Scribblings from the Mitchy Side

I'm back, temporarily, I shall be heading back to Rainham tomorrow and staying overnight.

The situation is as follows:-

Got there midnight on Saturday, to find a very poorly Aunty Eve and worried neighbour. The Emergency Doc had left antibiotics and she had had a turn on the nebuliser, which had much improved her breathing, according to Marion.

Didn't sleep well Saturday night, mostly because I was scared I wouldn't hear her calling for something. As it turns out, when I did finally crash, she got herself to and from the bathroom without my assistance. She "didn't want to wake me". *headdesks*

Yesterday was a rotten day. She wouldn't eat, although I got her to have a few mouthfuls of cereal and, later, some hot milk. There was NOTHING in her fridge except soup, yoghurt and baby food. The freezer wasn't much better stocked. I knew she'd been having problems with her teeth but I had no idea it was so bad. Marion next door had to give me some bread and ham so I could get something to eat for myself because there was nothing substantial there. That's something that will have to be looked into. Of course, with the chest infection, eating made her nauseous and, as far as we can tell, she'd had nothing at all to eat since Friday. *headdesks. Again* So I was fretting about that and listening to her breathing got worse and worse as the day wore on. Every time she got up to go to the bathroom, there was a marked deterioration, due to the movement. I consulted with Marion and her daughter in law, who's a nurse, and we agreed it was time to get the doctor back in. The doc showed up at 4.30pm - by 5.30pm the ambulance had arrived and we took Aunty Eve in to the hospital. There was the possibility of fluid on the lungs, the doc said, and it was clear by this point that Aunty Eve was in some distress. I knew she was - she didn't even utter one peep of protest about having to go the hospital. This is NOT normal Aunty Eve behaviour.

I can't say enough nice things about the emergency medical service in Rainham though, they were very efficient. Aunty Eve was checked in, they did the usual tests, an EKG, another session on the nebuliser, which helped her breathing a lot, and the doctor who examined her sent her for a chest X-Ray. By 10pm, they confirmed they were going to admit her and which ward she was going to be in. The only mild complaint I have is I never saw the doctor that examined her again - I was expecting him to come back and go over her test results. Eh. Hopefully I'll see him tomorrow.

By the time Marion came and picked me up from the hospital, I was tired, frazzled and bloody starving, having had nothing since the ham sandwich earlier. Freezer digging unearthed a cottage pie and some frozen chips which were swiftly nuked/grilled and inhaled.

This morning, I rang the ward where Aunty Eve is, the Will Adams ward, and spoke to the nurse there and she told me Aunty Eve has settled in well. I shall ring again tonight and find out what the visiting hours will be for tomorrow and then I'll go and see her. I'll stay at her place tomorrow night and visit again Boxing Day. I can't really see her being released from hospital before then unless she makes a miraculous recovery.

What I would have done without Marion the neighbour's help, I have no idea. She's just been a total rock, a real treasure. She's going to cook Christmas dinner for me tomorrow and plate it up so that whenever I get there, I can just heat it up in the microwave and have a good meal. And she'll go and visit Aunty Eve today so I may well get a progress report from her before I ring up the ward.

*collapses on sofa* There is going to be sleep and food in the land of Mitchy today, oh yes. Thank you for all your lovely comments and text messages, I appreciate it them a lot. I'll make sure Aunty Eve knows how many people are rooting for her :)

*hugglesquishes you all*

Hee!

Just spoke to both the hospital and Marion, who went to see her this afternoon. The hospital said she was doing well. Marion told me that she saw Eve late this afternoon and she looked a different woman. She's on oxygen all the time, to help her breathing, and they're giving her regular doses of the nebuliser and, she assumes, she's on antibiotics. She was actually sitting up in the chair next to the bed this afternoon!

This IS good news *beams*

I shall go and spend some hours with her tomorrow - won't be the Christmas we'd imagined, but hoo boy, is it better than the one I was expecting Saturday night.

*waltzes off*