Bed B, Side Room 4, Ward 22 (Part 2)

It took a bit of time to get used to the air mattress, but once I did, it certainly gave me a better night’s sleep than the traditional one.

I was awake by 5.30am, and by 6.00pm I had been given a bed bath and my bed sheets had been changed. I then dozed until just before 8.00pm when it was time to have my blood pressure, temperature, and oxygen levels taken. I then ate breakfast (corn flakes with cold milk, apple juice, and a cup of builders-strength tea) … and then a problem arose.

My morning drugs were brought to me, but the apalutamide - which is the daily chemotherapy drug I have to take - was missing. When I questioned this, I was told that it hadn’t been prescribed for me. Now, it was shown on the computer records used by Guy’s Hospital that patients and other hospitals can access BUT NOT on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s computer records, which only show prescriptions they and my GP have issued. The stupid thing is the the prescription was written by my oncologist, who is based at Guy’s but who works at the QE’s Oncology Department for several days each month.

I managed to access my prescription records using MyChart, and after some deliberation on the part of the doctor currently on duty on the ward I am in, I was allowed to take my apalutamide and my hospital record was amended to show that it was on my list of prescribed drugs,

Just after 10.15am I had a visit by a 5th-year medical student who is currently working in the Orthopaedic Department. He spent over twenty minutes asking me questions about what had happened, what had led up to me breaking my leg, and about my general medical history. It seems that my case will form some part of his academic studies, and I was glad to be of assistance to him in those studies.

At just before 11.00am I received a text to tell me that the technician who was supposed to deliver and instal a hospital bed (with an air mattress) and a hoist had arrived at my home, not found anyone in, and gone away again! This was hardly surprising as I am in hospital and Sue was expecting the technician to arrive between 12.30pm and 2.30pm and had gone shopping! Until this bed and hoist are installed, there is no possibility of me going home, so it looks as if my stay in hospital will be even longer than expected.

At midday one of the doctors appeared to tell me that my MRI scan had been booked to take place at 1.00pm. I pointed out that I was booked to go to the Fracture Clinic at 1.40pm, but they assured me that this would not be a problem as the scan would only take 20 minutes. I therefore chose to eat the cold lunch option, and at just before 1.00pm I was ready to be taken down for my scan … and then things began to unravel.

No porters appeared until 1.40pm, at which point I was taken straight to the Fracture Clinic … who immediately sent me to the X-ray Department to have the break X-rayed. There was a long queue there … and the doctor who had spoken to me earlier saw me and whisked me away to the Imaging Department for my MRI scan. Apparently they were running late and my ‘slot’ had just become open … so I was scanned! I was then returned to the X-ray Department where I rejoined the queue where I had left it. Once that was done, I returned to the Fracture Clinic where my cast was tidied up and a review appointment set for a week’s time.

I finally got back to the ward at 4.30pm, just in time to meet my brother and sister-in-law as they arrived to see me. They stayed until 6.00pm, after which my rather hectic day started to calm down. I managed to FaceTime Sue about the day’s events before spending the rest of the evening reading and watching YouTube videos.

I slept quite well from 11.00pm until 3.00am when something woke me up. I had a devil of a job getting back to sleep, but I was woken up by one of the nurses at 5.30am for a blood pressure, temperature, and oxygen-level test. I drifted off again afterwards, only to be woken up again at 7.45am to take my daily medications. This was followed by breakfast, after which I had loads of time to read, watch YouTube videos, and catch up on what my fellow bloggers had been writing.

It being Saturday, things were very quiet. There were no doctors around as far as I could see, and other than a few visitors, the only people I saw other than Sue - who came for two hours late in the afternoon - were staff.

Sue brought me in a power pack so that I could charge my iPhone and iPad if a power socket wasn’t available for my charger. The room had a number of standard power sockets, but most had equipment plugged into them and I could not rely on one being free for me to use. We tried it out, and it certainly seemed to work very well.

Sue left just after dinner had been served, and I decided to spend the evening watching a film on my iPad. After some deliberation, I chose GETTYSBURG, and I watched it until it was time to go to sleep just after 11.00pm.

Sunday morning was a bit different from any other morning … and not just because it was Sunday. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital lies just outside the London Marathon route with the result that all the local roads - including one end of the only road by which one can access the hospital - began to be shut for access from 7.00am onwards. This meant that staff changeover had to take place at a time when those leaving and those arriving were able to do so before finding their route closed.

The course runs along Charlton Park Lane, which was just visible from my hospital room.

The London Marathon had a staggered start. The Elite Wheelchair races began at 9.05am, followed by the Elite Women's Race at 9:25am, and then the Elite Men's Race and the Mass Start taking place at 10.00am. I should have been able to see the runners from my hospital room but my bed was facing the wrong way and I could not see out of the room’s window. Instead, I watched the start of the races on BBC’s iPlayer until the elite runners had finished their races.

After lunch I read for a while and - thanks to Feedly - caught up with the output from the many blogs that I follow. Despite the road closures messing up the bus routes in the area, Sue managed to visit me for a couple of hours during the later afternoon. We were able to discuss the possibility of me leaving hospital soon, once the necessary equipment was delivered and fitted to our house.

After Sue left I ate my evening meal and then binge-watched a YouTube channel about building a model railway. It had been recommended to my by one of my regular blog readers - 'Lee - and kept me entertained until it was time to go to sleep.