Country roads, take me home

Monday August 15

When things change, they change quickly. After a physio sees me this morning, it’s clear they want to discharge me. I just have to achieve one thing; show I can climb stairs while using crutches. It’s a slightly scary experience, especially going down, but I manage it, and a reasonable walk back to the room. It’s all systems go now.

Now we have an assessment of my needs if no longer in the hospital, and in addition to the crutches, sock thing and grabber I have a trolley that can be used when preparing food or carrying a cup of tea from room to room. It’s quite impressive how things that will make live possible are available.

This means that we are just waiting for the paperwork to be done and the supply of medicine to be given.

Lunch time is the last time to have a meal in the hospital. Hospital food is like school dinners, a traditional thing for comedians to make jokes about, but I’ve been impressed. Most importantly is the existence of a vegetarian menu. This means I’ve had a choice every day, and while that choice was likely to start repeating itself if I stayed much longer, it was there. Yes, it’s all pre-pared stuff, but it’s edible pre-prepared stuff, of which today’s is a spinach and cauliflower meal, while breakfast was a plate of porridge. While I won’t be coming back for the food, I wasn’t eating just because I had to.

In the afternoon my sister arrived, the doctor did the last few checks, a whole bunch of boxes of painkillers are handed over and a collection of one-use syringes – I have to inject myself once a day in the stomach, oh dear!

Then, after not too long, I’m in a wheelchair going through the hospital and down and out and ready for the next challenge, getting in a car. Always interesting when a simple task of the past becomes a whole new obstacle.

So, get on the crutches, step till back is facing the car seat, grab the car door and frame of car, having given the crutches to my sister, lower myself backwards, try not to just fall down, into the seat. Done! Now turn myself. Lift bottom off the seat, move right leg in, then follow with the left. Try to do this by physically moving, not twisting. Just about done, but not straight-forward.

The journey is fine. Even drab sites are good, having not seen the outside properly for almost a week. The fact that it’s raining seems about right.

When I get out the car at the other end the next dilemma. How to get up the step that allows me into the house. While I did this successfully in the hospital, it was done only once, and the sequence is forgotten. First attempt is clearly wrong, I can’t move. Finally work it out, but need to check the instructions for future purpose as this didn’t feel right and could cause problems in the future.

But we have made it, I can get in a seat, have a cup of tea, and relax.