Small World (by sarah)

I went in for my blood tests today and was a bit confused that I didn't have to drink the horrible sugary drink like during the pregnancy for the diabetes test but otherwise it was pretty much just more blood being taken into those test tube like vials.

I have to say I've noticed that some nurses (like today) managed to take blood with there really being no pain what so ever where as others hurt and leave damn great big bruises (the ones from the hospital still haven't faded :/).

Anyway the nurse first off all took a double take at my surname and then discuessed its origin with me - then she took a double take at the address - it turns out she is the nurse who used to come and look after Alarics grandmother - used to bath her and stuff!

She asked me about the Mill and Barbara and said she hadn't seen my father-in-law in a long time and she got very nostalgic.

Then I bumped into Barbara signing in for her Cholesterol check - she was going in to see the same nurse 🙂 and was looking forward to it as she is the only one left who did stuff for 'Mummy'.

Knowing I have stomache ulcers - explains the random pain I get in my side - but god does it not like it when I haven't eaten which is odd :/ It was being a right little so-n-so as we went off to the pharmacy to pick up the rest of the prescriptions.

Again we went into the Christain Aid thing and had coffee and biscuits and Jeany managed to meet another Jean who was excited as you don't meet little girls called Jean anymore! And then the guy taking the money bought Jeany a cake - again she manages to get people to give her food :/ I think it must be a human instinct thing to give small children food!

I also bought Jean a little white heart tin made of metal with a pale blue flower on it - it was 25p and she can keep the beads from her broken braclets in it 🙂 She likes it anyway.

Back to the Drs (by sarah)

Today I went back to the Drs to talk about my results and the hospital visit - he was please with how much better I am looking compared to last week but concerned about the energy level thing, the obvious run down-ness and sleeping all the time. We discuessed that it could be stressed and that things could have gotten ontop of me and then he gave me list of blood tests I need to have to make sure.

My bloods from the hospital where not normal but weren't not 'seriously' so - I have no idea what this actually means and I hate the amiguaty.

I forgot to mention the skin thing that's not getting better and the fact I am waking up with pins and needles in my feet and hands each morning but I did find out that I have stomach ulcers and was given another batch of pain killers and stomach liners.

I then had to fill in a questionaire and arrange to have bloods taken and a follow up appointment to discuess the results of these. The bloods are for diabetes, thyroid, celeic's disease (no idea how to spell that! but its an allergy to wheat or something) - I think there was another but can't remember what it was.

We also had to sort out an emergancy prescription for dad as he didn't have enough insulin with him - as he takes porcin instead of any of the synthetic insulin's it was a bit of a drawn out process as most places do not stock it anymore - Dad unfortunatly can only take the pig extract one as his body reacts badly in mirade of ways with the synthetic stuff - a rare occurance but one that does evidently exist.

Then it was to getting the prescriptions and me being a bit worried that my prescription costs are now out weighing my food budget which sucks big time 🙁

I had had an early morning appointment but the dr was running 1/2 hr late when I arrived and then we had to wait 1/2 extra for dads appointment when i came out and then I had to wait for my prescription at the local pharmacy in Painswick (dad's stuff wont be in until the morning) so we were finished about 1 o'clock by which time it was urgant Dad eat.

Fortunatly this is Christian Aid week and one of the Church Halls was having a fund raising lunch - so we went and eat a nice lunch there.

I am now currently fasting for the glucose intollerance test tomorrow and hoping that chewed finger nails don't count as food :/

Kittens!!!! Galore!!!! (by sarah)

Our friends cat Sookie has given birth to 8 kittens - 8 for a first litter - that is a lot! and they have started up a blog about them with cute pics and things 🙂

I've also added it as Kittens Galore! to the Friends Blogroll down the side of the page.

🙂

Alaric says we have too many cats even if they are cute and very small little baby cats 🙁 Plus they live far away from us and Minni struggeled with the journey from London too here and we had to stop at the services for her to have a stretch out of the box (this was had to be done very carefully to make sure she didn't run away).

Jeany Buscuits (by sarah)

There are cute pictures of Jean decorating Easter Egg shaped ginger biscuits over on the Salaric Cooking Blog 🙂 I have only just gotten around to putting the post live - doh!

Of Visiting Hours and Window Views (by sarah)

Wednesday Alaric was allowed to stay with me most of the time but he did go and buy me a reporters note book and pen from the hospital shop. He left about 4 o'clock to go and pack an over night bag for me and to do cubs.

Visiting time came and went and I gave up on seeing him that night and instead slept and wrote a poem about the view from the window (poem is stretching what I wrote a bit far it was mainly a list of words and phrases that discribed the court yard I could see from my window in the side room.) But at 9 o'clock I heared a Jeany squeek and in she came holding daddy's hand - wide eyed in the half dark - I was basically asleep.

I had originally said I didn't want Jean to come to the hospital as I was worried about how she would react and about the chances of her picking up a bug or something as I was in the AAU. But she had apparently really wanted to come and see me and they were so late as they had fed her dinner and stuff hoping she would change her mind and sleep - but she didn't she wanted to see mummy.

But she was scared of me until Alaric put the light on and then she was more concerned that I had an ouchy in my arm - the canular. She wanted to hug me but was worried about hurting me so we had gentle cuddles with her away from the canular!

Alaric had bought my book in - Book two of the Wheel of Time which I thought after sleeping most of the day I would devour at night - but I didn't I just slept more.

The next morning I carried on sleeping with the occasional go at writing - this turned out to be quiet hard with a canular in the elbow pit and I had to sort of rest the note pad in the correct place! But I hashed over some stuff about my lunar sample and then wrote down bits of the story I had made up for Jean about her fairy in Yorkshire at the weekend.

I was moved up to another ward which was so shiny new but I somehow felt alot more comftable in - the nurses made sure I knew what was actually going on and encouraged me to potter in the room (I was yet again in a side room due to me being an infection risk) But I did have the most fantastic view from the window - with the cathedral and everything. The seagulls and swallows could be seen soaring around over the roof tops or perching on the roofs.

Alaric and Dad where amused that I hadn't known if I was moved to another ward as I was in a different building and on a different floor and had had to go through a walkway and a lift! I think this is possible a sign of how sick I was.

They had to stick to visiting times this time and headed off. I slept more and had dinner - refusing the TV much to the nurses confusion - I had a TV in the room but really didn't want the noise - Al had lent me his i-pod and I was listening to the gentler pieces on that.

JEany came to see me again in the evening and we all went for a walk to the shops - bizarlly I found the walk exhusting and it just seemed to take forever. Jean seemed to think that my new room was a bedroom unlike the scary other one - which was interesting and she scored her self free biscuits from the staff not too mention the juice from my dinner - I just could not face acidic drinks at all.

I felt abit relieved when they left as I was just so tired but I drew what I remembered as the main points of the window scene - not accurate but a repressentation - I discovered that I really do hate being inside too much but during the day people seemed to want to be prodding and poking me so I couldn't go and find one of the gardens to explore plus I just felt wipped out.

I also wrote about this window view and though how lucky I was to have a hubby who realised what I would need most when trapped in a hospital. I still panic when I am anywhere near a Dr let alone a hospital but the staff on 7a seemed to realise this and helped me by just talking to me and things - Jean got called a tiger 🙂

Visiting hours are very important to me when I am in hospital but I am glad that they have a specific time as I find it can be far too much to have people expecting you to interact with them. And the food was actually nice and they remembered to feed me - another one up on the hospital I was in during the pregnancy!