Blood

 It will become a long-term theme. Diane will have to have blood tests on a regular basis to ensure that her INR levels are within the correct operating range. If they rise or fall beyond certain thresholds, she has to change the dose of Warfarin - this is dictated by the hospital when they get the results of the blood tests. We were up early this morning and by 8:20, Dracula the phlebotomist was draining another armful of Diane's life force ready to be sent to the lab for analysis.

The early morning blood test meant that Ellie was collected by a neighbouring school mum and wicked off to school without my normal escort. Being Thursday, however, there was the usual shopping delivery and top-up to occupy the morning.

After lunch, we managed a walk. We dropped in at Zoe's to check on her and to deliver a few bits of shopping that she needed. I also left her my MacBook (stripped down, reset, and rebuilt) to play with until she can afford to buy her own.

The rest of the afternoon has been fairly quiet. Dinner is now finished and the dishwasher is humming away. Diane is in the garden with the hose, ensuring the plants are kept healthy. We have heard from Zoe and it seems that her foot has improved... but there is still a way to go.