On Thursday some of the mums from school came up to visit me. Knowing that I had wanted to sneak out on Tuesday but hasn't been up to it, they asked if I wanted to go out somewhere.
Now while most women would covet an hour in a shoe shop or clothes shopping, that's not really me. My idea of heaven is an hour spent wandering round...
...Hobbycraft.
Yes- that's right. I love, love, love hobbycraft and can spend ages in there looking at the paper, paint, cross stitching, threads and anything glittery. It's my idea of heaven.
A couple of the mums had never set foot inside a hobbycraft before which I found quite shocking. (In the same way that I find it shocking when people tell me they've never had a subway before) What kind of life are these people living??!!
So they pulled up outside the hospital and I levered myself into the front seat. Luckily I still had my clothes from the day I was admitted otherwise I would have been going out in my fleecy pjs. The only problem was that hubby had taken my Ugg boots home so on a rather wet and windy day I was wearing the flip flops I wear around the ward instead of slippers. Oh well, it could have actually been slippers and then I would have looked a complete donut.
Now my friend that had 'driven' the car to the hospital is one of the nicest, kind hearted people you will ever meet. She's a tad crazy and skatty but you can't help but love her more for it. But I use the word 'driven' in the loosest possible sense because really she gets behind the wheel of her car, starts it and just hopes for the best.
The 3 passengers were already looking slightly worse for wear having driven from Hertfordshire to St Marks and within minutes we were going round a roundabout twice because she couldn't get into the lane she wanted and us shouting at her when she almost ran the red traffic lights.
To help you to really understand what she is like, she has learnt just that morning how to de-mist the front windscreen but still hasn't worked out the other buttons that controlled the air con despite having her car for about a year!
At one point we were using a side street to turn around having taken another wrong turn when I saw an ambulance pass. Being Catholic, I always bless myself with the sign of the cross if I see the emergency services go past with their blue lights on, but my friend thought I was blessing myself because if her crazy driving! Well if the cap fits!! Only joking.
The 3 miles to hobbycraft were taken up with crazy driving, exchanging of stories and general chit chat that you would expect from 5 women in a confined space.
Grabbing a basket and heading inside I found myself slightly detached from the group as I ambled around the store letting my mind wander to craft projects that I could do once I was recouperating at home.
It was a good job that I only had £20 with me as I had mentally spent easily £100! Hubby had taken my purse home with him in the day of the op, partly so it would be safe but partly to stop me from spending loads of money in hospital. You see every day in costa they have a different stall selling things like handbags, jewellery, make up, perfume, linen, clothes etc. And when you're stuck in hospital, feeling a bit low it's very easy just to treat yourself to cheer yourself up. Every day.
So I spent £26 but being the savvy shopper that I am, I still had my coupons with me so used my £5 coupon to bring it down to £21. Luckily my friend was on hand to supply the extra £1.
Most bits went back home to be passed to hubby but I had bought 3 little cross stitches to do in hospital and the cards to put them in. Since Thursday I've already completed 2:
You see when the other lady in the bay went home I was going to move into her bed space as it had a TV unit. But I decided I quite liked my window view and larger bed space plus if I want to watch TV I can do it for free in the dayroom and it forces me to get out of bed, take a walk and talk to some of the other inmates. I mean patients.
After an hour in hobby craft no amount of make up could disguise the fact that all the colour had drained from my face and I was exhausted and in pain so they took me back to the hospital and up to the ward to get some pain relief. But it was great to get out, wear normal clothes and for an hour pretend that I was not sick and just out with the girls.
Once I get discharged and go home our next trip out is to Aldi. Myself and one of the other mums are true Aldi converts and were waxing lyrical about how fab, not to mention cheap, it is so will be taking the others to show them. We know how to live we do!
Later that afternoon after they had left to get the bambinos from school I met up with a patient from Fredrick Salmon with whom I had had the Stoma jumble sale. She was back for an outpatient appointment so we had an hour in costa chatting and devising low residue meals that didn't consist of mash and gravy!
As a fellow crafter, although much more experienced than me (she knits, makes broaches and is going to do a dress making course) its nice to talk about ideas for things to make and we have a shared love of many things...including hobbycraft!
This is an example of meeting someone in hospital with whom you know you will stay in touch with not just because you both have the same sort of illness/surgeries but because you just click. Maybe it's fate that puts you together in hospital at the same time and in the same bay so that you meet someone that you otherwise wouldn't.
Anyway I had a bit of an 'energy hangover' yesterday which saw me worn out from Thursdays exploits. I spent the day in bed alternating from doing my cross stitch and when my eyes got too sore for that, watching the first series of Friday Night Dinner - if you've never seen it I highly, highly recommend it. It it soooo funny and I was actually laughing out loud yesterday looking like I belonged to a crazy ward, not IFU!
I got myself a bit upset last night after talking to hubby and the kids on the phone. The kids were chatting about what they had done at school, how excited they were for the birthday parties they have today and just general kid stuff and listening to them my heart was just breaking.
In that instant I missed them so much that I wished I could reach down through the phone and cuddle them and breathe in their smell. The smell of Johnsons baby bath mixed with school dinners and mud (and hairspray in the case of Big Girl). If you're at home with your babies reading this, hug them, hug them tight and never forget to tell them how much you love them because believe me as much as they drive you insane at times when you're separated from them like this you would give anything to be with them.
They're only able to visit this week on Sunday because of the birthday parties. Hubby said that he wouldn't take them to the parties and come to visit me but I don't want them missing out on fun kids stuff because they had to visit me. Then it becomes a chore for them. So as much as I wanted to see them Saturday and Sunday I will have a few hours with them Sunday afternoon and that will be it for another week.
But on the plus side my sister is driving down from Derbyshire to visit me today so I won't be all alone. And fingers crossed when I see Dr 7 on Monday he might be sick of me and tell me I can go home next week at some point. Fingers crossed.
NB x
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