Update for Monday...

I didn't post any update yesterday (Sunday) because there wasn't any news from Vivien over the weekend usually.  And I was a bit lethargic to do any posting about what I had been doing as I was down with a bit of cold for a few days since Thursday.  But Terry was kind enough to drop by on Saturday to give me this tin of nutritional beverage for me to take to help me get better ~!!

This is the email content I received from Vivien this morning..

"Sat, 12/12/09  - evening visit
Sun, 13/12 - morning and evening visits
Falling into a routine.  Breakfast at 7'ish, home made soup at 10'ish, physio at 10'ish too during weekdays, lunch at 12'ish, walk the ward on his own, nap time, dinner at 5'ish, another walk and bed time.  Because he now sleeps early, he also tends to be up at 5'ish the next morning when all's quiet on the western front !  During Sun morning visit, Edi felt that he had an itsy bitsy tiny more energy than the day before.   This encourages us to persist with food supplements from home.

As Hazel was leaving the next morning, we took a couple of photos.

Mon, 14/12
10.15 am visit  - managed to catch the doctors doing their rounds and listening to Edi talking to them, I found out a couple of things.  (1)  he feels a discomfort when swallowing - not pain which Dr Joanne (who's just returned yesterday from a week in KL, visiting her parents) thinks is due to the trauma caused to his throat after a lengthy period of being on the nasal-gastro feeding tube;  and (2) his toes and soles feel some numbness which possibly is due to the heart needing more time to recover before circulating blood sufficiently through the legs.  His toes were also cold to touch lending to the numbness, so he will start wearing socks.   Edi's still stuck with having his twice daily anti-ambolism jabs in the stomach.  Until he is more mobile, this will continue.  Joanne indicated to Edi that one would usually take twice the amount of time to recover strength from being bed bound.  So, for 1 month in ICU/Ward 4 East combined, Edi needs 2 months before he will feel satisfactory improvement in regaining his strength.  Another reassurance from her is that he is not becoming worse.  As they see small improvements in him, they know that he's on track in recovery.

As I was leaving at 11'ish, Nurse Jasmine came in with THE trolley.  What do I mean?  One soon recognises that when THE trolley is wheeled into the room, it's time for blood to be taken - you see on one side of the trolley a sharps (needles) disposal bin.  It has a lid that looks very much like the back of a disposal garbage truck and is free wheeling so that the nurse can quickly pop the used needle into the container.  Jasmine showed me the butterfly needle, the thinnest (to me and Edi, not thin enough) that causes the least pain, so she said.  I hope she did a good job and in one hit, got blood from his arm."