Being back home

I’ve now been home from hospital for a week and I’m beginning to get into the routine of living in our conservatory. Each day my two carers visit four times to make sure that I’m given a bed bath and dressed, my bed is made, that I’ve eaten, that I’ve taken my medications, and I’m hoisted out of bed so the I can sit in my orthopaedic chair. They also check on my stoma bag and empty my urine bottle.

Now, they are supposed to come at approximately the same times every day BUT to date this has not happened. The supervisor (whose name is Mike) is very punctual, but his assistant (whose name is Abdul) is always late … sometimes by as much as thirty minutes. On one occasion he was even later, but this was because the previous person he had done a care visit to had fallen over and Abdul had had to wait for an emergency ambulance to arrive to take the unlucky person to hospital.

My normal day should be as follows:

• By 10.00am: Wake up, eat breakfast, and take my medications.
• 10.00am to 10.45am: Bed bath, change of clothes, and hoisted into my chair.
• 10.45am to 1.30pm: Rest in my chair, read books and my Kindle, watch TV, use my iPad and iPhone, and eat lunch at about 12.30pm.
• 1.30pm to 2.00pm: Quick check that everything is alright before being hoisted back into bed to rest my legs.
• 2.00pm to 4.30pm: Sleep and/or carry on with what I had been doing all morning.
• 4.30pm to 5.00pm: Quick check that everything is alright before being hoisted back into my orthopaedic chair.
• 5.00pm to 9.00pm: As for 10.45am to 1.30pm except that I eat dinner … usually at about 7.30pm.
• 9.00pm to 9.30pm: Quick check that everything is alright before being hoisted back into bed for the night.
• 9.30pm onwards: Read books and my Kindle, watch TV, and use my iPad and iPhone until it’s time to go to sleep.

This is the pattern I should have been following since I left hospital BUT several things (besides Abdul’s erratic timekeeping) have disrupted this.

On Thursday 2nd May I had to return to hospital at 6.15pm for CT scan on my left knee and on Friday 3rd May I had to go back for an MRI scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvic area. Luckily, the HATS transport team (they are called Lee and Pete) that was sent to take me in on both occasions was the same one that had brought me home from hospital. They knew exactly how to get me in and out of bed and into the ambulance without any difficulties, and they even arranged to bring me back home after my treatment on Friday. Unfortunately, I missed being brought home by them on Thursday and the replacement crew had all sorts of problems getting me out of the ambulance (they parked too far away and had to bump me up the curb rather than using the sloped crossover) and into the conservatory (they used the standard wheelchair which would not fit through our kitchen doorway and not the smaller one that will).

I have a further visit to hospital today for a full body bone scan and on Friday 10th May I go back to the Fracture Clinic so that they can check on my progress. After that, I should be remaining bed-bound for at least another fortnight and possibly even longer.