doing basic kitchen tasks, like making a cup of tea or getting something out of the bottom shel of the fridge.
At midday, the speech therapist came by. She noticed that her voice had gotten louder over the past few days and gave her some vocal exercises to try. Essentially, she needs to practice with "B's", "D's", "G's" and clearing her throat.
Lunch came at 12:30pm, but the fish portugaise didn't sit well with Heather, as it was far too dry. We even took a trip to the shop to see if there was anything she'd prefer, but nothing leapt out. After I came back from lunch, I bought her a Belgian Bun and a bag of Minstrels. She seemed to enjoy those.
At 1:30pm, the O.T. came by again to let me know that their team would be dropping by our home before Monday in order to raise Heather's sofa. It's too low for her to sit on at present.
Mum arrived just after 2:15pm and we filled her in with the days events during her one and a half hour visit.
At 4pm, I went for a coffee break as I kept dropping off while Heather rested. Our friend Sam and Heather's boss, Andrew were visiting later that day and as she was tired.
They arrived about 6:30pm and we chatted for about 45 minutes, mainly about Heather's workplace so I didn't understand a lot of it. But Heather didn't seem to mind. I think she was just glad of a little taste of normality.
I left with Sam and Andrew and talked more with them on the way to our cars.
Heather's progress is wonderful and the staff in the unit are very impressed with her progress. I just wish I had enough hours in the day to do everything I need to do. Work first thing, visiting, then getting home to do some chores and if I'm lucky, I might get some R&R.
It's nearly 11pm now so I might watch Family Guy before bed (if I stay awake that long)
No comments:
Post a Comment