Well, that was a night...

[desperance]

Daylight's good. It means you can get out of bed and go to hospital.

The hand's no worse, let's say that. On the other hand, I'm not actually sure it's any better. If it is, the difference is fractional.

Still: at least I can pack a bag this time. I can take Anathem. And the teddy bear.

If anyone wants me, I may well be in the RVI.

Comments

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

Good luck, here's hoping you aren't an 'interesting case', one always wants to be very very boring where medical stuff is concerned.

[stephanieburgis.livejournal.com]

I'll be thinking of you. *hugs*

[tybalt-quin.livejournal.com]

:delurks:

I just wanted to wish you luck today and hope that everything goes swimmingly.

Also, I was on one of the legal teams that did the PFI redevelopment of the RVI, so out of professional curiosity, I'd be really interested in hearing your opinions of the place afterwards.

:resumes lurking:

[affreca.livejournal.com]

I wish you luck.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Best wishes.

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

Good luck! I would say "fingers crossed", but that would be in bad taste.

Hopefully you will have the best care from the best people and soon be able to cook lovely things, stroke cats, and type.

[feed-your-muse.livejournal.com]

Good luck - may everything be easily (and painlessly) sorted.

Merry

=^..^=

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Hugs.

[annathepiper]

Good luck to you and hope you can get this resolved as smoothly as possible!

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

Good luck and fast healing.

Chaz just phoned me from the RVI

[durham-rambler.livejournal.com]

Chaz called me at 15:37 to say he was in ward 20 of the Claremont Wing of the RVI hospital in Newcastle. The are keeping him in for at least 24 hours while they hook him up to an IV line and pump him full of antibiotics. He says that they seem quite confident this will fix it, failing which they will consider an operation.

I said I would post this news to his LJ, which he agreed to. Any more news will come as further comments to this post as I don't have access to his account.

Re: Chaz just phoned me from the RVI

[jemck.livejournal.com]

Oh glory, well, hopefully the i/v antibios will indeed do their thing. Please pass on love'n'hugs from me and mine.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

oh, chaz. Get well soon! *hugs and good thoughts*!

[athenais.livejournal.com]

The hospital, for all love?! I wish you a quick recovery, Chaz.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Update, Friday morning

[durham-rambler.livejournal.com]

I spoke to staff on the ward: they are now saying that desperance will be going to theatre this afternoon to have the infection cleaned out, and that he is therefore likely to be in hospital over the weekend. shewhomust and I plan to visit this evening (and take with us a print-out of this thread) after which one of us will post a follow-up.

In the meanwhile we are hoping that the cat-sitter was alerted...

Re: Update, Friday morning

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

Please send good wishes for speedy and full recovery and stuff from me and jeremy_m.

[(Anonymous)]

Please give Chaz all my best and hope to see him next week.
Slim

Lunchtime

[durham-rambler.livejournal.com]

desperance called at 1pm. His message:
I'm alright. I so wanted the antibiotics to work. I don't mind operations, but I'm worried about not getting the full use of my hand back. He added that the operation would involve a general anaesthetic as they would be doing some quite tricky things to his thumb, and that there was the possibility of a further operation in 48 hours time, if necessary to complete the job.

Oh, and Simon had called round to collect the house keys so the cats are being taken care of for the duration.

Re: Lunchtime

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the updates. Fingers continue to be crossed.

[mantichore.livejournal.com]

Damn! All this from a slash with a measly piece of jar glass? Best wishes for a prompt recovery, Chaz!

[lamentables.livejournal.com]

Please pass on my good wishes for a successful op and speedy recovery.

[jemck.livejournal.com]

This really is a big bag of no fun at all. Please pass on our love and best wishes. Jules & family

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Eek! Good luck and best wishes for a fast recovery.

[yadvocacy.livejournal.com]

Hey there! :) We noticed you are an author, editor, or are interested in literature, so we would like to extend an invitation to you to join our new LiveJournal community yauthors. The community is to allow Young Adult authors to network with one another, as well as give advice to those aspiring to become published. For more information about the community, go here (http://community.livejournal.com/yauthors/profile). We hope to see you there!

[autopope.livejournal.com]

This appears to be spam (I got it too, on my most recent unlocked post). Anyone else?

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

Eep! *hugs* and get well soon!

Hospital visit

[durham-rambler.livejournal.com]

Well, having spent 15 minutes wandering around the RVI (due, I might say to tybalt_quin to the PFI construction works confusing me as to where the entrance was) and at one point coming literally to a dead end (a cul-de-sac with a door marked Mortuary), I reached Ward 20 to find desperance dozing in a side bay. After a few minutes he woke and spoke: I paraphrase: “Hello durham_rambler, where's shewhomust?”

I explained that shewhomust thought she was starting a cold and so felt it prudent not to spread the infection further.

I was then asked what was going on in the outside world; hospital life being, it seems, akin to an airplane journey: you are told to arrive hours before they need you and you sit around waiting for them to process you. Then more waiting around and delays with the added twist that you cannot escape, but they are pleasant to you and bring you strange food at odd times.

I passed on all your messages (at least the ones that had come in up to 6pm; autopope: yours and those following will be in a second batch) and desperance was suprised and pleased to have them. I lent a book from shewhomust, Peter Bennet's The Glass Swarm, Ghost stories in poetry, now shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize. And unlike Anathem, a book that can be read with one hand. (Stop sniggering in the back.)

More chat, overstaying the official chucking-out time. Then I asked about the operation. desperance has cellulitis (not he confused with cellulite) which has manifested itself as an infection of the tendon sheath in his right arm, having spead a fair way up the forearm from the thumb. As there is little or no blood supply to tendons, antibiotics in the blood stream are ineffective. Hence the need for an operation. (I have, incidentally, desperance's permission to share this with you, aren't you lucky?)

And I left, bearing his thanks for all your good wishes.

Re: Hospital visit

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for keeping us updated. It all sounds very nasty, but I hope very much that everything can be repaired and made as good as new. Please convey hugs and positive thoughts to Chaz: hospitals are dreary places, and I hope he will be out and re-united with the boys very soon. *more hugs*

[jemck.livejournal.com]

I shall look out for this interesting medical information in a whole slew of books across the SF&F spectrum over the next eighteen months.

And vaguely recall some medical memoir of the 1950s that I read years ago where a patient solemnly informed the nurse that she was suffering from 'cellophane' in her arm. I'm thinking this may be the malady in question.

Continued sympathies.