friday - lovely sunny day & everything's looking better

After a very overcast start the sun came out gloriously, we had slept well, with no painkillers for Caroline, and after another X-ray to confirm that the lung was fully reinflated, the drs took out the valve this afternoon. Caroline was a bit disappointed not to get more sedation but it went well, the main problem seeming to be that she had healed so well that it took a while to loosen the stitches. She had the usual IVs this morning (see photo) and we've had two walks, one to the beach where there is a new boardwalk. I'll take the camera next time to show you.

The blood results came back this morning, and although the results were delivered very dead pan by the doctor, virtually everything was absolutely normal. Her uric acid levels were low, but that's because she eats no meat. So fantastic news.

We've not had cake for a day or two so it was a lovely treat to find it there at lunch although we saved it to have with a cup of tea later. I'm enjoying the food, but missing cake and cheese. No detox headaches yet.

The first full week is over for the children back home, they'll be happy it's Friday, time for a lie in. The weekend isn't going to be much different for us, although I'm planning to go on the market trip on Sunday.

It's great to see that we have acquired a few followers, I have tried to reply to Lesley's comments, but the site won't let me do it. I'll get Dave to send me your email address.

Good news also from home, Dad's had his hip pinned, Mum has seen him this afternoon after the surgery, and she hopes he will be transferred to Alnwick on Monday.