10th May

What was that all about? Despite high dosage of morphine all day Jane’s mental acuity remains right on the button and she posed exactly the right question earlier this evening. She’s back home after an apparently pointless admission to hospital at great personal expense. Anyway the story…

I telephoned Jane around 9am and although she had a reasonable night she was still struggling to speak and her breathing a struggle. Through the morning things worsened and she obviously needed help. The team to perform the lung drain procedure were fully booked until Friday so not good. The doctor who saw Jane and other staff determined Jane’s condition demanded emergency treatment she was that bad, so after appropriate persuasion she was found a space for the 20 minute procedure. After 10 minutes she was out. Apparently given more accurate imagery Jane has little fluid to drain and her problems are caused by disease progression. The tumours are growing through her lung lining. They cannot help her. So I’ve brought her home and the suggestion is that Macmillan may find other ways to make Jane comfortable. I presume they’re thinking of medication.

But Jane’s spirit is indomitable despite spending most of the day dozing and coping with being drugged up. A cute 3 year old wandered along the ward and Jane’s face lit up… she loves children. The lady in the next bed who looks seriously haggard with chemo and cancer walked back into our bay and again Jane’s face lit up with a welcoming smile… she loves the elderly as well. As we were in the process of leaving we had a special few minutes with the two other patients and a visiting son. It really isn’t PC to discuss religion nowadays but all three patients engaged enthusiastically once the subject was opened. And now we’ve been encouraged to attend catholic mass and ask to be anointed with oil by the priest for healing, apparently it can be a very moving ceremony. It’s quite precious talking with such seriously ill folk all agreeing that God is good all the time!

Nahum 1:7 ‘The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.’ (NLT)