I’ve been a bit quiet of late, and while I don’t often share personal matters here, I wanted to let you know I will remain among the missing here a bit longer.

My husband is currently in hospital due to peritonitis.  For four and a half years we have done peritoneal dialysis at home (we’d never heard of it either, before my husband’s kidneys failed and we were told about his options), but his bout of peritonitis has infected the peritoneal catheter which was his dialysis access.  So this week it had to be removed before things got even worse.  It also required a “permacath” insertion – it’s sort of like a chest line, giving direct access for haemodialysis.  The surgeon was busy with my husband this week!

It means a big change in our lives, as we switch from daily home peritoneal dialysis to haemodialysis done three times a week in the renal unit.  It was not a change we wished for, but here we are.

There are a lot of challenges to overcome, but I won’t bore you with the details.  Suffice to say that for the foreseeable future I will be making the 140 mile round trip daily to go and be with my husband as he recovers from peritonitis, surgery, and respiratory problems (ongoing as well as surgery-related).  I apologise for delays in responding to correspondence or comments here in the blog.  I don’t generally get home until 10:30pm or later, and by the time I’ve taken care of various things in the house (myself included) along with comforting my very anxious Assistant, it is well into the wee hours and all I can do is have a brief sleep before starting over again.

Unfortunately this means that the blog and fountain pen work have to be put on hold for now.  I will be a bit slower with sending out sold pens as well, though I will do my best not to have long delays.

We will eventually settle into a routine, but my husband has quite a way to go to get well enough to be able to come home.  Right now he’s in the ICU being well looked after by some excellent nurses, for which I am very glad.

As for me, it’s midnight and I’ve got some dishes to do.  There may be a cat at the window again, looking for some reassurance, too.  As a fountain pen assistant Smartie is rubbish but she can be an affectionate wee creature when she feels like it.  Seeing as how she and her need for daily insulin shots are the only reason I come home each night rather than staying in hospital accommodation, it’s a good thing she does show me a little catly love before shooting out the door to her beloved Outside!