updates on Bimbo’s condition

STOP PRESS

Friday 5th June 2020: Bimbo is back home!

Bimbo is in the Kanga Hospital.

Please do not contact the hospital directly.

Tom and Ruffy will try to provide regular updates.

Friday 29th May 2020

a.m.: The nurse says Bimbo has tested positive for COVID-19. He’s doing well and had a good night. They’re giving him oxygen and she says he’s quite comfortable. Tom

p.m.: The doctor says that Bimbo is stable. He’s on the least invasive sort of supplemental oxygen, via a trunkal cannula. They’re keeping an eye on his blood oxygen levels. So far so good. Ruffy

Saturday 30th May 2020

a.m.: The nurse was in a bit of a rush, but he said that Bimbo’s fine. No change. I want him to change and get better! Tom

p.m.: Bimbo’s blood oxygen is up a little bit. The nurse says it was REALLY low when he came in. So he has made progress since then. A kind volunteer came round the ward while I was on the phone. He had a tablet and was helping the patients to talk to their friends and families. So I was able to talk to Bimbo. I don’t think he could hear me, but he did wave. Ruffy

Sunday 31st May 2020

a.m.: It was the nice nurse again. She said that Bimbo has been complaining that the hospital has no windows. She says it’s a good sign when patients start complaining. Tom

p.m.: I spoke to the consultant this evening. With the immunosuppressants that Bimbo has been on since his transplant (he had a complete stuffing transplant at the end of 2019), of course he was very vulnerable, but she says that they’re cautiously optimistic. I didn’t see Bimbo this time, but she’d seen him earlier on, and said he was quite lively. Ruffy

Monday 1st June 2020

a.m.: It was a different nurse. At first she didn’t know who I was talking about, but when I mentioned that Bimbo was an elephant she said, “Oh, yes, I know HIM!” She said every time anyone came round in the night to check his Vital Signs, he was talking and joking, and they were afraid he’d disturb all the other patients. So it sounds as though he’s getting better, although they say his blood oxygen is still lower than it should be. Tom

Here’s a card from Ellie! Thanks, Ellie!

I’ll show it to Bimbo this evening if the kind volunteer is there with his tablet. Ruffy

p.m.: I couldn’t get through to the hospital earlier, and then the shift had changed, and it was much too late for the nice volunteer, and the person I spoke to said that Bimbo has been moved to a different ward. They didn’t seem to know why, but said there was nothing to worry about. He’s definitely NOT in intensive care. So I think it’s all all right.  Ruffy

Tuesday 2nd June 2020

a.m.: It was the nice nurse again. Well, I’m sure they’re all nice, of course, but this one is specially friendly. I told her I’d been worrying about Bimbo, and she said they’re very pleased with his progress. He still needs the oxygen, but she says I don’t need to have sleepless nights over him, fingers crossed. Tom

p.m.: Nothing to report this evening, but I suppose no news is good news. When I first rang, the nurse said they were very busy, and they’d ring me back. But they never did ring me back, and when I finally phoned again the nurse just said “no change”. Ruffy

Wednesday 3rd June 2020

a.m.:  Ruffy didn’t get much useful information last night, so he told me what to ask this morning. But the nurse was so nice and chatty, I didn’t get to ask proper questions, oh dear, I’m sorry. She did say that Bimbo’s blood oxygen level was so low when he first came into hospital, that they were amazed he was able to walk and talk. It’s much much better now (and he can still talk, but not doing much walking). Oh yes, Ruffy wanted me to ask about the transplant – Bimbo’s immune system isn’t rejecting the transplanted fluffy stuff, is it? The nurse said it looks as though there’s nothing to worry about there.  Tom

Thursday 4th June 2020

a.m., or maybe it’s p.m by now: Oh dear oh dear! I’m sorry we haven’t been letting you know about Bimbo. I slept in this morning, and when I woke I panicked because it’s bin day, and I suddenly realised something important about the bin. But I’ll tell you about that another time. I checked to see what Ruffy had reported last night, and he hadn’t posted anything. So first I checked up on Ruffy. And I’ll tell you about that another time, too. Then I phoned the hospital. I actually got to speak to a doctor, but because I was in a fluster, I didn’t ask anything sensible. But she said that no, Bimbo won’t be going home just yet, but they’re fairly confident that he’s on the mend. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than “cautiously optimistic”, but it doesn’t sound too bad, does it? Tom

Friday 5th June 2020

Ruffy’s phone is somewhere in the middle of London, probably Hyde Park. So I was bracing myself to be the main person for phoning the hospital. But guess what – Bimbo is going home today! When he told the doctor that grey skin is normal for him, they decided not to worry about that any more. They’re giving him a Pulse Oximeter to take home. Shouldn’t that be an oxYmeter? I hope it will work. He’s to phone in his numbers every day for the next few days, but I think we can stop worrying about him.  Tom

Saturday 6th June 2020

Bimbo is very tired, but he’s very glad to be home. Ruffy took some shopping round for him, and Bimbo says he’ll be fine. We won’t keep on updating unless anything interesting happens. Bimbo says thanks for all the nice get-well messages.

Tuesday 29th September 2020

Sorry I haven’t been keeping you up to date. I’m feeling so much better that I forgot. I can’t say I’m completely well yet. I don’t know if my breathing will ever be quite right. But as you can hear, I can play my bugle again now. I generally need a nap afterwards, but perhaps that’s normal at my age. Bimbo