Friday 2nd July

Last night, when I got home, there was large cardboard box on the doorstep. It contained a bouquet of flowers. Sent by a friend far away. Pink roses, phlox, and huge pink and white lilies. I took them indoors, plunged and trimmed them, then put them into one of the Old Man's vases.

This morning I feel fidgety and set off to the hospital by bus.

I get to Helston and, as is the way now, climb back onto the same bus, now transformed to another route. It has become an 82A. And is supposed to get me into Truro Bus Station about 12.46. So I should have time to get some shopping before getting a bus to the hospital.

The bus should take me via the Falmouth road and neighbouring villages into Truro. It's another sunny day and we set off.... shaking and bumping around the local theme park bus stop, next to another edge-of-town-supermarket building site. Then off to the old Falmouth road.

We get halfway along the proposed route. Then we seem to be drifting towards Redruth via some of the old mining villages. A pair of teenagers sitting up front, goin' on a Truro jaunt, seem a bit bewildered as well. I panic as we near Redruth and think I've got on the wrong bus. Then we swerve onto the Redruth by-pass and set off to Scorrier, then we go through Chacewater and approach Truro from the Hospital side. Sure enough we pass the hospital - which I didn't think we were supposed to do. Nevertheless I am so bewildered by now that I don't get off there. It's too early for visitin' times anyway. So then we bump along the top of Truro and down to the Bus Station. Gone 1 o'clock and too late for me to shop. Anyway, I just stand there in shock. I just get on the next bus back to the Hospital.

So - I may have finished with the Consultant from Hell.
But this is the Bus Company from Hell.

At the hospital, the Old Man has been moved to another ward. This is a sign he is on the way to be discharged, I think. He bemoans the loss of his luxurious bed. But he is looking stronger.

We get a bedside visit from the Hospital's specialist Heart Nurse. She will set up contact with a Community Heart nurse - which means the Old Man will get some continuity after hospital. The main discussion is the set of drugs he's got. And that the Nurse will be working towards him managing his own diuretics through weighing himself. This will monitor any sudden increase in fluid. Yes? A sudden jump up means accumulating fluid again. So then he takes more diuretics. Old Man offers that if he feels too dry he just drinks some more water. But the nurse says better to cut back on the diuretics than to risk mucking up the blood balance by drinking more.

This all makes sense and helps build up our shaken confidence in post-hospital health.

My two nieces have come to collect me.
Because of the changed ward and therefore the changed visiting hours, I run away quickly so that they get some visiting time with the Old Man.