Food, company and speech therapy

Ina popped in again with the most delicious prawn pasta. We had already had lunch but I had a little sample and Rosie will have it for dinner. Our ward kitchen is equipped with microwave and fridge along with instant boiling water, ice and iced water and the usual tea, coffee and bickies.




Just as Ina was leaving, Jo and Alex popped in. Alex showed us a few Ipad apps he thought might amuse Rosie and put one of them on my IPad.




They brought one of their favourite puzzles, a world map, and Rosie started as soon as they left.




Felicity, the speech pathologist, came to work with Rosie at 6:30 and left us lots of new homework. Rosie had dinner and now we're having a quiet evening in her room of her tolerating me watching Federer/Tsonga while she does the puzzle.

Day 16, walking, walking, walking

Deep down I must be jealous of all the attention Rosie's getting because at 4:45am at the Travelodge, as I was half out of bed to retrieve the doona I had chucked off, I miscalculated what was where in the dark and somehow fell and slammed my face into the corner of the box-like coffee table. I quickly went to the fridge and got a cold water bottle out and held it to my face. I was quite scared to turn the light on and take the bottle off to see what the damage was because it was a shocking bang. It wasn't quite as gory as I feared - there was a gash that was gaping and bleeding but I kept a wet towel and pressure on it and got dressed. I figured if I went to Rosie's ward, one of the nurses would clean it and put steri strips on it for me. That's what happened and she said I should stay in Rosie's room just in case and have it checked at the GP Clinic next door when they opened at 8.
The young surgeons came to check on Rosie at 7:15 and found me there too. David asked if I was OK and I told my sorry tale. He offered to look at it and took the top dressing off. He said the nurse had done a good job with the strips and it would be fine, just to keep it out of direct sun for a month to avoid scarring.




After breakfast and Rosie's shower, we went for a massive walk, exploring every part of the hospital we hadn't been to yet apart from the prohibited areas. Upstairs, on the other ward floor, we met an old guy who gave us his medical history. We finally ended up at the cafe for hot chocs and Gin. Rosie's schoolfriend, Annie, and her Dad, Ian, were in Sydney and came to visit. She brought a six-pack of Zumbo macaroons.
When they left, we went back upstairs and Rosie was very excited to find a box on her table.




It was a game from my MSO friends and colleagues, Christine (violin) and Keith (cello) Johnson and their daughter, Anne-Marie, also a terrific violinist whom I occasionally teach.




We took the game out and Rosie also examined the macaroon flavours.




It's a beautiful and elaborate game we're not familiar with and will enjoy discovering. Thanks, Christine, Keith and Anne-Marie!




Rosie has been in a walking mood more than usual today so we did another complete circuit including one of the areas we weren't supposed to promenade around, the radiation/cancer clinic on the 2nd basement level. We got our marching orders there.