The Road to Recovery
We had talked about how we always ended up in the same room on the ward and wondered if the same would happen again! It didn’t and my irrational self took that as a bad sign! A few minutes after we arrived though Adam mentioned that he could smell smoke! This resulted in a change of room (yip, we did end up in “our” room), the fire alarm being triggered and a ward full of Firemen, much to the delight of the Nurses! What a welcome back!
We stayed on the ward for a further 6 days. Lucy was still struggling to get up and about, her chest drains were still full and she was still vomiting any time she ate or drank! I lost count the amount of times I had to clean her up and change the bed at the same time without any help! This was the first time I’d felt let down by the staff in the ward! They would deliver the new bedding and leave me to get on with it even though Lucy was covered in sick and still connected to her drains etc! It was back to only one parent being allowed and it was tough!
The problem with her being sick constantly was that they never really knew how much of her medication had been ingested and this went on for about a few days before it settled down. We still don’t know what caused it but given what she had just been through, it wasn’t at all surprising!
By this point though, Lucy had had enough! She was fed up with being in pain, she was tired of people poking and prodding her, she was missing everyone at home and she became so emotional and withdrawn. We were so sad to see our normally chatty, happy wee girl a shadow of her normal self.
At one point, one of the Student Nurses had come in to do her obs and Lucy looked at her dad and said “when is she leaving”! Normally she’s quite happy to have another face and someone to chat with!
Every time a doctor or nurse came into the room, she would cry in fear, asking me constantly “what are they going to do now”? It was so heart breaking to see her react like this as she’s always taken it all in her stride.
Play therapists and Physio started coming in daily to help get her up out of bed and to try and brighten up the day with some fun stuff but after a wee while she would ask to go back to bed. Physically, she was now beginning to improve but mentally, she was broken. It was so hard to watch and finally things were beginning to take its toll on all of us.
Unbeknown to us, one of our amazing friends had arranged a surprise for us all! Something else that came at exactly the right time! She had a video made from all our friends and family with messages of support and the three of us sat in the room watching through tears! It was truly amazing! and something we will treasure forever!
The next few days were spent walking the ward and sitting up as much as possible and eventually the drains came out! Adam and I were taught how to check her bloods at home and home was finally in sight.
Lucy’s mood was still up and down and this continued for a few months once we got home. The mental scars far bigger than the physical ones.
On 21st June we were told we could go home in the morning! I don’t know who was happier but our excitement was short lived when the Consultant on call the next morning decided we should stay another night! Lucy broke down. It was so hard to try and console her and explain that it was just one more night but the damage was done.
On 23rd June, Adam arrived to take us home! We had our last checks and her oxygen levels were sitting around 93! Lucy rang the bell as we headed out of the ward for home, grateful that we had made it through the last two weeks albeit a little more scarred, but a whole lot more thankful!
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