Day +136,137
Here we are again, but this time from our new home…..Birmingham! We are practising for our world tour, you know. There is quite a story to tell, as you may have guessed, so I’d better get on with it.
As you know I came home Sunday night so that Aunty Rachael could do the honours…very nice and a treat for me. I phoned Monday first thing and heard that Ella had been snuggling Rachael all night….eat your heart out Mummy and Nanna! There was no news about Birmingham, so we weren’t going. I’d just started my day properly with a third cup of tea, when Sally phoned…..yes we were going….get back quick! The rest of the day involved lots of coming and going… me to there, Rachael to home, us to Birmingham……but by 9.00pm we were in our new room.
Dr Wynn decided at the last minute that Ella should travel with ICU back up, so the Dr who actually travelled with Ella was from ICU, but one of her own nurses, Sarah, was allowed to travel as well. Much to Ella’s, not to mention our, relief. When the ambulance arrived the ICU team got her all strapped in, with such care and attention, all her medical trappings went in next and finally her ‘team’ including Mummy of course. Me?....I followed on with the old cock linnet!!!
The ambulance was travelling on blue lights so they had well and truly got ahead of me. I didn’t see them again until exit from the M6 when there they were just in front, so they were able to show me the way in to the hospital. Sally said that Ella was laughing her head off when they speeded up and put the sirens on!!
By the time I had found them in the cubicle Ella was in bed and Sarah was handing over her precious parcel to the new team. Sally and I were looking around us in dismay….at this teeny tiny space, without even curtains up at the windows, which looked onto a busy corridor. Sam, Ella’s new nurse for the night, was busy getting to grips with all the drugs etc and Sarah was as anxious as all of us that the hand over should be stress less for Ella. ( It wasn’t that for us, especially Sally, who really was tired and in need of a lot of TLC) Eventually Sarah and the team left, about an hour later, and we were left with 1 chair and a camp bed, which wouldn’t fit in if the chair was in too. I have to say that 2 hours later, when Ella had fallen asleep and we were finally having a cuppa, that we had to laugh at the situation. At times during the night there were 5 of us, all squashed into the smallest space ever…..with an NHS sheet across the window! HYSTERICAL.
That brings us to today, Tuesday. I am now sitting with Ella and she is fast asleep. It’s 10.45pm and Sally is having a sleep in our hotel room…yes you read it properly….hotel room! But first news of Ella. She has had a super day all in all. She has been settled and calm, and mostly pain free. The ways of doing things here are slightly different, but the care is still expert and we feel in safe hands, and that is the most important thing. There have been visits from various Dr’s…from the gastro team and the transplant team…and they all seem well up to date on Ella’s case. In fact Dr Wynn phoned Sally this morning, as well as the Drs here, to make sure it was all ok. I think some tests are likely tomorrow, now that Ella has had time to settle in.
Now to the hotel. Sally went to speak to the family liaison lady to explain that we couldn’t spend another night like last night and she completely sympathetic! They pay for hotel rooms under special circumstances at the very nearby Thistle, so we were given a room immediately, and then we are moving into the new, very swish parents’ accom on the 3rd floor here, tomorrow. Oh, and Ella’s room had lovely clean curtains up by 9.00am today. The staff are really very nice here, and everyone is so helpful and kind.
Sam is on duty again tonight and she has been telling me that on Sunday….guess what?...we are moving ! Can you believe it? There is building work on the unit at the moment, which we can’t see because of boarding. Anyway, it is a whole new unit with new cubicles etc…so we will be the first to use another state of the art department! We are really giving the NHS a trial run aren’t we?
I’m going to finish now and get this very long blog sent off. There are some photos to post tomorrow but for now, night night and thanks for your prayers and loving support.
Ella, Sally and Annette.xxx
PS Sally is coming back around midnight and then it is my turn to try out the hotel room. That’s the plan anyway…if she wakes up in time.
PPS Many thanks to Ian’s Aunty and Uncle who have very kindly agreed to ‘car sit’ while we are here. They live not too far away, so it is really helping with car parking expenses. At £10 a day it could be very expensive!
PPPS Hi to everyone at Manchester. We miss you. Hope you are in the new unit and enjoying it. Ella sends a big love and wants to know what you all had for tea?x