The pain is manageable

Today, for the first time since Thursday, the pain is less overwhelming and I was able to sleep. The pain is manageable now and I will feel more able to do things other than just sit in a chair. Passivity has never been my ideal occupation.

We have had so many really supportive messages from friends and relatives and it does make an enormous difference. Anna says I look as if the whole world is on my shoulders at the moment as I’m still trying to anticipate all that must be done before next week. She and Jonathan say I should speak more about the pain but that gets very boring and you just have to try to think of other things to take your mind off it.

The main difficulty now has been in trying to organize a nurse to flush through the Hickman Line on Thursday or Friday. The Practice Nurses at the GP surgery don’t seem to know how to do it but there is apparently one district nurse who is familiar with the procedure and she is back from leave tomorrow. I really didn’t think it appropriate to have to journey to London just to have that done. I also have another motive. Once I am out of hospital I certainly don’t want to be landed with having to do it myself, or worse still, to have to go to the Southampton General Hospital to get it cleaned. Keeping free from infection is going to be a priority.

I have decided that tomorrow and Wednesday should be the last days I really venture out as I don’t want to catch any infections before my hospital admission. I am feeling very tired at the moment so it is going to take two days to do what really should be done in one. Pathetic!

I have had an interesting email from a legal firm based in Canada. A client is bringing a case about ending the secrecy of donor conception. They saw my story in The Daily Telegraph and want me to make an affidavit. The reason for my going public about my situation was to highlight the terrible problems that are created for the donor offspring whilst the sufferings of the infertile parents are alleviated. So although it is not very convenient, probably my story could carry a lot of weight. I can’t really refuse when I think about what my donor is about to do for me in Germany. Let’s hope that out of all this, there are some changes in the law. If it changes in British Columbia, who knows this may spread in time across the world and no one else will deliberately be deprived of their genetic and cultural heritage.