My husband seemed slightly less well
yesterday – wearier, more breathless (but still no oxygen),
slightly confused. I must
talk to a dr a.s.a.p. Helen and I drew up a list of questions for him
last night. I will apply for one as soon as I get to the hospital this afternoon. She is now halfway back to Athens, if all is well with
EasyJet. I miss her a lot, and it's only 9:15.
We had
a nice lunch with Archie yesterday, before the hospital visit. I
hadn't provided nearly enough food, though. I made a potato salad
with Jersey Royals to go with Nigella's crab salad and it was
delicious but he could have eaten a lot more. It was nice to sit down
with him without my husband looming over the table. He is very hard
on Archie.
A-S
Levels for him next week. He seemed in good spirits.
Politics
I'm
sorry about Mr Miliband. I like him. Rachel sent me this picture,
without comment, in January, 2011.
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I
posted it here with the remark: “Joe
is supposed to be in Nottingham, in his penultimate term at the
university there. The Little Boys are supposed to be in school at
Strachur, on the shore of Loch Fyne. Mr. Miliband is supposed to be
leading the Labour Party. Where on earth are they? A London tube
station under reconstruction? Is Mr. Miliband really that much taller
than Joe? Many questions remain to be answered.”
The
answer (at least to some of the questions) was that Joe was taking
the Little Boys to the Science Museum when they spotted Mr Miliband
in Victoria Station. His security man must have taken the picture. He
has been in my good books ever since.
Having
retrieved the picture, I spent a while reading my account of January,
2011. It was bitterly cold. My husband's sister was dying. I was
knitting EZ's Round the Bend and was right to be dubious about my
choice of yarns.
I
also rediscovered this link to a
Japanese game which will tell you your brain-age. I am now in my
late thirties, I'm afraid. I see that in 2011 I was able to get it
down to 29, with practice.
I
did a little knitting yesterday, not much – a few rows of the fifth
pocket square. Again, resolutions to do better today.
I
think I would have taken the plunge and ordered Kate Davies' Fantoosh
shawl with yarn from Old Maiden Aunt yesterday, just for
cheerfulness' sake, had she had any yarn to sell, but there was none
in any of the shades I fancied. I suspect she has reached the point
where she has got to give serious thought to taking on some staff and
increasing the scale of the operation. There is a group on Ravelry in
which she posts news of what she is dyeing at the moment – the
silk-cashmere-alpaca for the shawl is not part of the immediate
program. And Kate's new pattern is going to bring a lot of potential
customers to her door.
Both
“dying” and “dyeing” in the same post – well done, Jean,
assuming I've got them right.
Oh dear - I hope your husband is feeling better today, and you manage to talk to a Doctor about him.
ReplyDeleteI like Ed Miliband too. I think he tried really hard - but lots of people couldn't imagine him as PM. And, by all accounts he is quite tall!
I am Not Thinking about Fantoosh at all. I have quite enough to knit without adding it to the pile. It is completely gorgeous.
I must not comment on "Upover's" election result but it has been of great interest here "Downunder".
ReplyDeleteI have just spent three days surrounded by yarn (helping a friend out at a craft fair) and the other stall had some yarn that made me think of you. Have you ever used Ella Rae yarn?
Best wishes to Archie for the exams and I trust all your questions to the medical profession have been answered.
It is amazing how much boys that age can eat. I wonder how my mother kept us all in food when my 4 brothers were in the peak intake years. I do hope you get satisfactory answers from the doctor, and it is too bad Helen had to leave. I am sure you miss her.
ReplyDeleteIt is not unusual for elderly patients to get confused during hospital stays, particularly in the evening (In the US this is referred to as "sundowning") A lot of it seems to be the changes in environmental cues, along with extra medications. It is good to have the staff aware of the changes you are seeing so that they don't accept this as his norm. I hope all is better soon.
ReplyDeleteYes, sad about Mr. Miliband, sad about Labour. Adolescent male appetites! I remember doing many, many, many potatoes. All the best for access to the doc, and answers.
ReplyDeleteYes, sad about Mr. Miliband, sad about Labour. Adolescent male appetites! I remember doing many, many, many potatoes. All the best for access to the doc, and answers.
ReplyDeleteEven aside from new medications, which will affect blood sugar levels, he's been less active than usual. Has his doctor adjusted his insulin to accommodate for that? Too-high or too-low blood sugar will cause confusion, trembling, etc. The change in diet from home food to hospital food could also cause problems because of different amounts and types of starch.
ReplyDeleteJean, every time you go to the hospital you need to read your husband's charts and observations. Diabetes/insulin considerations have been covered in a previous comment. The other main thing to consider is the level of oxygen in the blood. As you tell us he has a lung condition the staff should be monitoring respiration rate, depth, quality and oxygen saturation levels. 94% and above is usually considered normal and not to need supplementary oxygen. What was the reading on the day he was taken off the supplementary oxygen? ( I'm not asking you to tell me, only to note it for yourself). If he appears breathless and less alert, then ask the ward staff to measure his oxygen saturation - then and there - if it is less than 94% they need to explain why.
ReplyDeleteI do hope this is just a 'pause' on the road to recovery.
Best wishes
anonymous Helen
ps I do enjoy the new way of proving I am not a robot. Selecting cakes! Yum, yum!
Did you tell us some time ago that Helen is to move back to the UK some time soon? Would they be in Scotland, so that visiting would be easier for all?
ReplyDelete