27th December

What a strange 24 hours this has been.  I ended up spending the end of Christmas Day in the A and E of the Royal Sussex Hospital.  This was grim at first with smells of wee and pools on the floor and someone vomiting into a washing up bowl.  But then Josie and I were shifted to trolleys in another area and spent a restless night.  Opposite us was a prisoner shackled to two guards.  He had taken an overdose and claimed he was a serial killer but was that true?
The reason for my admission was that I had severe pain in my back and hip and I lost the use of my right leg for a bit.  There is a danger of cord compression causing paralysis and incontinence so I had an urgent MRI scan which showed progression of the bone cancer which needs radiotherapy.  Now on Level 9 of the new block which is wonderful -NHS at its best.  Very quiet, well-staffed- such kindness.  I really love it and am in no hurry to go home.
Vicky

I had a sense of impending doom from Sunday.  It's a terrible thing to know too much.  Poor Vick didn't want to go to A and E, and I associate that place with patients' pain and distress from working there.  But after a calm Christmas Eve with a fine salmon dinner and mulled cider, and a civilised Quaker breakfast and comfortable time in Ditchling on Christmas Day, we had to go there.
However, amidst the grubby chairs, yellow bins, cups of weak tea, and confused old ladies I am so warmed by the staff here, some of whom I know.  It feels like the NHS is holding us, which is a great comfort, and it sounds like we caught the cord compression just in time.  
This blog was written on scraps of paper in the ward, and we later saw OT, physio, pharmacist, oncology team, and one of my palliative consultant colleagues.  We were sent home after Vick got tattooed for her radiotherapy, and arrived back to my house bursting with people, where we had a lovely party.  The only hiccup was a journey back to the ward late at night to collect Vick's medications which are getting increasingly complicated.  She is now back in Ditchling with my daughter Millie staying.
Josie