One of the great benefits of retirement is that one's mornings are not ruled by the clock. I can still remember when I felt like a white rat in a laboratory experiment. Every morning the alarm triggered the same reaction. Doze a little bit longer listening to the radio then "Up!". Ablutions. Get Dressed. Race Downstairs. Swift breakfast including scalding tea. Kiss wife. Grab keys and bag then out into the morning where it was always 7.52 when I turned the ignition key.
Nowadays I tend to get eight hours sleep no matter what time I go to bed. I rise in a leisurely manner, don my dressing gown (American: robe) and drift downstairs to make a pint of tea and whichever breakfast I desire - perhaps mini wheats, porridge, toast with a banana or boiled eggs. Then it's on to the computer to check blogs and what not. I might not take my shower until ten or eleven.
Today it was different. After waking at six, I went back into the nether land that we call sleep and when I next opened my eyes it was 8:42. 8:42! Oh dear! I was up and into overdrive as in the not-so-good old days of work. Ablutions including shower. Dressed. No time for breakfast then out to my pal Clint who was surprised to be stirred so early. I was parked outside Frances's house at bang on 9.00.
I was driving her to the hospital.
When I dropped her off, I told her that I would be in a nearby pub until 10.30 and if her appointment was short she should come over and join me. The pub in question was "The Francis Newton" - part of the nationwide Weatherspoon chain. I ordered a traditional breakfast and tea which I consumed before dipping back into the book I am currently reading - by Raynor Winn.
Frances didn't arrive. She was in the hospital for almost three hours and as you might imagine she had to have more blood tests and meet with the head honcho in the haematology department.
Fortunately, the platelet count had risen significantly - almost reaching a "normal" score. Immediate panic over but she will be back for another blood test next week. Platelets are clearly an issue for her in pregnancy and she bled a lot when Phoebe was born.
In the meantime, it was all a big relief for Shirley and I so we took that beloved brave daughter to "The Rising Sun" on Abbey Lane for lunch. It was quite busy in there - mostly retirees - but we didn't mind waiting.
Later, Ian sent over the latest scan of the baby that he and Sarah will be meeting for the first time in October. He really looks like a proper baby now. He was smiling at me with his little fist clenched in the manner of a revolutionary. He will be called Zachary or more often Zach for short and he will be loved and cherished as all babies should be.
We'll keep our fingers crossed for Frances. I can hardly believe her platelets went form ridiculously low to almost normal but I won't argue!
ReplyDeleteZach is a great name for a revolutionary or even for the grandson of a pudding
We are thinking that the first blood test had given a false reading.
DeleteI'm so glad that your daughter's platelets came up.
ReplyDeleteIt may have been a false reading but the consultant was at first happy to run with the initial result.
DeleteDid you even get wet?? lol
ReplyDeleteGood to hear the platelets are better and hopefully the rest of Frances's pregnancy and delivery will be nice and uneventful.
Oh - you mean in the shower? I saved time by shaving my face while standing in the shower so I got wet enough before leaping out.
DeleteI'm so glad that her platelets have bounced back. Whew, what a huge relief!
ReplyDeleteYou can say that again Margaret.
DeleteWell that's good news!
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteYour family is having a very exciting time with the new additions, I hope the platelets issue gets sorted out.
ReplyDeleteThank you Keith.
DeleteThat's one worry eased for you all, and I hope with close monitoring, all will go well for Frances and the little person inside her.
ReplyDeleteOne of my (Steve's) cousins in Yorkshire has a son named Zachary. He is now 14 years old, as tall as his dad and still growing!
I hope that that big Zachary likes his name.
DeleteGood news for Frances. Hope the count continues to rise.
ReplyDeleteGreat name for a grandson.....we also have a Zachary, he is 5.
I hope he is a good boy Frances.
DeleteWe use an alarm Monday to Friday, much later than it was set for working years, it gives us a nod to the fact it is a midweek morning. Just like you once we decide to get up it's a very slow start.
ReplyDeleteI don't quite understand why you set an alarm clock at all. Stop It!
DeleteI'm glad Frances's platelet count is up. It seems like an odd quirk of evolution that women would see diminished platelets at a time when they are almost certain to have some bleeding. Perhaps it helps circulation or avoids unwanted clotting or something like that.
ReplyDeleteYou are probably right but best within normal parameters.
DeleteThat is good news for all of you, especially Frances and the baby.
ReplyDeleteA cloud of worry lifted Thelma... though it could come back.
DeleteI sincerely hope Frances and the baby make it safely to and through the birth.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like shelling peas.
DeleteAlways good to hear things are going well again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Grey Ham!
DeleteI used to dream about leisurely mornings where I could sleep in. But I have found on my arrival it generally means going to bed earlier and waking up hours before I need to these days, mostly in the dark, with more than enough time to do everything I need before everyone else wakes up. My body somehow missed the sleeping in memo.
ReplyDeleteI have had to learn how to roll over and go back to sleep. I find that talk radio played at a medium volume helps a lot.
DeleteI forgot to set my alarm about 14.5 years ago, and found that life was just fine. I only use an alarm, if I have an early meeting or flight. Life is so much better. Glad to hear she is doing better, watchful waiting.
ReplyDeleteYou must retire to bed at a sensible hour Mr Penguin... unlike me.
DeleteI read 'The Salt Path' by Raynor Winn and enjoyed it so much I recommended it to my Son who also read it. I started the sequal but just couldn't get into it. Hope all is well with you and your family, I am not posting at the moment as you have probably seen but hope to start again when the gloom I am feeling at the moment subsides. Briony. x
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving this comment Briony. I am pleased to hear that you hope to get back to blogging soon. Like a number of other bloggers I have been missing you.
DeleteI expect you are feeling a little less fraught over Frances now?
ReplyDeleteHave a lie-in tomorrow, YP.
The anxiety hasn't gone but it is much reduced JayCee.
DeleteSo glad to hear about the rise of the platelets! Could be a movie title, couldn't it?
ReplyDeleteYes! Science fiction.
DeleteOh, I'm glad that Frances' blood count is back to normal what a relief for all of you! It will be so exciting to welcome 2 grandchildren pretty soon, Neil. How fast time flies!
ReplyDeleteThey are getting closer Ellen. My son's baby Zach will owe his existence to IVF treatment.
DeleteI am sending positive thoughts to Francis. Pregnancy definitely has some alarming moments...(my experience anyway.) Like you said though, she will be well looked after by an eager medical team when the time comes. How stressful childbirth must have been for so many mothers once upon a time.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Melinda, mothers-to-be are lucky to be living in 2023 - at least in the western world.
DeleteThank goodness the blood count is improving. That is great news. I never was the type of mother-to-be or mother-for-real that was calm and collected as Frances seems to be. Good for her and good for the babe!
ReplyDeleteShe is chilled out most of the time and usually takes life in her stride,
DeleteIt's always a worry when pregnancy has these concerns, and it's not silly in any way; it shows that Frances and this little one she is carrying are very much loved and cared for, and especially natural as she hemorrhaged with Phoebe. I'm so pleased that today's results were more encouraging, and hope they continue to go in the right direction. Huge love to all of you. X
ReplyDeleteYou are so kind Elizabeth. Tuesday's hospital visit produced a lot of relief after the initial panic by the haematology department. It was nowhere near as bad as they had suggested but still an ongoing concern.
DeleteNext in this decreasing by half sequence in the title comes1 followed by a half and then a quarter. Does that bet me into MENSA?
ReplyDeleteIt might bet you into MENSA but it won't get you in Mr Dunham.
DeleteSuch an exciting and worrying time, I remember those emotions from the concerns around the births of my children many years ago now. All turned out well in the end despite the problems and I hope that it will also go well for your daughter and bring you all great joy.
ReplyDelete