3.96kg George's weight today

As you can see, george woke up this morning with no worries about going into hospital. He didn't share our concern and apprehention. Instead he kept himself happy and contented all day. He grinned his way through his x-rays and his scans and his other tests.

However, at about 4:30 when they tried to put a canula in (a big needle running into the viens on the back of his hand) it was a little too much. they tried and failled to find his vein and eventually had to come back. At the forth attempt they finally got it but had to put his whole arm in a splint to stop it from coming out.

He cried for most of the rest of the day.

We got shown around the intensive care unit where it appears we'll be spending most of the rest of this week. we also got George weighed again and he's now 3.96kg - so well up on last week.

The operation will take place tomorrow starting at about 8am but there's an emergency case which might delay ours for a while - we're not too sure yet.

We're back on Camel Ward at St Thomas' oposite a family we met last time we were in. Their son has (apart from a lot of other problems) seems to have developed an infection known only from 36 other people in the world and they're really struggling to work out what to do about it. they're a lovely family though and constantly offer us their home made curries!

I still don't know if I'm going to be able to stay over at the hospital tomorrow - or how long the operation will take. I had to leave before the surgeon returned from his current emergency to tell us (or more specifically - tell Lisa - Doctors and Nurses talk only to the mother - I am completely ignored in every exchange) what was going to happen, but I left Lisa and George in the hands of a night nurse who rather unsettlingly reminded me of the dippy girl from the Vicar of Dibley...

Apparently lisa has signed the consent form now, but has successfuly avoided the pre-op conversation you're now legaly obliged to have in which the doctors have to tell you all the things that could go wrong.

I can see why they have to do this, but in George's case, it's pointless. without the operation, he will die, so it really doesn't matter what the risks are. we're better off not knowing.

I return home to find that the only things on TV are The Others (a film about a bunch of dead children) and Dawn of The Dead (a film about a bunch of living dead adults).

Instead I go to bed after watching a documentary on intensive farming (about a bunch of dead chickens).

I'm writing this in bed at midnight...