Yesterday...

Well, let's go back to Friday, shall we? (TL-DR - scroll to the end)

We were just about to have a Friday evening tipple and choose a movie to watch when I had a call from Estelle (who was at work) to say that my Dad had again pressed the emergency buzzer due to severe pains in his arms and an ambulance had been called. Her daughter Phoebe was waiting with my Dad in the meantime.

Bri drove me over and the ambulance was already there when we arrived. They took him straight off to hospital again and we followed in the car.

It turned out that it was not both arms, just the right one, which has been causing him problems since his pacemaker was fitted. It was red and swollen around the wrist and his temperature was high and he was in a lot of pain.

He was taken into a room at the back of A&E and we waited for around six hours. He was given some quite ineffective pain relief in that time, and went for yet another inconclusive X-Ray. Eventually he was taken to a "waiting ward" still within the emergency dept.

Once he was settled I called Bri to fetch me home - he had been able to get some sleep.. I had not of course, so after a quick drink I went to bed!

Then back up to the A&E after breakfast. I stayed there all day! When I arrived a doctor was trying, unsuccessfully, to draw fluid from Dad's wrist joint to check for infection. This as you can imagine was extremely painful and because it was unsuccessful he said his senior Registrar would be having another go some time later...

The A and E was very quiet. There was a doctor's strike yesterday and there were only serious cases being taken. The nursing staff had little to do and were using the time for study and chatting. For much of the time Dad was the only patient in the ward.

Eventually he was transferred up to a real ward where he was shocked at having to share a ward with a bunch of "old men" One of them was my age! The guy in the next bed has quite advanced dementia - he kept shouting at me as he thought I was his wife!

Once he was settled I stayed until he'd been found a meal and eaten it, then said I would go home. I was exhausted, having had just four hours sleep. I got as far as the exit when I realised I did not have my phone and had to go back.

I arrived as the registrar was doing the excruciating fluid-drawing procedure again. He did indeed get some and it was infected. It was decided he would operate today to wash out the joint with some antibiotic fluid. This is to be followed by a course of IV antibiotics.

Once all this was dealt with I once again headed off. The day was not yet done as we had to go over to the bungalow to collect medication and other things my Dad would need that had not been packed in the haste the evening before.

This shot was taken on the way back. I liked the pretty clouds with the sun peeping through. 

Once I'd delivered them I got Bri to take me to get some chips and sweet and sour sauce from our chippy of choice since boycotting the one I used to work in! I was so glad to be able to relax, eat and watch the recording of the RL Challenge cup game between Hull FC and Saints. Saints won unfortunately, but it was a good game!

We then had our Friday night tipple on a Saturday night!

We had bought tickets to go watch Wigan play Warrington in the Cup today but obviously those plans have had to change... There will be other Cup games, hopefully even this year..

(Too long? My Dad is back in hospital awaiting surgery. Saturday itself was too long - I don't blame you for not reading all that blurb!)