Tumour Diary, Day 4 - Fri 11th Feb 2011

6:30am!! Observations. Don't care about b****y BP. Why do they have to turn all the lights on?! Need more sleep
8:15am BREAKFAST at last
9:00am Registrar arrives. Going to confirm that I can go home for the weekend. Would want me back on Sunday night though. Says he'll get back to me in half an hour. Hope he's got a new watch since yesterday
10:30am Consultant and Registrar come to see me together - I am honoured. Shame the news isn't that great. Because they didn't get the oxygen saturation readings overnight last night they want to do it tonight, so I won't get out until tomorrow now. Bugger.
However they will let me out for the rest of the day. If the slow hospital wheels will start turning...
11:45am Cannula out. I intend to be not far behind, as soon as I pack my bags
11:55am Nice surprise flying visit from Ruth Maglovski - lovely friend!
12:20pm Packing bag again. Suppose I might be able to fit lunch in before I go...
1:10pm Dressed, packed, fed and watered. Plan:
1) Try and confirm that the necessary equipment will be here tonight so I'm not wasting my time again
2) Walk out the door
3) Home
4) Shower!
5) Sort out stuff for weekend and for following few weeks (expect 2 weeks recovery in hospital followed by another 2 weeks, probably with my folks)
6) Social activity! Any suggestions?
7) Return to King's for overnight monitoring

5:33pm At home, car loaded up. Attempting to solicit an evening's fun in the Camberwell/East Dulwich area from 6:45pm onwards until I turn back into a pumpkin
7:05pm Gobsmacked. Second day in a row they have failed to get hold of the right piece of kit. When I see them the surgeons will be getting a piece of my mind. And that's before the operation.
Fortunately the sterling nursing staff have rallied round and obtained an alternative machine that they will set up during the night and record the results manually at half-hour intervals - shouldn't wake me up.
Now off to Jazz at the Crypt, St Giles, Camberwell. Cool venue, great music and really nice food. Scraped together a couple of friends to come along. Need some relaxation!
10:01pm Very nice time at the Crypt. Good food, most pleasant food, lovely company. Thanks to Claire and Catherine for joining me. And also to Gillian, who was about to drive down when she discovered that her car had been stolen!
Back in my cell for the night now. Hope the monitoring is successful and I can get away in the morning.