15Feb08 - Long Stay

Lucy is still in hospital in Portugal. She has not improve greatly since she was admitted on Wednesday night. She is still on oxygen and IV fluids. Dawn managed to get her to eat a small pot of yoguhrt today which is encouraging but mostly Lucy is not interested in eating. She is also on IV antibiotics but these are not likely to start working until Saturday. Dawn is not too concerned about the eventual outcome and hence I am not there. It is very difficult waiting for phone calls to get updates on how Lucy is doing and my instincts tell me I should have got on a plane on Thursday morning but we have been through so many similar situations with Lucy that this almost seems normal. We have become so desensitised to hospitals that it no longer seems like a big deal. I hope that this time is no different from our previous experiences. It has been a bad week for all of us but especially Dawn, Lucy and Joshua. What was meant to be nice relaxing week away has been consumed by hospital routine. I really feel for Joshua who last week was looking forward to a holiday and it just hasn't worked out that way. Until today he has not even been allowed to see Lucy. The security at the hospital is very strict and visitors are kept to an absolute minimum. Today after seeing other fanilies bringing children on to the ward, Dawn decided that it was about time Joshua got to see his sister. As soon as Joshua came in and spoke to Lucy she opened her eyes and turned to look at him.It is a real shame that they are not able to see more of each other. Dawn's Mother is helping by sitting with Lucy to give Dawn a break which is really great and last night Dawn was able to get a proper nights rest away from the hospital. Overall Dawn has been more than happy with the standard of care at the hospital. The nurses and doctors have been efficient and put her at ease as a result. She has not felt like she has to have a battle with them over Lucy's care, which has happened only too often at home. So to that end Lucy is in good hands. However some of the comments Dawn has had have been almost comical. When Lucy went for the x-ray the radiotherapist asked if Lucy could stand and when Dawn said she could not, he said "Why, what is wrong with her legs?". He then asked if Lucy could sit which of course she can't and he appeared quite put out when Dawn indicated that Lucy would have to lie down instead. Other comments have been similar like "What is wrong with her spine?" and "What is wrong with her head?". I quess a lot is down to translation but at least we can laugh about it.

Lucy's recovery is going to be slow as it always is. They are due to fly home on Monday but it is uncertain at the moment whether this will be possible or not. If not Dawn will have the hassle of arranging alternative flights through the travel insurance company. She will also have to make sure that the airline can cater for Lucy as there are not many that can. How complicated and difficult life has become! I just hope that as Lucy gets older and bigger that this it not a sign of things to come.