Bed B, Side Room 4, Ward 22 (Part 3)

I slept from midnight until 3.30am and again from 4.00am until 6.30am … which is a distinct improvement. Perhaps - after many years - I was finally getting used to sleeping on my back rather than my left side!

I was given a bed bath and my bedclothes were changed at 6.30am, after which I dozed until my morning blood pressure, oxygen level, and temperature checks were done at 7.15am. I dozed again until 8.00am, when my breakfast order was taken, and whilst I waited for it to arrive, I caught up with my overnight messages and emails. One of the former informed me that the equipment I would need when I went home was to be delivered that morning, so I contacted Sue to let her know. We are assuming that once it has been delivered and assembled, a care plan will be put in place, after which I should be discharged.

The delivery did not go as planned … again! The bed and air mattress were delivered and assembled, but the hoist was ‘out of stock’. Because this was needed to get me in and out of bed, I couldn’t go home until it was. Sue reported this to the Operational Therapist and I informed the doctor who came to see me at 11.30am to check up on my progress.

The doctor told me that the Neurology Department wanted me to undertake a number of tests, but did not require me to remain in hospital whilst they took place. The hospital had hoped to discharge me as soon as possible, but until the hoist and the associated carers were in place, this was going to be impossible. The doctor then informed me that this would be reviewed later in the day and that it was hoped that a solution could be found.

I ate lunch at 12.30pm and then read for a time, hoping for positive news. I heard nothing, and when Sue arrived at just after 4.00pm we discussed what options were available to us. Other than hiring our own hoist - which would enable me to go home - we could not come up with a workable solution, and doing that might affect any NHS or local government funding of any care I needed after I was discharged. In the end we had to resign ourselves to me staying in hospital until a hoist can be provided … which might not be for some time.

I ate dinner soon after so Sue left to go home, and spent the rest of the evening reading, answering emails and messages, and watching videos and TV programmes (particularly the excellent BLUE LIGHTS on BBC One) on my iPad.

I slept very badly on Monday night. For some reason my stoma was playing up and I didn’t get to sleep until after 2.30am … only to be woken up at 5.30am for a bed bath and change of bedclothes. I’d only just dozed off again when it was time for my first blood pressure, oxygen level, and temperature check of the day. I did manage a short sleep from 6.15am until 7.15am when I had to give my lunch order. By this time I was awake and feeling cold, only to discover that my roommate had opened the window for some fresh air and then gone back to sleep!

Breakfast was served at 8.30am and followed by the daily issue of medications. Other than a brief visit from a doctor who wanted to check up on me, I only saw a couple of nurses between breakfast time and lunchtime. I used the time to catch up on my sleep and to read a chunk of 1864, a book by Tom Buk-Swienty about the 2nd Schleswig-Holstein War.

I’d read it before (and seen the film) and I enjoyed it the second time around.

After lunch I was left very much to my own devices until Sue arrived at 3.45pm. She stayed for a couple of hours and left just before dinner arrived. Once that was eaten, I had a quiet evening reading, watching programmes on BBC’s iPlayer, and some YouTube videos made by Jago Hazzard. I finally put my iPad and Kindle down just after midnight and went to sleep.