Hi all,

after speaking to a hospital doctor on the phone today, there's a small glimmer of hope that my husband will at least be able to come home from hospital for his last weeks. It's called "compassionate discharge" (no, nothing to do with the military!).

Hospital is trying IV fluids to get him a little bit out of lethargy, apparently he hasn't even been out of bed today. If they have no serious immediate concerns, they might decide though that he's stable enough to be at home for now. And drum roll: I'll be allowed to visit him for the first time tomorrow... I argued that I really need to see him to judge how much support we'll need from the district nurse/hospice. And I get to talk to two of the doctors while there.

From what I'm told, my husband's mobility has gone downhill. Until last Monday he was still able to stagger round the house, even upstairs to the main bedroom, but that seems unlikely now. He's eating & drinking small amounts, but gets a cough after eating.

I know we'll definitely want a hospital bed here (although I could hump a normal single bed downstairs). We already have a toilet frame and a shower chair, thank goodness the downstairs shower room has a large shower cubicle with almost level access. We've also got an over-bed table. We should probably consider a commode, as the shower room is a good 15 metres away. I've got a blender stick, so I can puree food if required.

Now just wondering what else you find (or found) useful?