More Golden Moments On Our Travels (4)

More Golden Moments On Our Travels (4)

Friday, 29 March found us up early and keen to find the new hospital - St Vincent's was closer to the centre of Brisbane, so it didn't take us long to get there.

We were told Uncle John was up on the third floor, in Bed 15; walking in to his room, we found the light was off, and he was fast asleep. He had slipped down the bed, which meant that although he isn't as tall as he used to be when he was young, his feet were right against the end of the bed, and his knees were bent and scrunched up.

Having looked after Mum for such a long time, we knew it wasn't a good idea for him to be left like that, so we put the light on, and said "Good morning, Uncle John!"

With that, he opened his eyes and was wide awake.

"Hello," he said, looking really happy to see us.

We were concerned, because we could also smell urine. We pressed the call button and a nurse came very quickly, and said Uncle John would be taken for a shower; this was just as well, because when they got Uncle John up, he was soaked, and so were the sheets.

Things moved quickly then; we gave the nurse Uncle John's clean clothes and he went for his shower; the bed was made with fresh sheets, and the nurses said they would speak to his son about washing his clothes.

Presently Uncle John was back in bed and we could enjoy our time with him; we also took more photographs, and a couple of videos - Uncle John was very happy to reminisce, and it was lovely to get him talking about things he has done in his life.

The physiotherapist came to see him and helped him to use a walker for a little way around the bed and back. Uncle John is certainly not accustomed to using one of these - it's taken him a while a accept he might need to use a stick! - but he persevered, and realised that to progress, he has to get the hang of moving the walker forward and then stepping in to it.

We also saw one of the Social Workers, and explained again, why we would like to be told how Uncle John is. His records had not been sent through from Princess Alexandra Hospital, so the Social Worker asked Uncle John directly, if he was happy for us to be named as family members to be contacted. Once Uncle John had given his consent, Wendy wrote out all our contact details: addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses, and these should now be on his file.

We stayed with Uncle John for as long as we could. He was very positive, and said the food was good - his lunch also arrived, and we could see he really enjoyed it - but at last it was time for us to leave and get ready for the start of our journey home, early tomorrow morning.

Wendy and Uncle John in St Vincent's Hospital

It was so hard to leave Uncle John; he knows how much we love him, and will miss him! We had bought him a codeword puzzle book - he used to love solving those, when he was with us in England - and we gave him the writing pad and envelopes, all stamped, and self-addressed back home to us, and a pen. We showed the nurse what we'd done, and she said she would try to encourage him to write to us.

I gave him a big hug and kiss first, and told him we loved him; then it was Wendy's turn, and I could see Uncle John's face over her shoulder, his eyes filled up with tears.

As she hugged him, Wendy also said something very prescient: "See you next time!" and now that we know he may have some longer time to live than the doctors first thought, this will give Wendy the chance to fly back to Brisbane in June, and she will indeed see him again.

It was such an emotional time. I was so happy to have seen Uncle John, sad to be going away, and yet knowing I had to get back to Mum. It was really hard to feel so torn.

Wendy, ever practical, said, "Let's go to Sizzlers for lunch!"

It was a good idea to return to Forest Lake; after we had eaten, we went for a walk by the lake, and fed the ducks, coots and the black swan.

Back at the apartment, we got packed and prepared for the morning. Still in positive mode, Wendy said it would be nice to have a ride on the catamaran, and sail up and down the river; it was a really great idea, with the salt in the air on your face, and the breeze in your hair - the catamaran gets up to speeds of about 40 miles per hour - it's a wonderful way to blow away the cobwebs! Wendy has done all this before, and pointed out all the places of interest.

We saw the paddle steamer plying its trade on the river, where Wendy once took Uncle John for dinner whilst they enjoyed the river cruise. Sadly, the next time she booked, they had changed from offering a proper dinner with waitress service, to providing only a buffet meal, which didn't fit the bill - Uncle John would not have been happy standing in a queue, and trying to collect the food himself.

I was really impressed with the lighting on the buildings, and the Story Bridge was quite beautiful - bathed this evening in purple.

We walked back to the apartment and after supper, had an early night, ready for a very early start in the morning, and our flight to Singapore.