It has been a while since I posted on the Oakstump, what with a pneumonic wife, and all of the stuff that went with it to keep house/dogs/work happy, and then Christmas preparations. I’ll be dribbling out random posts as and when I get an opportunity and as and when I remember what we’ve been up to. I bet you all thought that the Oakstump is for your benefit, whereas it is in fact an aide memoir to remind us what we did, and when.
As an example , Ian and Svitlana have received a wedding anniversary card from us, just 8 months after the wedding. We were in London with friends, seeing the Horse of the Year show, held every December. Our friends recalled meeting us at Euston Station after last year’s event, just after we had missed the train following the wedding. We promptly diverted from our plans and sought out an anniversary card and first class stamp. It wasn’t until we received a puzzled text from Ian that our friends realised that it was after a spring half term trip with their daughter to visit London museums that they met us at Euston. We should have consulted the Oakstump.
Chantal is on the road to recovery, although still gets tired easily. Just for the Oakstump archives, since most of you were updated by e-mail while Chantal was in hospital, she was admitted to hospital after a chest infection became suddenly painful in the evening. We called “111”, the NHS non –emergency number, and a doctor called Chantal to assess her, and promptly made a 10.30pm appointment for her at the Leicester Royal Infirmary in the city centre. She was eventually seen at 11.30 for a full and very thorough examination, and the doctor expressed concern that the pain had started quite suddenly, a possibly indicator of a clot on the lung, and made us an immediate appointment at Glenfield, Leicester’s specialist heart and chest hospital.
We arrived at Glenfield at about 12.30am, and, once we had located the clinic among the deserted corridors, Chantal only waited a few minutes before being given several preliminary tests, including an x-ray. We then had to wait for a consultation with a doctor, either in a waiting area, or TV room – naturally we opted for the latter, where I promptly fell asleep in an armchair in front of a James Bond film.
At 2.45am a nurse (or some other medical person – I was a bit bleary) came to see us to tell us that it would be a while before a doctor was available, and so she had found a bed for Chantal. I was pointedly advised that it was a women’s ward, and so maybe I should go home? I did, and as a result was sleeping soundly while Chantal was being examined by consultants at 4am, and again at 4.30am.
Naturally I phoned Chantal as soon I was awake – she was waiting for test results, and she optimistically suggested that I visit that afternoon just in case I could bring her home. She phoned again as I was shopping, and I panicked when I thought that maybe she was asking me to come straight over to pick her up. I knew that my chain saw was in pieces on the kitchen work surface (on lots of newspaper, obviously) since I had just taken the chain to be sharpened. Instead Chantal was calling with a list of items to bring – she would be in hospital until at least Monday.
Most of you know the rest from e-mails – recovery was slow, and Chantal was eventually allowed out the following Wednesday, about 10 days ago. During her stay I visited daily, joined by Matthew on one occasion, and we explored the hospital corridors, watched TV in the “patients lounge”, and generally chatted as I was given house-and-cat-keeping instructions.
It’s been good to have her back at home. I need to be managed…
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
