Hello Everyone
This morning I rang up Leeds hospital and asked how Jerry was and the nurse replied 'Very well, he is probably going back to the ordinary ward soon, probably tomorrow" (he is currently in High Dependency). That was good news. Then, this afternoon, I went to visit Jerry with Robin and Terry was there also when we arrived. Jerry really does look good with lots of colour in his face. I took a notebook so he could write some poetry. I have also taken his iPod and his cuddly otter from Alaska.
Jerry has had three tubes removed today, leaving only the saline and a small amount of analgesic so he is very relieved about that. When we were there he had his first pee, and was very happy and relieved to do that. He had had a catheter up to now. So, things are looking good.
He is in a small amount of pain in his abdomen but manages that ok. He is now having small doses of an opium derivative so still has some hallucinations. He really likes them. He puts his sleeping mask on and immediately can see vivid images of different things. Today he saw scraggly-haired women in a black and white polka-dot babushka! The other day he was seeing bas-relief sculptures and line drawings of faces. He enjoys them a lot.
He is asking people to slow him down when he talks too animatedly – to conserve some energy. He has now not eaten since last Tuesday but is doing so well. He doesn't feel hungry and we are wondering whether hunger is governed by the presence of a stomach. Perhaps he will never feel hungry again.
Tomorrow, Terry and Adam will visit – at different times. If Jerry is back in the main ward he will be in ward 82 with a return to the visiting hours of 2-4 and 6-8.
Best Wishes
Anne x x
I have been reading the comments of all the live visitors with great relief. It seems that the British version of "socialized medicine" is not the huge bugaboo it has been portrayed as here in the health care discussions in the US.
ReplyDeleteI understand Jerry's hallucinations, I think. I was in the hospital with (fungal) meningitis about 10 years ago, and I don't know whether I was getting narcotics but I certainly was having vivid dreams that, when I awoke, I thought had really happened. One time I reported to my wife that we had had a "patients meeting" to discuss conditions at the hospital. As soon as I said it I knew it could not have been true, but it certainly seemed real!
I've been wondering about the hunger thing, too. I can hardly wait to hear Jerry's take on it.
Thanks again for all the informative comments by you live visitors!
Dennis