Brrrh!

Definitely getting wintry! Meanwhile Boe and I are quite comfortable on Petroc with the aid of heaters and hot water bottles. 

Geoff continues to make progress albeit slowly. He reports the faint feeling on the tips of two of his fingers and is managing to send text on his phone although with some difficulty. He wont be home for Christmas so Boe and I will share our time with the rest of the family, taking it it turns to visit Geoff daily.

We continue to be thankful that he is up here in hospital and not back in Cornwall as he has been able to have several visits from friends other than family which makes a change for him.

since we will not be home for Christmas and can’t receive post in the marina Christmas cards are off my menu this year.   I shall resort to online greeting to all!

Getting chillier

 Rehabilitation for Geoff continues slowly in Abingdon, with not a lot of hope of being back in Cornwall for Christmas.

However Boe and I continue to survive aboard the good ship Petroc.

It is getting a little colder now and wam clothes needed. We use the central heating (diesel) and an oil filled electric heater. I am very reluctant to use the wood burner as it has been out of use for several years- we are not normally On board at this time of year! I would want the chimney inspected before any use.

The physios and other staff are great and there is definite progress,

Geoff has now had a few non family members to visit which has been good for him. The hospital are sticking rigidly to the one person for one hour in allotted time slots each day which have to be booked in advance. In addition they only allow I visitor in each bay where there are 4 beds 'so it is not always possible to book the preferred time.

Outside my confidence at driving in traffic has improved of necessity! I am now getting to be a regular user of the m40.

Hospital visiting is interspersed with occasional visits to friends and friends visiting us.. This has been much easier up here than if we had been back on Cornwall..

 Boe and I sampled the delights of breakfast in the New canalside Premier Inn in Banbury yesterday which was voted a hit! £9.50 all you can eat include drinks.

Fun and games over the weekend

 Just when we thought we were settled into a new routine !!  

Friday evening Geoff’s heart decided to play up again so he was whisked off by ambulance from Abingdon to the JR.   Heart shocked and sent back to Abingdon.   Nicely settled back in his corner but his heart was having none of this.  Ambulance to JR a second time of the day.    Heat shocked back to rhythm again!

Whilst they were considering what to do next the fire alarm went off and all hell broke loose! At one stage I think Geoff thought he was going to be abandoned. The result of this after all the furore died down was that his heart objected again. Another shock back into rhythm.

By this time the Penny dropped and it was decided that a different approach was needed.

I think after all this time concentrating on the effects of the auto immune response, the cause of which may never be determined despite all the extensive tests they have done, the heart decided it was being ignored so decided to remind us that it was not entirely happy.

Thankfully this manifested itself whilst he was still in medical care. However this time he was in the- hands, of the cardiologists and I don't think the staff fully appreciated how little he could do for himself because of the nerve damage caused by the auto immune response. He still can do nothing for himself. Can't feed, go to the loo, walk or even work his phone or iPad! So his four days back in J R have been somewhat stressful for all.

On the outside we were worried about losing his bed in Abingdon just when he was settling into a routine of therapy.

Geoff was stressed as nobody was telling him what was going on.. The exception to this was a very nice consultant Who was there when I arrived and explained that they were going to do a catheter ablation as soon as possible. He went into a lot of detail most of which went over our heads but he did take the time which was great.

This was done on Monday and appears successful so far. Tuesday was a long long stressful day waiting to see it he would get his bed back in Abingdon

Thankfully 'The Eagle has landed' and he is back as of 10.30pm Tuesday

 Meanwhile back at the ranch Boe has been to Cornwall and collected her car, I have spent a lovely long weekend with friends in front of a roaring log fire most evenings being looked after so well.

I have now become more confident driving again,

Boe I are back aboard Petroc where the staff at Cropredy are so helpful and friendly that it makes life so much easier.

New we resume rehabilitation and hospital visiting with no idea of time. 

Someone said Christmas was just six weeks away😎😎😎😎

Petrol is back in her winter home

 but we are not in ours!

I

With the aid of very able crew, daughter Emma, we left our very convenient mooning Just below the lock in Banbury. With the blessing Of CRT we spent several weeks adjacent to the Station. A short train ride to Oxford followed by half an hour on a bus, initially to the John Radcliffe and now to Abingdon Community Hospital. A slightly longer bus ride but still reasonable.

Geoff is settled in his new abode. He is now in the hands of the physiotherapists and occupational therapists - we await progress. We have no idea at all of how long he will be there. The laid down visiting regulations are exactly the same as in the JR but not interpreted in so lenient a fashion. He still can't feed himself, so we had been assisting when he was in the JR, but here they don't like visitors between 12 and 2. They also like to stick to their laid down l hour slots, which is not always possible when using public transport.

Meanwhile daughter Boe and I continue to reside on the faithful Petroc. I have escaped temporarily for the weekend to stay, with friends so have had the benefit of a roaring log fire which was so welcome after a very chilly trip yesterday. In just over three and a half hours, we didn't meet another boat on the move.. She has escaped to Cornwall for a few days to collect her car.

The big question now is whether we will all get home for Christmas??