One Week On

It's so nice to be at home!  Even though we were only in the Brompton for two nights for some reason this admission was my least favourite.  After 21 years of being in and out of hospital with Harrison, I think the novelty had finally worn off!  

All of the staff were extremely kind, caring and attentive, the procedure went the best of any interventions he's ever had and Harrison remained in very good spirits throughout (even when the nurses were trying to remove plasters and numerous sticky ECG pads from his body!)  Despite all of that, I've never been so happy to get home.  

It's lovely not having people coming in unannounced at any time. They always knocked on the door first however that was more of a warning than waiting to be invited in. As a result, I couldn't help but continually feel on edge and unable to relax (not that any of the furniture had been designed for relaxing!) 

It's also lovely not feeling the need to get up early to be washed and dressed before staff handover and ward rounds starting. Even though the doctors always came to Harrison last, they sometimes ordered various tests before seeing him. The last thing Harrison would want would be me following behind him in the hospital corridors looking like I'd just been dragged out of bed, even if I had! 

This uncertainty also meant that I never knew whether I had time to go down to the hospital restaurant in the basement (we were on the 5th floor) to buy my breakfast and / or coffee before the next test or examination by a doctor. 

The one thing I do miss though, is having all of our meals prepared for us and the minimal clearing up afterwards. All we had to do was put the polystyrene take away cartons in the bin. No pots, pans and baking trays to wash - bliss! 

Harrison is still making a great recovery. He's been taking it easy this week as his wound is still slightly open but it's definitely looking better as the week has progressed. His other bruises are settling down and look less alarming too. It looks as though they had to beat him up to get him to surrender some blood in his arm and wrist but it was probably due to the large dose of heparin during the procedure. He does tend to bruise but not usually this bad! 

I'm planning to get him moving around a bit more next week, especially as his appetite is returning. A couple of nights ago he asked me for seconds of pasta. I can't remember the last time he did that! I'd become used to him not being able to finish his dinner. 

His pulse at night has reduced by around 30 bpm and his whole outlook has changed for the better too. He's continually talking about getting out and about again and wanting to make plans for the year. Contrast that to before the procedure when he'd more or less spent from September just sitting in his den watching television; not even having the energy to play his beloved Playstation 4 F1 racing games. Seeing him now highlights just how unwell he must have been feeling but in true Harrison style, he never complained and tried his best to keep going. We have such a brave, special young man and I'm really look forward to seeing him enjoying life again. 

I will post a photograph of him today. I've been asking him since Thursday and he keeps on saying "tomorrow".  I've decided that it'll be today ;-)  He's been wearing his 'lounge wear' all week and wants to be properly dressed for the photo. He was unsure about wearing jeans until I'd rechecked the wound.

UPDATE: Here's a photo of Harrison this afternoon. I had to be quick because Italy and Scotland were just on the verge of kicking off in their first Six Nations match of 2019!

Thank you all for your continued messages via email and text. They are much appreciated by us all xx