What a difference a week makes.
Last Saturday morning we were on our way to the casualty unit of the hospital.
The patient was Junior 2 who had been feeling increasingly unwell over the previous two weeks. By the time we reached A and E she was, in old-fashioned words, very poorly.
After a plethora of blood tests and a CT scan, she was diagnosed with an acute kidney infection requiring an overnight stay. Junior 2 was put in a wheelchair, under great protest, and wheeled to her room.
As room numbers go, Chinese grandpa would be happy as it was room number 68. Oh my…
On the bed there was a hospital gown. Like army fatigues, hospital gowns must conform to some sort of international standard: light-coloured with a small print all over.
Admittedly, the gown wasn’t the first thing I noticed, it was the hospital menu.
I tried to cheer Junior 2 up by pointing to it but she was by that time thoroughly fed up with the whole procedure leading up to being admitted. All she could see ahead of her was being hooked up to the IV drip and being continuously monitored.
After four nights in hospital Junior 2 is much better and we even managed to have lunch out yesterday. We are all so relieved.
Breakfast this morning, the first unhurried one in a week, was scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on toasted French rye bread. I am looking forward to a less dramatic week ahead.
Details:
Junior 2 was seen by the Casualty Unit of the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, Grove End Road, London NW8 9NH. She then spent four nights there under excellent care by the doctors, nurses and staff.
The hospital is located in St John’s Wood. If you find yourself in need of essential items as the stay is unplanned, then it is a short walk across Wellington Road to St John’s Wood High Street.
Here you will find Gail’s, Pret a Manger and Starbucks for sandwiches, cake, snacks and coffee. Mori is a stand alone shop selling sushi and noodles.
Tesco and Boots are good for toiletries; Space NK does the same at 10 times the cost but this might cheer you up because….you’re worth it?
For comfortable clothes I recommend Whistles. For underclothes GAP is reliable or you could go all out and visit Rigby and Peller, which holds a Royal Warrant of Appointment.
Finally if you need something to read, Oxfam has a bookshop here. The hospital has its own charity shop, which helps fund its hospice.