Day +175 ( Frid 31st)
By the time you read this update it will be the 1st of the month, so ‘white rabbits’ to everyone and welcome back to Manchester from Ella and Nanna.
We have had a really good day again today, after a comfortable night. What more can I say? Actually I’d got out of the way of waking every hour or so at home, so that by the time 7.00am came I was completely out for the count. In fact I missed the change over of night staff to day staff, which isn’t like me at all. Ella was awake of course, so I had to pull it together ‘pretty darned quick’, I can tell you!
This morning we tried to have an early start….but it didn’t quite work out as we expected, and it took until 11.00am to get us both washed and dressed. One of the problems was the shower in Ella’s bathroom. We are now allowed to use ‘the facilities’….the health and hygiene person has decided that our germs are ‘friendly family germs’, and only what Ella would come into contact at home anyway. I was quite looking forward to using the bathroom, instead of the dormitory, but no one had warned me that I would need 6 NHS towels to soak up the overflow of water from the shower, as it cascaded down the nice new paintwork, and out under the bathroom door!!! Needless to say a plumber was called…..but didn’t arrive.
Lorraine did arrive though….the play specialist….to work with Ella on a window decoration. They made a butterfly, which is now fluttering across the window which overlooks the outpatients, and faces the ‘top brass’ offices. In fact Sue ( ward manager) arrived just as it had been put up, and loved it, and said that ‘we need more of this sort of thing to brighten the place up’. She was making the comment to right family wasn’t she? Come the end of next week I can see a whole squadron of butterflies up there!
We went down to play on the Wii again this afternoon, which was a success of course, and then we hit the shop, with Ella buying lots of drinks…..’for later Nanna’….
(One of Ella’s favourite things to do is to drink, at the moment. We have to try and keep it under strict control of course, but the shelf in her room looks like a cocktail bar at the moment, with all kinds of soft drinks on there.)
I had to work very hard to keep Ella awake after that, to play with the OT, Liz, who was our next visitor. She did have a snooze later, while I popped out for something to eat, and at last it was bedtime, and we could get down to watching our film!!
‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’. Ummmm…. it did come recommended…a little racy in places…. but quite all right really. Not half as bad as the soaps.
And now? She sleeps….following another one page only story! I seem to have the technique in that department.
We are looking forwards to Sam coming tomorrow. (He is coming with Daddy and then I’ll take him home.) We are going to devote some time in the morning to choosing what to play/make/do with him, then we are all ready and waiting! Ella especially asked if he could come….she really misses him, and all the rest of the gang too.
We are going to close now. I’ll catch up again on Sunday.
Night night and wishing you all a lovely weekend. Lots of love and thanks for all your prayers and continued support.
Ella and Annette.xx