The Sweetwaters in England: 02 June 2013

This half term didn't quite work out as we'd planned. Our usual day trips had been washed out by rain so we were looking forward to a spot of tennis when we had a slight accident.Poor Ol. He managed to sustain what in medical terms is a 'crush injury'. He broke 4 toes and suffered soft tissue damage. The poor little man screamed all the way as Hannah tore down the A331 to Frimley Hospital A&E.

Presented to the nurses at A&E the foot was assessed and painkillers given really quickly. This allowed them to have a proper look and get him to XRay. In their minds there was very little doubt the foot was broken, poor Mama had no idea what was going on. Despite the swelling and obvious discomfort, it came as a shock to see the Xray. I think denial may have played a big part in this...

Still thinking we might go home that night, it came as a disappointment to be told there was no way we were going anywhere near home. The bones would fix themselves but the soft tissue damage was more of a problem. The swelling was still ongoing and they needed to have that under control before we could leave.

Diary from Ward F1, Children's Unit

May 31st

It's 3am. I am watching Thunderbirds with Ol. We both need to sleep but his leg is hurting.

June 1st

Ah the joys of hospital life.

Awake at 5am with only the light snoring of others for companionship. At least it isn't the incessant ringtone of the mother opposite whose son has broken his arm in so many places it needs an immediate operation. It's a shame she doesn't even have the courtesy to speak in English so I can fill my time by eavesdropping on her conversation.;-)

Ol is doing okay. He's been a trooper throughout this and currently still fast asleep. He slept for a long time in the day yesterday so didn't get to sleep until about 10pm last night. It wasn't helped by the fact the boy opposite arrived and he was desperate to say hello and show him his canular. Is this way of introducing yourself on the ward? Look at my cool medical stuff...

It looks like we'll be here until Monday now. The foot is well swollen and has a cracking blister on it. His temps keep rising but are going down easily with drugs so he is loaded most of the time. They don't seem afraid to pre-dose here which is great! They want to keep an eye on swelling, the blister so it doesn't get too big or pop by itself and check his temps.

So, that's us. The time has passed surprisingly quickly but I suspect this is the easy bit! Our gold zimmerframe is looking like fun and I'm going to have get some practice with a wheelchair.

Love to you all and if you fancy a trip to Frimley Park we're not going anywhere fast!!

Em & Ol xx

June 2nd

Another morning, another peaceful morning on the F1 Ward. The kid next door has just done a massive fart and told his mum she should say thank you. It's amazing how quickly you get used to get to living on top of other people and all their bodily functions. The ward was busy last night so I'm just grateful it wasn't loud.

Oliver has had a good night's sleep which is great and has become very adept at having his two hourly observations done in his sleep. He can now wiggle his toes on demand in a semi-sleep. He had no temps through the night and all the bloods and many wee samples have come back clear which is fantastic. The swelling is going down which is so important and will aid our return home. The blister on top of his foot is still growing and I couldn't be held responsible for my actions if someone gave me a pin!

Ol has been brilliant throughout this whole process and apart from the pain, we've had no moaning about being be bound in hospital and seeing so many people come and go. This may have something to do with the fact every time someone turns up they are kindly bringing goodies, that he's conquered many levels of Angry Birds Star Wars, watched countless PowerRangers episodes and had access to a ton of Wii! Pip is desperate for his big bro to come home but Ol may never want to leave!

We are so grateful for all the visits we've had which has made this whole thing so much more bearable. Hopefully we will be home on Wednesday but things change very quickly here so we will take each day as it comes.

Love Em & Ol xx

June 3rd

I am sitting here waiting for our discharge papers.

In true NHS style we were assured that we wouldn't be leaving before Wednesday by one consultant. Then another consultant breezed in, looked at me like I was an idiot when I mentioned Wednesday and said we could go home today. To be fair, the situation had changed a lot since both saw the foot, but I guess we never quite thought our luck would be this good.

So after a rebandage of the foot, a "plan" (this is a technical NHS term) made, and a booking for a re cast appt for Friday to have the cast we've been waiting for -the one everyone can draw rude pictures on. Or is that just me? - we might be free to leave.

Ah, then we need the physios to sign us off. The lovely Kate was very accommodating, as was the rest of the ward, when Oliver screamed the house down on his first attempt to lower his leg to near ground level in nearly 5 days. I dread to think Od the throbbing pain. It makes me wince. But the a good dose of drugs later he was an utter trooper and went to the next bed and back on his frame. It is quite odd seeing your child walking with aid, afyer getting used to him being bed bound, but in true kiddie nothing-phases-them style Ol didn't think it weird in the slightest.

And finally we need the doctors to sign us off. The phase "the doctors" is a bit like using "them". Shadowy figures used to explain delays that you never quite know if they actually exist.

So here we are. Sitting. Waiting. It's been a rollercoaster and one I'd rather not repeat in a hurry. The care from the nurses has been exemplary and, to a person, nothing has been too much trouble.

Hope to see you soon. You'll be able to spot us a mile off with our bling, gold zimmerframe.

Watch out Farnham. It's not a granny in a mobility scooter, it's an out of control 7 year old.

Love Em & Ol x

June 3rd (later)

Err. You know what I said about coming out?

I have been informed on literally getting the doctor to sign the discharge papers, that the blood results I thought were normal were, well, not normal.

I don't think it's anything to worry about but they just need to sure he's 100% right. And we're at about 95%.

So close, so close. I can see the big fat "DENIED" stamp on our file. Still all being well we should be out tomorrow and I will leave you with a video of our little trooper and his zimmer frame.

Love Ol & Em

June 4th

There is something particular about a young baby's cry that kicks right to the heart. Even I can't sleep through it. Jeff will tell you I am never the first to respond to our kid's cries now and I'm generally sparko.

In this case the poor little 10 wheel old bub a kept me awake a bit last night but in true Ol style, he slept through everything and is still out cold.

We are now waiting for another blood test to be taken. Hopefully this time they will either get the results back sooner or look at the results sooner. We're not sure where the delay was yesterday but suspect that the orthopaedic consultant said go as we were fine from his perspective and when they checked with the paediatric consultant as a final check before going home they saw the blood results. And said no.

That leaves us here. Fingers crossed we'll be able to get out today. But, like we found out yesterday, anything can happen.

Love Em & Ol x

June 4th (much, much later)

Home.

We are now finding that life in a wheelchair can be fun, frustrating and embarrassing. It takes a minimum of 2 people of bath Ol, toilet stops are awkward and both Mama and Dada's backs are taking a bashing no matter how hard we lift correctly!

Ol is getting better every day but it's a matter of finding our routine and rhythm. We are slowing down, taking everything at a leisurely pace. We have walked into town and finally on Friday got into the school playground to see his mates and to be made a fuss of. Ol's learning not to be embarrassed by the attention and also not to feel as vulnerable as he once did. I think the new dressing and re-bandaged cast have made a different.

We are due to get a hard cast on Friday after another dressing change on Tuesday. I think maybe school after that, so long as he can load bear and get himself to the toilet. At the moment that seems a very very long way off, but we've found out things change very quickly in our world. Very quickly.