Cracking Night Sleep last night. She said she slept from the last phone call she made to me (about 10pm) all the way through until 7.30am. Wahey !

She ate all her breakfast.

The bedbath was a bit of a let-down really, as I haven’t cracked changing the sheets on my own. But I’ll get there.

Unfortunately, the bedchair seems to be broken. I spent about 15 minutes trying to fix it while kp snoozed and then had to give in and report it broken. A nurse (Mr Vol au Vents) came over from Intensive Care to have a look but he came to the same conclusion.

Fingers crossed that we can get a replacement asap. kp was delighted it was broken as it meant she doesn’t have to go in the chair for lunchtimes. I am devastated as it means I can’t have a really good snooze.

We both had a bit of a snooze in the end and then the physios arrived. The senior physio worked on kp’s weak arm/hand, doing lots of exercises and then finished off by asking kp to move her hand in various ways. She can

• clench her fingers on request
• unclench them (but not quite as well as clenching them)
• bend her thumb at BOTH joints independently (which is good)
• identify which fingers he was bending
  and
• identify if they were in a bent or straight position when asked.

He didn’t ask her to move her arm at all on this occasion. But fingers crossed that this will come in time.

The senior physio then had to leave and the other physio worked on loosening up kp’s legs. After about 10 minutes of leg work, the physio moved kp’s right leg to a particularly high position and kp couldn’t help but fart.

We all laughed (including kp)

kp :- Sorry
Physio :- Would you like one lump or two with that ?

More laughter.

dp:- That’s going in the blog.

During the physio, the orthopedic registrar had come up to have a look at kp’s bottom cheek wound that had the problems the previous night. So everything stopped as the physio and nurses moved kp so he could get a better look.

The nurse took the dressing off and the registrar examined the wound and pushed the outsides of it, and loads of the gunk oozed out. He did this for about a minute until no more exudate came out.

kp:- Is there lots coming out ?
nurse:- Not as much as last night
nurse:- But, it’s better out than in.
Physio:- That’s right isn’t it Karen (referring to the farting episode).

kp got it instantly. It took me about 10 seconds to realise the humour. Doh !

The registrar is arranging for an x-ray to look at the wound from a different angle. Don’t think it’s anything to worry about.

Should know more later

kp had her X-ray this afternoon. The X-ray department wanted kp to go down to them, but the nurses were great and very persuasive at getting them to come to her with a portable x-ray machine.

The results are unknown yet. I think there is a slight chance kp may need a bit more surgery on this wound. I think I overheard the nurses discussing it and they may need to WIDEN the wound in order to encourage it to heal. It’s as if it has settled at the size of hole it is (about 1cm). It’s quite deep also. I have avoided the temptation of sticking a pencil down, or dropping a coin and waiting for the bang when it hits the bottom.

Foodwise – kp has done marvellously today. 9 1/2 out of 10. All breakfast, all lunch, half a dinner which I wouldn’t have touched and then had 2 slices of fruit loaf with butter and a cup of tea. Very pleased with that !

The bedchair has ceased to be. It is an ex-bedchair. The company who makes them has gone bust.So, the sister is trying to find the right kind of bedchair for kp and will order one from a different supplier. Hope it comes soon, as I miss wheeling kp outside and yes, I miss my nice snoozes. I hope the new chair has lots of buttons with some go-fast fire stripes.

Really cracking night tonight also. kp and I had some real good conversations about the future, coming home, practicalities and we both benefited from having a bit of private time where neither of us was too tired to talk. It was great !

She has generally had a real good day today. So visitors-wise, we are back on for anyone who wants to visit Karen. To arrange a date/time, please call Marie on 01642-284812 or 07961-346149. Thanks !