Day 7 in a new bed

Today saw Rhys get a break from Mum, a new bed and some visitors.

When Rhys was in hospital having his transplant we got into a routine where Mum went to stay with her sister over weekends. We took Tracey up to the Cotswolds this morning. Good home-cooked food and the odd glass of vino are the order of the weekend.

I managed to arrive back at the hospital just in time to help as the nurses were trying to get Rhys to sit in the chair so that they could swap the bed for one with a mattress that inflates and deflates to adjust to the body and allow for Rhys to get into differing positions and not get too sore as a result. Lying down for 6 days might sound fun but its certainly not.
The nurses had just got Rhys sitting up as I arrived but he didn't feel like standing up, walking around the bed (being followed by two drip stands) and then sit down in the chair. For the last 6 days he's probably not moved more that 6 feet in total, let alone 6 feet in one go.
The solution was obvious. Since Rhys couldn't go to the chair then the chair had to come to Rhys. Standing up, taking one or two shuffling steps and sitting down was a lot easier to do.
With the bed swapped for the new one the trip back into bed was a equally as short.
The new mattress has taken some getting used to. Rhys has finally managed to get into a position where he's comfortable enough that with the aid of our friend morphine he's drifted off to sleep. With the help of one of the nurses we managed to get him in a bit more of an upright position. Its not surprising that he has fallen asleep though. The sun is shining outside and as much as the room is shaded it still feels like we're sat in a greenhouse.

Just before 11am Nanny and Grampy arrived to visit. Rhys was awake enough to be able to say hello but left most of the talking to Nanny. We sent them out to get something to eat at lunchtime which was well timed as Rhys then fell asleep. Obviously my company isn't exciting or riveting enough. Not surprising, I'd fall asleep if I had me to keep my company.

The rest of the day has been filled with bleeping medical equipment, a nasal gastric (NG) tube that is irritating Rhys' nose and lots of generally not being well. In fact for the first time in days we don't have a TPN meal of the day.

To show you how bad Rhys was feeling this evening he decided that he wanted me to stay in hospital with him overnight. Something that's not happened once since we've been up here this week. So my nice, comfortable double bed at CLIC House has been swapped for a pull-down hospital bed in a room filled with bleeping machines and a noise that borders on snoring.