Sunday 28th August 2011 Released from Hospital

By the end of the day, I had been released from hospital. If all goes well, the rest of the therapy will be given on day visits as an out patient. But, the day did not start well. It is 4am and about the 10th time I needed to get up to go to the loo. This time, I was asleep, and didn't quite make it. Changing underclothes has woken me up pretty well. My hip is starting to ache again. For the time being, I will try to get back to sleep without any more pain relief. 5:30am and up again. Not long until day light. Eventually, I managed to hold out in bed until 7:15. I was uncomfortable because of pain in my hip and discomfort associated with diarrhea. A few minutes sitting in the loo and then a nice shower left me feeling much better, but very tired. That could be a reaction to the chemo; it could be due to a lack of sleep. Sue gave me an insight into who she didn't feel able to talk about the first diagnosis. One of the cancer nurses told us that we would know when to put our affairs in order, and Sue did not believe that time had come! Basically, it looks as if her Faith was stronger than mine. 9am and the drug round. Hopefully that will attack the pain in my hip. After 30 minutes doze I feel much better, but I still don't have a lot of get up and go this morning. 10am and bloods are taken, one of the steps to being released to go home. The nurse who did the blood test left everything in chaos. I guess there isn't much room, but I can't actually reach anything. One of the hospital chaplains came in and prayed with me, which was very helpful. The consultant examined me and said that I can go home if the bloods are OK. Sue and Chris arrived to see me and potentially take me home. I am going home! The doctor has prescribed morphine for my hip, so that should help the hip pain. I have to phone in to the ward tomorrow, because there is some minor infection. All being well, the next appointment is Wednesday morning. We will probably have to wait for a while for the drugs; we are getting used to that. I declined lunch, so that we can all go and have lunch together. This is getting very self-centered. I must not forget to pray for others, such as Ed and Diane, having to cope with Hurricane Irene. If the TV news is to be believed, they are probably without power and water. 12:20 and I am allowed to leave hospital, but not without two enormous bags of medications. I thought I had a large variety last week; that pales into insignificance.  Once we left the hospital, we headed strait for The Hatch and roast dinner, somewhat of an improvement over hospital food. Back at home, the priority is to use Chris to help clear out a lot of boxes of paper, which clutter up my office and which Sue is convinced represent a safety hazard, and to be fair, they probably do. What we do without offspring at times like this? By now, I am feeling rather tired, but really pleased to be at home doing relatively normal things. So, I am going to sit down and watch Manchester United v Arsenal, at least until I doze off. I closed my eyes for a minute and suddenly, Man U were winning 4-1. The doze did me a world of good. t 6pm, Sue and I went to church. I found it hard to relate to the sermon on divorce, but some of the words of the songs seemed to be speaking to me, such as these words from the contemporary Christian songwriters. Keith Getty and Stuart Townend: For every day I have on earth, Is given by the King. So I will give my life my all. To love and follow him.