Hiatus Day Four - Journal (mostly)

Saturday 29 March 2025 07.45 – RVI

So here I am washed, dressed, awake, tired, hungry and lonely.

Ferretfingers is asleep on his side wearing the eyemask.

I’m a little worried that there’s blood on his bottom sheet and wonder what they’ll find when they pull back the top one – but too tired to get worked up about it.

This is a very gloomy little cubicle with not much natural light so that reading and knitting is eye straining.   

Whilst the Zbed is great for sleeping, and I did sleep well last night, there’s nowhere comfortable and supportive to sit and read or knit.   

It’s also cold, or at least I feel cold.

Ferretfingers must be sick of the sight of me.

He just woke.  “Mum.  Daddy’s getting the papers.”

He always has his priorities.

I am lucky though; I do have friends that care, and text.

I am trying to treat this little sojourn a bit like a retreat.  Although the books I’m reading are far from improving, there’s little silence and far too much chocolate.  It’s a bit like camping too, with few clothes and very limited washing facilities.  My hair needs washing and I long to lie in a warm bath.   I also long to sit in a proper chair with good lighting.

Ferretfingers keeps saying wistfully and hoarsely “Home?”

09.50

Pigs fly.  Fester just rang!

The battery on the vacuum machine was flat so the nurse plugged in the charging cable.  There was a sudden glugging and gurgling as a load of blood went through.   

Which explains the blood stains on the heel of his dressing and small amount on the sheets.

He has had a wee, a banana and biscuits breakfast, his antibiotics and paracetamol, and has access once more to his tablets.  But he’s not asked for his ear defenders.

Quote of the day: phone call, Middlesister “He’s jealous of the attention the boys get.”

“Oh no, he’s not jealous; he’s just utterly selfcentred.”  (Pot kettle/kettle pot?)

15.35

Fester and Thunderthighs have visited and stayed for over an hour.

Thunderthighs has brought me a pack of vintage branded Marathons.

After they left Ferretfingers took his headphones off and said “Papers.”

“You want Daddy to bring the papers tomorrow?”

“Yess.”

So I dash down the ward calling Fester.

They were just going through the doors so turned back and I told Fester that Ferretfingers wanted the papers.

“But I don’t know which bits he wants” he started.

“The TV bits” I reply.

“But I don’t know which bits those are … I mean he has all of the I.”

I was about to say “The bits that have got TV written on them” but Thunderthighs interceded with “I know the bits he has.”

So we got the two TV mags Thunderthighs had in his bag and will no doubt get the lot tomorrow.

I am to ring at 10am so Fester can organise his day.

 

As I predicted in my phone-call with Middlesister this morning the central heating isn’t coming on.  So I’ve had to explain at length to Thunderthighs what to do.

I’ve also told them to ask Will Fixit or Miss Doozer if there’s a problem.

20.00

Wahlid, the doctor who got Ferretfingers to sign the consent forms on Wednesday evening, walked off with my pen.  He’s just brought it back.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d kept it after one of the doctors in the Freeman hospital left it on Ferretfingers’ table.

Anyway the operation went well and they’re having a multidisciplinary meeting on Monday morning so I suppose we’ll find out more then.

Mrs Leftfoot and her eldest daughter called about half past five as we were eating our tea.  Lovely laugh and chat.

This was the evening Newcastle United celebrated winning the Carabao League Cup.

Text 30/03/2025

08.59 Mrs Leftfoot – Was good to see Ferretfingers looking well and we hope it continues.  Well what an adventure we had trying to get home.  There were still lots of people about and the event on the Moor was ongoing.  A woman at the bus stop said she’d been waiting over an hour.  We tried to book a taxi and that was hopeless so the three of us walked.  We went across the Moor and saw the drone display, which was fun.  The woman, called Sara, is from Iraq and is studying ladybirds.  Was lovely talking to her.  Got home just before eight.