Johnblog

Jan’s getting better – although you wouldn’t think that to look at her left arm. It has all the colours of the rainbow displayed on its surface from black, through a lovely eggplant purple, to a recently-appearing attractive shade of green.

She has not been housebound, however. We managed to get out to an Italian restaurant in Rozelle last night with Chris and Viv plus Norm and Lynne Arnott. Good place, good company, lovely evening all round. Jan survived with no ill-effects. but she has been a bit flaked out today.

I recognition of my caring nature, Sister Vivienne kindly supplied me with a nurse’s hat and insisted on a picture. The picture was taken by Chris on his iPhone using his new app which gives a variable oval effect.

Jan’s feeling pretty good today, but thank goodness she is abandoning the idea of going ahead with her trip to Hong Kong on Thursday.

Her arm is black and blue and the painkillers are making her a bit drowsy but she’s in good spirits.

I had to go into nurse mode this morning to help bath her and wash her hair. The left arm was fully wrapped in plastic to prevent wetting. Then I put her back to bed, did the washing and hung it out, then went shopping for food for dinner. How soon does compassion fatigue set in?

If I set up the ironing board for her she can probably manage the ironing with just the right arm working, but I haven’t broached the subject yet.

Contrary to suggestions from some so-called friends, the accident was not my fault. Yes, I did buy her a new bike for Christmas, but I didn’t make her fall off!

I picked up the bike this morning from the security man at Liberty Grove who had kindly been keeping it safe. Not a scratch on it! I rode it round a bit to make sure the gears worked ok, which they did. Bikes are tougher than people.

Jan is out of hospital and back home after her little accident. The broken bones in her left arm are all securely pinned, so they took off the cast and she can now just wear a sling to hold it in place. She’s off the fentanyl infuser and has been given some strong painkiller tablets she can take at home. They make you drowsy and give you constipation, but I guess that’s a small price to pay!

The wound looks pretty horrible but they’ve pumped her full of antibiotics so it should be ok. Here’s a picture!

They were very efficient at the hospital and everyone was very friendly and helpful.  Jan has to see her GP in one week and the surgeon in two weeks to make sure everything is ok.

They say she will regain full use of her arm and ellbow, but it will take a while before everything is back to normal.

She has a business trip to Hongkong booked for Thursday and she is still hoping to go. The doctors say she is fine to fly and have given her a letter saying that. There are, however, some practical problems such as getting dressed and undressed with only one arm working!

Crash! Poor Jan is in hospital with a broken arm after coming off her bike on a Saturday morning ride. She skidded on some sand and landed on her left elbow. She was by herself (I was flying models at Doonside), but a passing Coles delivery man stopped to help and phoned an ambulance.

I dashed along to Concord Hospital Accident and Emergency in time to hear the groans as they put back her dislocated elbow on the second try. They sedated her but it was obviously painful. They took her in for surgery in the afternoon to put a plate and screws in her broken bone below the elbow and remove a bone fragment.

They gave her a fentanyl infuser with a button to keep the pain in check and she wasn’t too bad last night. This morning she is sitting up in a chair with her arm in plaster and in a sling. The doctors say the plaster can come off in 10 days but the elbow will need rehab work to get it moving again after that. Her fingers and wrist are all ok. She has a business trip booked to Hongkong on Thursday and she is hoping to carry on with that if she feels up to it.

Meanwhile I am in fully supportive mode. It’s a good job that I am a wonderfully caring and sympathetic person.