Tuesday

It's Catherine here again. First of all, in relation to the C. Diff infection, Paul is showing no symptoms at all of this dreadful bug and the antibiotics have clearly got it under control in his case, although he remains in an isolation room and gloves and gowns remain necessary to visit him. Mary has been hit far harder by the bug, has not yet started to recover, and has been in an isolation room at the hospital now for 3 days. We have been very worried about her. Her husband Tom is flying out from Australia to be with her tomorrow. We are all hoping that she starts to turn the corner soon.

Turning now to Paul's condition generally, the last few days have seen some major changes and decisions. The palliative care team at the hospital have become involved in Paul's care and have made some modifications to his drug regime that seem to have been successful in getting his bowel symptoms and nausea under control. They have also raised the base level of pain management. He is now feeling more comfortable, and is currently pain free. He is lucid, able to hold conversations without difficulty, occasionally taps away on his laptop, and is in a calm and peaceful state of mind.

He has made some decisions about the route ahead. He has decided not to do a second round of chemo, the first round having had no apparent benefit. He is not going to start intravenous nutrition. He is aiming now to get the drug regime stabilised, and once we are confident that his care can be managed from home, the aim is to move him home some time next week so that he can begin the final journey. We all support his decisions and are grateful for the fantastic care he is receiving from the hospital staff.

It is a fluid situation and the picture will obviously change but that's where we are currently at.

Thanks again for all your messages of support.