The pictures featured above were taken yesterday morning at 0700 - 1 hour before we were due to leave on the drive to Livingston! Thankfully, by the time we'd passed the south side of Aberdeen most traces of the snow had evaporated leaving us with a reasonably easy journey therein. The second photo also includes our new dog pound - I thought it may shrink our garden too much, but it actually looks better than the previous plant and shrub base we had there.
We got to Livingston hospital in plenty of time for Luca's appointment, and as expected the specialist was more than happy to continue with this, the second session. After an interminably long wait (2 and a half hours between the check up and the surgery), we took Luca through to be gassed. As I stated last time, it's quite disturbing watching him be sent to sleep. This time I sat Luca on my knee while he took the gas, and lay him down on the bed just as he passed out. Fifteen minutes later we got called through to see him - no problems with the laser treatment again thank god. However, unlike last time (where it took a long time to be fully brought round from the gas) he woke immediately upon hearing our voices as we entered the room. He jolted himself up and literally threw himself at me - it was almost a case of catching him! Although clearly not in any physical discomfort, he was very upset this time around. Likely due to a combination between the lack of food (it was now almost 3pm and we hadn't been allowed to feed him since 8am) and the manner in which he woke. He sobbed heavily as he lay on my shoulder, and wouldn't allow anyone alse to touch him. Carole fed him a banana which abated the tears temporarily, before we elicited our decision to continue with a very sharp exit. We knew he'd be happier back in the familiar surrounding of the car, and this theory proved correct. Before I continue, see the pictures below which I took of him last night:-
As you can see, he's been afflicted with the same red blotches as last time. Obviously it's far too early to know whether this session will change anything further from last time, although we'll have a good idea within the next month as the marks from the laser treatment fade.
As you can tell by his playful demeanour in the second photo, he's not been affected by the treatment. Although initially upset on awakening, he settled down once we got back in the car, and wolfed down his tuna sandwich. He then proceeded to eat dad's egg sandwich, followed by dad's chocolate flapjack. Carole, wisely as was proven, chose to drive home, so her food remained her own in the front of the car. I sat in the back of the car watching Luca eat ALL of my food, rueing the decision I'd taken to not eat until Luca was allowed!
Thankfully there was a packet of Haribo in the door of the car, so I was able to eat a few of these without Luca noticing they were there. Not the most filling lunch I've ever head but hey.... Luca continued his ravenous streak throughout the journey, shouting at his mum until she gave him some of her crisps, and eating all the biscuits and snacks we keep as emergency rations in his bag. This encompassed a finger of fudge, a packet of chocolate buttons and a good few plain biscuits!
We eventually got home around 7pm and rolled Luca out the car. Due to the fact that by this time he resembled a spotty Augustus Gloop we skipped preparing tea for him and just gave him a small bottle before we packing him off to bed. He'd stayed awake throughout the journey home (chatting literally all the way! He's turning into his Aunt Jane!) so he zonked out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Carole and I just took it easy afterwards. The temperature in Inverurie was zero (!) so we had the heating on as well as the fire - snuggling in the living room in such conditions was the only option! It worked out quite well as it allowed us to watch "Dead Set" on TV. It's a 5 part series on every night this week on E4 and is terrific - watch it if you haven't yet, it's on again at 10pm tonight.
Luca woke sharp this morning (about 630 am, though I imagine this is nigh on lunch time for dad.....), so I crawled out of bed to get him up. He was in great spirits, so after breakfast (about 9am) he and I headed into Aberdeen to the central library. Always good to get new music and books, but the main attraction was just getting moving. Much as I enjoy holidays I feel like a bit of a wastrel if I just hang around the house. Luca had fun at the library (despite being in shy mode), though he was far more animated later in the morning when we went to the supermarket. It was all a bit much for him though, as now (it's mid afternoon as I type) he's fast asleep, with no signs of re-animation for a considerable time yet!
Before I forget, any of the dates for the holiday is good for us - I delayed our decision as I needed to know when Luca's next appointment was. As the main specialist isn't in the UK much we have to fit in with him, rather than vice versa. The next appointment is February, so we'll appropriate ourselves in with everyone else.
Before I go, nice to see dad's still big on his lists - everyone else needs to play along though, don't let dad and I be the only geeks! We know Kelly in particular is a geek (though she gallantly tries to hide this) so open up!
The next list will surely have to be the best album. I'm finding this one tough though as tastes change over time. For example, which Nirvana album do I put in ("Nevermind", "In Utero"??), will I enter an album no-one else has ever heard of ("Team Ping Pong" by "Bearsuit" for example), will "best of" albums be allowed ("U2", "Smashing Pumpkins", "Girls Aloud", etc......)?
Just to clarify, I am deadly serious about Girls Aloud - we can't be pretentious all the time, surely it's OK to enjoy just great "pure pop"?
No? OK then.....
**Useless fact of the day - Ping pong, badminton and soccer are, as commonly known, 3 of the most popular sports in China. However, surprisingly, the most popular is basketball. Not too many slam dunks I'm guessing though......**
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