The first settled night and full comfortable day for Della on my 44th Birthday during which we also took Debbie to her horse riding as well as attending Della. Pat Law had kindly baked my cake and we enjoyed it at the hospital together. I took Di to the Brampton Garden Centre for lunch and a break from all this
I slept well after getting to bed so late and then woke up at around 7.30am and got started for the day. Di had left a message to say that she had not been called in the night and had gone in at 6.00am which meant that Della had slept her first complete night. I took Debbie a morning drink of orange juice and then the telephone rang to say that her cross-country riding event had been cancelled due to the recent rain making the course too slippery.
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This meant that we had one less commitment to worry about but the call also aroused Daniel from his slumbers and so we all decided to get washed and dressed ready for breakfast. Debbie was in a panic to get to her horse-riding (as she was still going to see Sundance for a ride in the paddock) and Daniel and Angela wanted to leave for Norfolk by early afternoon and so we had to get breakfast quickly. In the end I took them all to the Little Chef and we had a lovely fried breakfast which we all hungry enough to enjoy. Then I took Debbie to her horse riding and Daniel picked up his things from home and then went on to Hinchingbrooke to relieve Diana. Di had actually got there before Della awoke and so she might have not known that we were not there if we had not said.
I also drove over to see how Della was and got there before the others. I got her backrest put up and then brought Diana home who was a little upset at the reception she got from Della this morning. I had decided to postpone my birthday until lunchtime and planned to return with Diana, Debbie and the others so that we could sing me "Happy Birthday" as we ate a cake. Pat Law had kindly baked me one as poor Diana had not been able to take her mind off of Della's plight. A precious hour at home with Di before this and then we met at the hospital. Della was happy again and wrote me a lovely card saying what a Superdad I was.
Then I was all set to take Diana home this afternoon and leave Della in the care of Debbie when the visitors started to arrive with Pat Law and family at the head of them. Even so, I took Diana off to lunch at the Brampton Garden Centre and then we had another precious hour at home before the evening shift. I had the last shift and managed to get Della off to sleep at 10.30pm with only one spasm which was an advance on last night on both counts. Then a further half hour typing up this journal to make sure she was thoroughly settled into a deep sleep before I left.
I had a panic this evening as I found that somebody had tied up Della's traction so that it was pulling much more. Della thought that a nurse had done it and then a visitor and then, in the end, she said that Pat had done it at her insistence. I did not know what to believe and so insisted that the house surgeon come up and he untied the mystery person's knot and tackled the problem of her leg riding up by removing a weight which I felt was fine.