Today's visit with Dad at the Royal Brompton was rather fragmented and chaotic, with various interruptions for re-dressing of surgical wound, bed being re-made after small leakage from surgical wound onto sheet, chat with physiotherapist, trip down to x-ray (I watched Dad's chest x-ray being done whilst standing behind the screen with the radiographer), etc etc etc. Four new patients were admitted to Dad's bay on the ward today, so hordes of nurses, doctors and consultants were bustling back and forth all afternoon. It all made me feel quite giddy by 5.30 p.m.

A loose plan for Dad's return to Essex has been made, re-made, and re-made again today. This morning the plan was for him to go straight home from London instead of being transferred to Colchester General first. Then this afternoon, the plan reverted to Dad being transferred back to Colchester General before going home. Then this evening the consultant, Mr Simon Jordan, decreed that he would prefer Dad to be discharged straight home at the end of this week. The Royal Brompton would make arrangements with the Colchester team to get home support in place. No doubt the plan will change a few more times before Dad finally manages to get home. At the moment Mum and I are in a state of total confusion about what, where and when. So we will just have to adapt to whatever the final plan is, whenever it happens <sigh>.

Big news of the day is that they've cut the tubing coming out of his side much shorter, and have taken away the large and cumbersome drain bottle (or, as Dad called it, his ball and chain). Instead of having the bottle on the end of a long bit of tubing, he now has a clear bag on the end of a short bit of tubing. Dad says it feels good to be free of the "ball and chain" at long last.



The hospital is filled with artwork of all kinds. The mosaic in today's blipfoto is part of a larger installation commissioned to breathe new life into Royal Brompton Hospital's Sydney Wing courtyard. Staff, patients and visitors were invited to create their own mosaic leaf at a series of workshops run by artist Jacqui Symons. Jacqui also produced some take away mosaic packs so people could still make a leaf if they were not able to attend the workshops. There were around 100 individual leaves created, which Jacqui combined to create the final work of art. The finished mosaic was installed into the courtyard in November 2013. This leaf is my favourite, as it represents a heart and lungs - the specialism for which the Royal Brompton is renowned across Europe as a pioneering centre of excellence and expertise.