In recovery - day three

I slept remarkably well. If it rained in the night I didn't hear it. Sunshine all day, with few clouds and an occasional short sprinkle of rain. I was glad to hear from Clare that she'd slept well and felt much better. While I was having breakfast she sent another message to say she would be discharged today at two. I should ensure there were cushions in the care to support and protect her thigh. There was food shopping that needed to be done, and supper to prepare before making myself an early lunch to ensure I arrived on time.

Clare was ready to leave when I arrived. I busied myself, loading her bags and crutches into the car while a nurse brought her to the front entrance by wheel chair. We were very impressed with the kindness of the hospital staff, who seemed relaxed, maybe less stressed out in this working environment than in an over worked NHS hospital. She used the zimmer frame for the half a dozen steps to the car. Getting in was a tricky, potentially painful exercise, the first time for her to attempt this. I think she felt every bump in the road in her traumatised thigh muscles driving home on the A4232. 

As we arrived in Meadow Street and parked in the same spot I left an hour and a half earlier, Rob's alarm was going off, right next to us. When we got into the house we found there was a power outage. Several minutes later we were informed by SMS from that national grid that the outage was localised and wouldn't take more than an hour to fix. The power came on again within minutes, thankfully. I wonder if it was a case of another squirrel incinerating itself on the local transformer, as happened last time?

Then, it was a matter of figuring out the most comfortable and supporting seating for her in the lounge and kitchen and eventually the bedroom, getting organised, figuring out medication instructions and booking three follow up appointments at the Cardiff Bay clinic in the month ahead. So many individuals to inform about this happy outcome. Admittedly it's a routine procedure nowadays, performed on thousands. Behind every medical success, however, there's a story to be told of painful hardship endured

I cooked supper and Clare went to bed afterwards. I did so much running up and down stairs that I'd done eighty five per cent of my step quota, so I went out and walked to Tesco's for a bottle of Pinot Noir, then relaxed and reflected on the days now passed. Clare is bound to be tired, but I am too, tense from the waiting.