Back to Abingdon but not on the water

 Just when we are nicely settled into a routine it is all change.

Geoff has been in the John Radcliffe for almost 6 weeks.   He is consderably improved in a lot of respects but still cannot make his hands work, with the result that he cannot do anything for himself.    Still no diagnosis but I think we now realise that there is never going to be an answer for us.   The priority now is for him to get his strength back and get walking again and most importantly make his hands function again.

So the next step along the road is a move to Abingdon Community Hospital.   This happened very suddenly this afternoon.   It had been mentioned a few days ago but we thought there would be a long wait for a bed.   I had a call from the discharge nurse just as I was trying to board a busy train in a noisy station.    Emma and I were en route to visit him anyway so we were able to help gather all his belongings and escort him as far as the ambulance.   

So we are entering a new phase.  Tomorrow Boe and I will try the public transport journey to Abingdon and see how we get on.   We are still moored in Banbury just below the lock and had planned to move up to Cropredy on Sunday.   However the forecast is less than pleasant so unless the forecasters have it completely wrong we will delay until a week today when it is looking better.

We are hoping that the visiting will be as accommodating as the John Radcliffe.  The rule everywhere seems to be 1 person for 1 hour each day.   But we have happily been two of us and staying well beyond that and everyone very laid back about it.   We shall see.

Facing reality-PETROC will have to be sold.

 We knew we were on borrowed time. Our bi-yearly cruising was a 5 year plan and we have had 15. We have been over the whole of the connected canal system with the exception of the middle levels. She is our second home and has served us wonderfully.it is going to be so sad to leave her, but realistically Geoff is not coming back on board. His recovery is going to be a slow process. It is a way of life that will be difficult to leave. So if anyone out there as looking for a comfortable live aboard that is in good condition please do get in touch

L

One small step for mankind

Geoffs symptoms are slightly improved but still no nearer a diagnosis, and frustratingly no prognosis. He continues to be an enigma.  However today was promising as he’s eating a little puréed food and only has the NT line for food at night.

Meanwhile Boe and I are quite comfortable on Petroc. We take it in turns to visit Geoff with Giles and Emma also visiting so he always has a visitor each day and sometimes two.

Banbury is a good place to be holed up for a while. Plenty of places to go out for a drink or a meal, even a Cinema where we watched the latest James Bond.. The shopping centre is convenient, although a great shame it has lost M and S, and of course British Home stores and latterly Debenhams.

Big mistake today however as Boe and I  decided to have our meal in Oxford after visiting. Oxford was heaving and the only place we could get a table was in a very short staffed Wetherspoons - it was not quite the Sunday lunch I had in mind. Rail replacement buses today so a  longer journey than normal.

Hey Ho!   Onward and upward. -

Extended stay in Banbury

 there are much worse places to be😃

Geoff continues to baffle the doctors in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.  Some of his original symptoms have improved but he continues in his confused state.   He has had CT and MRI scans, a lumbar puncture, skin biopsy, a flexible sigmoidoscopy and countless blood tests.  The latest round of blood tests have been sent to specialist labs for analysis.  A hitherto unknown disease (to us) has been mentioned as a possibility.     /guillain-barre-syndrome/(GBS).  However this is not confirmed and there are other possibilities.   It seems to be a waiting game at the moment.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Boe has joined me on Petroc which is great.  She can continue her online teaching thanks to modern technology.   We are moored just below the lock in Banbury right by the station.  Just over a quarter of an hour on frequent trains to Oxford and then a half hour bus ride to the hospital.  Everyone has been very helpful including CRT who have granted me an ‘ approved overstay’.😎😎

The family are not a million miles away which would be the case had this happened when we were back in Cornwall.  

We are taking it in turns to visit so that he always has at least one and sometimes two family members each day.  Despite the current rule of 1 visitor for 1 hour each day which you have to book, they are reasonably relaxed and two people seem fine.  This allows me a couple of days in the week to catch up with work( still doing Giles accounts) and some respite for Boe.  She has joined the Spiceball Leisure centre for a month.  This has a swimming pool and large gym and she has just gone off for her first swim 0640am!)

So for the moment we are comfortable here and will stay until at least we have a positive diagnosis and plan for recovery and rehabilitation.  It is obviously going to be a long haul as Geoff has now been in hospital for almost 3 weeks and at is moment he still has a feeding tube in. He is being well looked after and has even had a couple of visits from his god-daughter who is a paramedic in this area

This was not how we planned to end our cruising season😳😳😳