Dad is still in the hospital on the DI List. Things are looking a bit better but its always a bit of a see-saw - creatinine levels go down and that's a good sign, but then calcium levels drop and that's worrying. Doctors are busy tweaking away.

Yesterday he took his meds like a good boy when I gave it to him, in contrast to the day before when he pursed his lips defiantly and gave us baleful looks. The pain seems to be a bit better controlled now that he's back under 24-hour morphine. The dose is super-low and he still complains of back pain though. He seems frustrated and who wouldn't be? Says he wants to go home. Or failing which, a hotel - heh, they've got better beds, he says. He still needs his backrubs and sleep is still elusive, so he has to get some help at night or he would be very restless. I feel sorry for the nurses - the guy keeps wanting to get out of bed. Or he's asking for The Pot every couple of hours - to get the nurses' attention, he puts his hand up as if in class! Nothing but gas comes out when he tries to poo but he still keeps asking. The other day he asked mom and I to shift him - he wanted to sleep at the foot of the bed! With all the tubes and wires running out of him!

His roomies in the Intermediate Care area have come and gone and he's the veteran tenant there at the moment. Its not the best place to rest since patients are moved in and out, monitors are beeping incessantly (and loudly!), patients are groaning, shifts change, nurses hand over reports, doctors move in and out and they talk to their patients as if they are hard of hearing (why DO doctors love to do this? They're ill, not deaf - someone should tell these doctors) and so on. The place can be busier and noisier than Orchard MRT station at lunch.

Overall, I think our mood has lightened. Dad is not out of the woods, far from it. But I think we feel more optimistic these days.