So to recap: S. has been in hospital again since early July, after another nasty bout of infection, recovered enough by August to schedule an operation, we got married, she got another nasty infection while in hospital, another trip to the IC unit, a slow recovery through September and October, some uncertainty about rescheduling the operation and finally last Friday the news that it will go ahead, this Thursday. She’s scared stiff and I can’t blame her; her track record with operations, or recovery from there in this hospital has not been great, despite the best efforts and good will of everyone involved. The ioperation is intended to repair some of the damage done earlier and if it works, will mean she’s less vulnerable to infections as well as remove a source of chronic pain, both of which should aid her recovery and actually make it able for her to go home. A lot is riding on it, so you can imagine the extremes of hope and fear we’re going through, even apart from imagining what could wrong during the operation and its aftermath. We’ve been here before and we know that even if everything goes well, it will be a tough, hard slog, especially for S. herself of course.
On a lighter note, my youngest brother did something very sweet indeed and bought her an Ipad, as she could barely use even a netbook. The Ipad is brilliant for using in hospital when you can’t sit up properly or use a keyboard easily and all you want to do is read the papers. It has helped a lot by distracting her.
Wish us luck.