Southampton Day 4/5

So, the lady adjacent to me informs me that she drinks at least 20 cups of tea per day with 4 sugars in each, and if she has coffee she will have 8 sugars! She is in her 60s and is tiny! Call me the Sugar Polica if you like but surely that can’t be good for your body! Diabetes here we come? Maybe I am just jealous!

Thought I was being a smart arse yesterday when I had my new bag if fluid up at 2pm, thinking that it would run for 8 hours and thus finish at a reasonable time of day. Alas they have changed the fluid to run over 12 hours instead, so it finished at 4am! 

Now, question of the day – why do hospital towels and gowns have ‘Hospital Property’ emblazoned all over them? I’ve got enough of my own dirty washing thank you, without pinching their towels and I really don’t think they have anything on offer that will significant,y add to either my towel or couture collections.

Exciting things are happening this morning – my video fluoroscopy  – not seeN any telly all week, and my tubogram, although apparently I have appointments for both at 9.30. We will see what happens!

The lovely nurse who was looking after us last night said ‘see you Sunday’ as she left, so that doesn’t sound too promising, although maybe I will be allowed fluids by tomorrow so I’ll be able to escape to Costa with Kev. I’d also like to visit my friend Jenny who is on anothe ward, but I guess I’ll have to ask them if that’s ok as she has just had surgery and I may be deemed an infection risk to her.

The empty bed in our little bay became occupied by a Polish lady at 3.29am this morning. I’m not sure why they seem to revel I. Moving people around in the middle of the night. I was awake but I don’t think the others appreciated it when a really loud alarm went off on her phone at 7am when she had toddled off to the loo!

Tests now done. Wasn’t fun having a whole load of contrast shoved down my tube at breakneck speed! What they didn’t tell me is that the contrast they use can also be used as a laxative. Great, thanks guys!

We are down to two of us in our little bay now. It looks as though yesterday evening might have been spent making Christmas decorations.

        
Cute or what!

We bumped into my consultant in the corridor yesterday and had quite a nice long chat. His parting comment to me was ‘I hope you manage to get home before I’m on the wards in January’s! Bloody hell, I hope so too!

Great excitement here this morning. A double decker bus managed to crash into the entrance just below our window. We were of course totally oblivious of this until the staff were talking about it this morning.

  
Not sure why it’s still there – maybe they are afraid to move it and are waiting for structural engineers or something!

Pudding-gate 😄

I haven’t yet made the Christmas puddings, having been putting it off due to not feeling that great. Hayden and Kevin have now been given the job this morning. I do hope they remember to make a wish when they stir the mix!

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Tales From My New Hotel

Well I have been in my new ‘hotel’ for three days now and I promised Di I would resurrect my blog.

I started off in A & E; it makes me laugh because they try and encourage people to fill in ‘Friends & Family’ surveys. Would you recommend this hospital to your nearest and dearest? Well, strangely I would go to the nearest hospital with A & E facilities to be honest!

A & E was very smelly – someone clearly had a problem and there were lots of people going in and out of the side room that the nasty niff was emanating from, wearing gloves and masks. I could have done with a mask myself!

I was moved to AMU, a kind of holding ward and then up to E7,where I spent 2 weeks last year at 3am. Really!!!!

I am in the same bay as the last 2 times but someone else has my bed 😩

I saw the consultant yesterday and he said to rest my bowel for 24 hours – nil by mouth / tube. The trouble is that they seem to have forgotten to tell the ward staff, so every time they came around with drinks or wanting food orders, they would try and persuade me to have something! I refused, saying I was nil by mouth, but they would just reply that I wasn’t! When the consultant said this morning that I was going to rest the dear (bowel) for another 24 hours, I asked him to make sure he told the staff!! I now have a big sign on the end of my bed!

The lady next to me was visited by her Husband who had brought her her favourite egg and salad cream sandwiches from home. She told him off, telling him that she couldn’t possibly eat them in our bay as it would stink it out! The next moment the family of one of the ladies opposite arrived with KFC for her!!! That really did stink the bay out!

The other lady opposite me, who it turns out is practically my next door neighbour, had a visit from her Daughter. They were discussing Christmas day. The Daughter opined that since there were only 5 of them for dinner, she wouldn’t go mad – she would provide the turkey and the other 4 could all bring their own joint of meat. She then added that she didn’t think she would do mashed potato this year! It made me feel quite stingy with my Christmas dinners!

Apparently I have become a difficult person to cannulate – I’m not sure when! Yesterday 3 different people had 4 goes between them, and they finally got a line in. Sod’s law it stopped working today so I had 2 more people come, who had 4 goes between them, including one in my left foot! Luckily the 3rd person hit the jackpot with her first try so I can have fluids back up! I didn’t really fancy trying to walk too far with a needle in my foot!

My fiend Di came and saw me this afternoon which was really nice of her; it was really nice to see her and hear all the outside news. Just a word of warning to you all though – don’t let any of her family near you with a Stanley Knife😈

I am waiting for a tubeagram and a liver scan and I just been told that I am having my video fluoroscopy tomorrow  morning – I presume that is a tubeagram?

The good news is that I seem to be coming a bit more adept at falling asleep during the day and getting back to sleep after being woken up etc!

So that’s it from me today, since not a lot happens here, let alone anything interesting or funny.

Homeward Bound

Well I’m on my way home – eventually!

I checked in and it took me ages because I was getting the third degree over the number of bags I had. I explained that BA had said I could have an extra bag in the hold flying out, but not coming back. I had therefore taken my feed over in a small case and was bringing it back in the cabin. 

The hand bag that I had taken on the way out was in that case. I therefore had the bag with my feed running, a bag with my liquid supplies for the journey, the small case and a small handbag. This was exactly the same number of items as I had taken out with me. I showed them the email from BA saying that my feed supplies for the journey wouldn’t count as my cabin baggage, but they weren’t accepting this. 

Eventually they agreed to put my little case in the hold again, which suited me, but I must write to BA and talk to them about consistency of approach!

Security Beijing side was fun! At one point I felt as though I was being undressed in full view of the whole airport.

I can’t go through the metal detectors, so I always expect a frisking.

Anyway, I was stood there, arms aloft getting a patting down. Suddenly I had one person patting me down, one had lifted my shirt and was poking my stoma (I shudder to think where her hands might have been) and two other security guards had their hands down my jeans, poking my various bits of metalwork! 

At this point I was feeling rather violated and had they spoken English, I would have asked to be taken somewhere more private! There was lots of head shaking and ‘nos’ and I was starting to seriously think that they might not let me fly!

At this point I was wondering who would be best to ring if I had a problem – S’s Chinese family or the Embassy! How does one ring ‘The Embassy’?

After what seemed like an age one of the security staff took my passport and gesticulated for me to follow her! 

I stood by another security desk for what seemed like an age while people babbled about me and swabbed all my possessions. Another British lady was getting the third degree over the little torch on her keyring😃

Eventually they just told me that I was fine and I could fly.  Phew! I went straight through to my gate and only had 20 minutes to spare before boarding! Good job I got there early!

I think this plane hapd also landed on the Mongolian border as we had a long bus journey to board; they really don’t do health and safety In Beijing, but I  wasn’t expecting an icy concourse and icy steps up to the plane!

The flight was uneventful and luckily I had three seats to muself, so I could spread out. The couple in front of me were extremely irritating. Of course the first thing they did was recline their seats back. This always makes me feel awkward as I feel that it greatly encroaches on my space, to an extent that I feel that I can’t possibly do that to the person behind me!

Anyway, their irritating habits:

• Constant reclined seats (and they had extra room anyway as they were at the front)
• Frequent inappropriately noisy/slurpy snogging!
• Constant eating and drinking

1. Airline meals
2. Crisps
3. Nuts
4. Pot noodles
5. Sandwiches

The crew must have been getting heartily sick of them constantly upping and downing, asking for stuff!

Oh and the piece de resistance – the woman kept on stretching her arm over the back of her seat and letting her hand drape over my TV screen!  As you can imagine I was finding this heartily irritating and I was almost tempted to ask for a tray of food, just in order to get a defensive fork! In the end I settled for putting my arm across the top of my screen every time she started to stretch, so that when her hand crept over it jet mine and she quickly retreated! Far simpler than just asking her not to do it of course😃

A long but uneventful flight, although once we had landed I was in need of a Cosra before driving home!

On I forgot to tell you, on the way to the airport I saw my first glimpse of blue sky in 10 days!