I explained to Sara and Sheila about what had happened and how my break from work hadn't been the best of times... I had a meeting first thing about the new system for our playscheme and showed two other members of staff how to input the places and enrol children. As we were working through the process, we realised there was still a lot to iron out!
There weren't as many emails to deal with as I expected, but I had a lot of cinema work to do, and Sara also asked me to proofread an annual report that was about to be published. At 2pm, I really didn't want to leave, I'll be honest. Sara wished me luck, and I also told our MD, who had arrived mid-morning, what had happened with Dad. He had obviously had a lot to do with my parents when we were selling the business, and he wished me luck as well.
I drove home, collected Keith, and we went to the care home. My Dad's wheelchair had been requisitioned by the staff, so I had to get it back to take Mum, as she would never have been able to walk the long distance to the ward. We managed to get both her and the wheelchair into the car and set off for the hospital, where the car parks were full again. Keith had no choice but to drop me right by the entrance and then go and wait for us.
I pushed Mum to the ward, and she was amazed at how far we had to go as well. The last bit was difficult as the doors opened outwards and I struggled to get us through. On the ward, I took Mum over to Dad's bed and then went to see the staff about a ReSPECT form, which meant that if Dad worsened, he could end his days at the care home rather than in hospital.
To my utter amazement, Dad seemed like his old self today, and was awake and aware, asking for a cup of coffee and demanding to know when he could go home! He was still pale, but what a difference from yesterday! My parents didn't say a lot to each other, and I sat with them, which allowed me to have a good look at what was happening on the ward... which wasn't a lot.
The staff seemed to drift about, not doing much, with one male nurse watching cricket on the television with a patient! Others were engrossed in computers or laptops, and there was much chatter, but not a lot of care going on. I approached the desk again to ask about Dad going home, and was told to put a mask on! What for? I hadn't worn one yesterday or earlier! What a waste of resources, as I was there for all of twenty seconds!
I went back to the bed and waited for someone to come over and let me know if Dad could go home soon, but of course, nobody came. I needed to get Mum back for 4pm, so we set off, but I couldn't get out! In the end, I had to ask the man watching cricket to let me out, and then there was another door barring my way. I understood that patients may try to escape (I bloody well would), but I had to press the buzzer about four times to alert anyone to come and help. By now, I was furious and totally fed up. Keith had texted me to say he was sitting in Costa Coffee, so after a bloomin' long walk, and negotiating three lifts, and another long corridor leading to the café, I arrived to find he wasn't there...
I called him to ask where he was, and he said he was at Costa. What he should have said was the café, not the Costa, by the entrance! This made me even madder, and then I discovered he'd parked in the small car park and there was now a ramp to negotiate to get back to the car...
We packed Mum back in, folded up the wheelchair, and I went to pay while Keith just milled about, rather than driving over to meet me. To say I was not in a good mood was the understatement of the year!
Mum invited us to stay for a cup of tea, but I just wanted to get home, as I still had the usual late-afternoon chores to do, and it was now well past 4pm. Thankfully, tonight's dinner was a simple one, and I calmed down and relaxed a bit! The one thing I was sure of was that I wasn't going back to the hospital, and I hoped my Dad would be back at the care home soon!
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