Update on Hubby

Friday morning we were up early and ready to leave just after seven for Hubby’s check-up. Once at the hospital the Sister took Hubby into the ward and removed his bandage before leaving him for the Sister –in-Charge to come and check on the wound. While we were on our own Hubby took the covering off and we had a good look at the wound. We were both surprised and pleased to see how well it was closing up. The Dr and Sister -in-Charge bustled in to look saying that the Sister who had removed the bandage had told them she had noticed pus in the wound. The Dr was concerned and forced the wound open so that it could get cleaned out – they couldn’t allow it to close while there was still infection. I left Hubby to them as I couldn’t face watching them work on the wound. The Sister forced padding into the wound to hold it open and filled the hole with ointment before bandaging it again. Both Hubby and I felt really down as we really had thought it was improving. The Dr. told Hubby to leave the dressing for the weekend and come back on Monday morning for them to check it again and monitor progress. We quickly popped in to the workshop to hand out payslips and check on things before returning home for Hubby to get back into bed. I started my invoicing and statements doing them in between nursing Hubby and sticking to a careful eating plan to keep his sugar levels down. I told him it is like looking after a baby as I give him something every three hours and any shopping etc has to be fitted in around these times. Hubby said he feels like a baby because if his food is not exactly on time he feels like crying. Diane was home after work and we had a glass of wine together before having supper. While I cleaned up afterwards she organised her things for the week ahead.
Saturday Ali came over to visit with the boys and Travis really kept us busy with his antics. Mid afternoon Diane’s client came over with products that she needed pics of for her website which kept Diane busy until after five. Once the client was gone she got herself ready for an evening out at a birthday party. I did some cleaning up after Hurricane Travis and then Hubby and I spent a quiet evening watching TV. I was too tired to do any office work.
Sunday morning Diane was home just after seven as she had stayed at Margaret because the party went on till late. She needed to check her pics and start to get them ready for her client. We left about half ten to meet up with everyone at the Botanical Gardens where Pauline had booked for her 60th birthday do. It was a lovely sunny day and the parking area was already almost full but luckily having the wheelchair gave certain privileges and we were able to park fairly close to the entrance. After a short wait we made our way down to the restaurant where we were able to have refreshments on the deck and catch up with everyone. David was the last to arrive as he had flown in from Durban and had come straight from the airport. Once everyone was there we toasted Pauline with champagne before sitting down at the table to start the meal. The meal was a self service carvery with starters, main course and desserts. The food was tasty and we all thoroughly enjoyed the meal. It was good to get together again and see family members that we hadn’t seen for years. Kelly had made the birthday cake which was a delicious chocolate cake though she was upset that the hot sun had melted some of the chocolate decorations around the sides. Nobody had expected the weather to get so hot so quickly. Spring has certainly arrived. Yay! It was good to be wearing summer clothes again. Both Hubby and I really enjoyed ourselves – it was good to chill after our stressful week. We left the restaurant about four and were home by five as we stopped to do some shopping on the way home. Diane got on to the computer to carry on with her pics and I finished my statements off before watching some TV. Hubby hasn’t been sleeping well as his leg has been throbbing and keeping him awake so he fell asleep after a light supper. I made his last snack at eleven and almost left him to sleep but the Dr had said the last snack at night is very important to keep his sugar levels down during the night so I woke him to eat it before Diane and I went to bed. She had finished her pics but was too tired to stop and put them on a disc.
Monday morning we were up early again and Diane quickly did her client’s disc for collection before leaving for work and her week at Margaret. Hubby and I left soon after for his wound check-up. While the Sister checked Hubby’s wound I went for coffee and breakfast. When I got back Hubby’s was sitting waiting for the Dr. The Dr checked the wound and got the Sister’s feedback. The wound still had a lot of pus and the area around the wound was starting to get red. The Dr said they needed to admit Hubby again to put him back onto an antibiotic drip to stop any bacteria developing again. The Sister dressed the wound again and Hubby was allowed to return home to pack his bag for his stay in hospital. We were both very upset as his sugar levels have stayed low – around four the last few days- and we had hoped this was a good sign. After packing his bag and giving Hubby his snack we returned to the hospital where Hubby was re-admitted. I spent a couple of hours with him before returning home to start e-mailing and faxing my statements. I finished the majority of them just before five in time to return to visit Hubby and see how things were progressing. Diane had finished work so I stopped to pick her up on the way to the hospital. When we got to the ward the Sister told us that Hubby was having his op on Wednesday morning. Doug was visiting and not long after he left the Sister came in to check on Hubby and spent time updating us on Hubby’s progress. They are going to cut deeper and clean everything infected out so his toe can heal. He has now been classed as high risk and needs to be monitored carefully before his op can be done. His kidneys are very bad – when the stent was put in after his heart attack iodine was pumped through the veins and this is what caused the damage. He was also given chest x-rays and an ECG during the afternoon. The wound specialist had also come to see him as he had asked about leech therapy. Leech therapy can only be used when there is dead and decaying skin and as Hubby’s wound has very little it will not work for him. After the Sister had gone Hubby laughed and said this is the first time he has felt so good and been told he is so bad. I’m glad he is staying positive and so cheerful.
Well that’s all for now. I will keep you updated on his progress.