A Tale of Two Parishes

Today's blipfoto is of the Parish Church of St. Luke, Chelsea. It stands on Sydney Street, on the opposite side of the road to the Royal Brompton Hospital, and it can be seen from Dad's ward on the 5th floor. I got a quick couple of shots of it as I walked along to the hospital from South Kensington tube station. Mum and Dad's own parish church in Tiptree is also called St. Luke's. I rather like that coincidence.

Mum phoned me this morning in a bit of a state, saying she'd just had a call from Dad on his mobile and that he sounded upset. Both of them are a bit hard of hearing, so Mum couldn't quite make out what he was saying. I called him myself and found him homesick, missing Mum and disgruntled that he was woken up with a bowl of Weetabix for breakfast, which he can't stand. He did eventually get his favourite bran flakes, but it wasn't a good start to the day and he spent the whole phone call moaning about the Brompton and saying it wasn't a patch on Colchester Hospital (!). I told him I'd see him at 3.p.m. when visiting starts, phoned Mum back to try and stop her worrying, then flew round the supermarket to get some bits and pieces to take in with me.

The thing that had made Dad the most disgruntled was that he'd been attached to the wall by a suction tube to help re-inflate his lung. It was the thing he hated so much when they did the same at Colchester, because it meant he couldn't get up and walk around. However the nurses will come and disconnect the suction tube if he wants to walk to the toilet, so he's not quite as trapped as he was before. In spite of his earlier complaints about the nursing and the food, I found the nurses lovely and Dad admitted that actually the meals were much better than at Colchester. So I think he was just out of sorts this morning. I encouraged him to phone Mum again while I was there, and talked Mum through pressing the 40dB volume boost button on their home phone to help her hear. I went a bit misty-eyed when they were talking to each other, it was so touching and emotional. I'm really glad we got Dad that mobile - it's a special one for the elderly and hard-of-hearing with a volume boost, big buttons and easy to read display. He finds it a lifeline to be able to ring and hear our voices when he misses us or needs something brought in on the next visit.

Soon after I arrived, Dad was whisked down for yet another x-ray. In contrast to the massive queues and lengthy wait in Colchester for an x-ray or scan, he was seen immediately and was back on the ward within 15 minutes. I was impressed.

Dad ate loads today, much more than I've seen him eat in weeks and months. I had made him some corned beef and tomato sandwiches, and those went down very well. His face is a good colour now, and I left him looking much more settled than he'd sounded on the phone in the morning.

If I get to Sydney Street a bit early tomorrow, I might just pop into St. Luke's for a quiet few moments.