Although it would be nice now to get moving!

This Post was started on Tuesday 22nd December. Life has gotten in the way since then so excuse it's lateness!

It took us half an hour to extracate our minibus from the drive and onto the main road yesterday...this put us seriously behind on our trip to Nottingham Hospital. Rosie and Eve both had appointments there.
Eventually we arrived at the hospital and David offloaded all of us and went off to find parking. I sent Sarah down to the Clinic Eve was due in to collect an X Ray form that I had arranged on the way for us to collect. Rosie's appointment was first and the X ray department was nearer her clinic than Eve's.

Joshua and I went on to the Children's Outpatient's with the girls and hoped both David and Sarah would find us. Hah! Best laid plans! We arrived and explained who we were and who we were seeing. The Receptionist looked flustered, then said....
"I am really sorry but I am only the messenger...Mr C has phoned in Sick this morning, his seceratary asked me to let you know he will be in touch to rearrange the appointment as soon as possible!"

Oh well I was glad that we were seeing Mr G for Eve too and had not been coming back the next day specifically for Rosie...things could be worse! So we retraced our steps back to where we had parted company with Sarah, and where David would have to come in to find us. David arrived fairly soon after and I set off with Eve towards X Ray but was called back a little way along the corridor, Sarah had not managed to extracate an X Ray form from the clinic, so we had to go back. Long story cut really short here, there was no X Ray form Mr G had decided against another X Ray. THe clinic was running an hour late and Eve was struggling needing lots of suctioni, SATs running at maximium of 90 with 2 litres of oxygen so we decided to head up to the Day Ward and beg a mask off them so we could increase the oxygen flow, David Sarah and Joshua took Rosie off to get coffee and wait for me in the restaurant. Me and Eve went to meet with old friends and beg the mask. It took a while to escape the friendly welcome we got on Day Ward but when the SATs started to drop even with 4 litres of Oxygen we discovered we were out of oxygen so I made a hasty return to Restaurant to pinch Rosie;s Cylinder. Unfortunately we had done that previously and the one she had was almost empty too so rapid drinking up of drinks and back to clinic, and David and Joshua went to swap the empties for full ones back at the bus!
We were called in to Mr G's room as we returned, Eve was struggling big time and needing a lot of suction, David returned with a full cylinder of oxygen and we got her settled. Just as Mr G walked in. The appointment didnt go well! Lots of Oh you poor thing, Oh you poor things, how do you cope, oh you poor thing....you get the idea? It did not do anything to help us cope with his final statement of....I really think I should back off, bow out, anything I could offer her would kill her like as not. I admire your dedication go have a wonderful Christmas, if any of her other consultants ever want another oppinion of me I will gladly see her again, but I really think I shoud bow out, Surgery is not an option, we need to look at symptom control and others have more to offer you.

So we headed back off to Grantham to meet our friends who were coming to stay. Eve was doing a grand job of choking and doing a dusky look and making the alarms beep..."Oh the poor thing!" Or in our words, "For Goodness sake Eve will you breathe properly and stop this choking, Glad we brought a box af Suction Catheters with us we are getting through them pretty well!

We found Asda....well the queue for the Asda Car park...decided we wouldnt bother joining it and took the next exit off the roundabaout, travelled a massive 300 yards in 20 minutes and wondered if our friends may make it from Leeds to Grantham before we managed to travel the 1/2 a mile from where we were to the station. Thankfully we did make it and found a lovely little Cafe that did a great line in Jacket Potatoes all of us choosing a different filling! Rosie did a great job of polishing the floor...laying down on her back and spinning round and round...impatient for the jacket Potatoe she had been promised! Thankfully everyone was really tolerant and eventually her potatoe arrived...she was much more interested in everyoine else salad...but did make a fair job of her beans and cheese potatoe in the end. There was a shelf full of teddies for sale...hand made and hand dressed each carrying a chalk board with a message....we managed to find the perfect one for Grace, had to go across the forecourt to the shop to pay and found a beautiful present for Sue. Good find this Cafe! Actually given more time and less children I think I may have spent a lot more money, thankfully we were running short of time and had too many children needing too much attentiion so we settled for the two presents that had been so difficult to find!
So on to the station, meeting our friends and then heading home. Grantham to Holbeach via Boston was interesting, David always gets it wrong in the dark on the A52 A17 junction! But we arrived home eventually to a house smelling delicioulsy of Roast beef dinner prepared for us by Iris. We beat Jonathan home and had time to sit and have a coffee and then get Rosie ready for bed before Nic brought Christina home and took Sarah away and then the phone rang....no Taxi had turned up for Jonathan....did we know what had happened? NO! URGH! time to start ringing and the manager had no idea either, he promised to sort it so we sat back and waited.
By the time Jonathan arrived dinner was ready to servie and once that was finished we were all ready for bed!
Spare beds in place and made up, kittens secured and children settled. A Final coffeee and goodnight!