Week 104 (13 - 19 July 2008)

Our new friend, Tabitha, was dedicated this week and we had a tea afterwards to catch up with older friends. It was great to be able to celebrate her sister, Eleanor’s, recovery from a heart operation. On Tuesday we heard that our daughter, Laura, had been taken into hospital in Exmouth with Quincy, a very painful throat infection. We didn’t know which hospital but eventually tracked her down. We owe her friend, Charlotte, a huge thank you for taking care of Laura and visiting her when she was at her worst. Especially when she should have been training for a London to Paris bicycle ride to raise money for Christian Aid.

I (James) drove down to Winchester on Thursday evening and then to Exmouth on Friday morning. I was able to spend the afternoon with Laura in hospital and she had only just got her voice back when I arrived. So I missed the best bit! Her experiences of not being able to talk were interesting – people seemed to whisper or make signs to her or even stop talking altogether not realising that her ears and eyes were fine! She didn’t have her laptop at first and her mobile battery died so she felt really cut off. Must be a message there somewhere. She stayed in hospital on Saturday and was initially disappointed but then realised that eating hospital food rather than her Dad’s “cooking” was probably safer.