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Friday 3 April 2020

THE LAST PLACE I WANTED TO BE.
I was awoken last Friday the 27th very early in the morning with a terrible crippling pain in my right groin, as the day went on the pain got worse so we eventually  called  our Doctors and it was decided by late afternoon to send an ambulance and to admit me to the Leicester General Hospital, the last place I wanted to be with this awful Corona virus about. they apparently had only four small wards open, these being wards 26, 27, 28 and 29, the Maternity hospital was fully open but not for me. I was placed on Ward 29 a male surgical admission ward, on arrival I had all the normal tests and then about 21.30 hrs I was sent for a CT scan, on my return I found my consultant, an absolutely delightful gentleman waiting for me and he proceeded to take some blood, upon asking as to why he said you will be having surgery very soon and we need  your blood group ,just in case, after this they filled me with morphine to sort out the pain, the next thing I remember was entering the operating theatre and talking with the surgeon and the lady anaesthetists, the next thing after this was waking up and I was back on the ward and being told the surgery had taken 2 hours, still unaware as to what they had done. I apparently had  an incarcerated Hernia that had done some other damage that will have to sorted out at a later date after this virus has departed.  Having been on the ward until the afternoon of Sunday the 29 th my consultant visited me  and told me I was to move from the admission ward to the general ward 27 for a few days unless I wanted to go home, I opted for the home option so my drains were were very quickly removed and  my dressings were replaced, a discharge letters to my GP  was prepared and letters for the District nurse to visit  and check me and change my dressings, so by 20.00 hrs I was in a Taxi and heading for home. this was a real shock for my poor wife who had no idea as to what had been going on during Sunday  only then to be informed I was coming home, I think it put the fear of god into her such a short time after my operation. I can only but thank my Consultant Mr. Deepe J Maide,    all the Doctors and Nurses on Ward 29 for the  way I was looked after and sent home almost in one piece.
I am still suffering a reasonable amount of  pain but as the District Nurse  its still early days and I am taking the medication I was sent home with which is helping.



AN AFTERNOON VISIT TO SWITHLAND RESERVOIR.

I decided to have  an afternoon visit to the Reservoir as it would be  hopefully devoid of people, which it was, having been on site fo about twenty minutes and seeing very little  a voice suddenly made me jump with hello John, it was my GP doctor Sill   out for a bike ride with his two children he had been on duty at the village surgery in the morning whilst his wife looked after the children they then reversed duties, he had the children and she took an afternoon surgery, we had a long distance chat for a while whilst his children ate a picnic and he then  was away as he had to take take the  evening surgery.





Male Goldeneye, sitting near to a Mute Swan on the Overflow weir.

This duck did not move whilst I was on the Dam near the overflow.



Pair of Mallard.

This pair walked along the top of the overflow, unfortunately not much else to see.
So on my way home I visited Cropston Reservoir and saw an Osprey at the far end but unfortunately  straight into the sun so no image.



ANOTHER VISIT WITH THE RED KITES.

I decided on the following Thursday to have another visit with the Red Kites, I could get my images out of the car window and keep myself isolated and safe. I have a feeling this could be my last visit for a considerable time. I admit to having had the most wonderful time with these birds in this beautiful little village.





Several white wing tagged birds were around during the afternoon.



Another East Midland tagged bird.






This bird flew directly over the top of the car but only came into view about 60 metres away but most certainly had me spotted, unfortunately I was not as alert.




This bird flew parallel to the road but about  40 metres away so I started to track it with the camera only to come to a sudden stop as the lens hit the left side of the open window and I pressed the shutter button, more through surprise than intent.








A QUICK VISIT TO EYEBROOK RESERVOIR TO CHECK FOR ANY OSPREY.

Upon leaving the Red Kites I had a visit to Eyebrook  to see if any of the Osprey had arrived, we have eleven adults arrived at Rutland Water and the Manton Bay pair are already sitting on two eggs. 




Blue Tit.

As much as I dislike images of birds on feeders, I just could not resist this one.





Great Tit.

These birds were about the tree all afternoon.





Chaffinch Female.

Kept themselves out of the open, difficult to get a clear shot.







Male Chaffinch.

Several birds on the ground picking up the seed dropped from the feeders by other birds.




Osprey Nest Site 'O'.

This when I first arrived but no sign of any Osprey.





An hour later and a gull in residence, having just checked on the volunteer web site we have eleven adult birds returned but neither of the Site O birds have as yet returned.


Thank you for your visit, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did in the getting of the images.


I think this could be my last post for a while until we are allowed back out I intend to stay with my wife in isolation. May we all survive these awful times and return to normality.

16 comments:

  1. Great photos John. But than your story about having to rush to hospital and getting an operation in such a short notice. As you say something that you do not want to go through in these times with this horrible virus. Hope you feel better and I wish you full recovery.
    Take care,
    Roos

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  2. Hi Roos,
    Must admit it came as a shock, but feeling better every day, it was definitely s=a hospital visit I could have done without, but we are keeping isolated and hopefully clear of the virus.
    You likewise take care,
    John

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  3. Thats an unusual subject to blog about, I prefer wildlife myself. Sorry John, I hope you recover quickly and get back to your old self. Best wishes and stay safe, Mike.

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  4. Hi Mike
    Must agree, I would rather have been out with the bins and camera, no fun in hospital.
    Lets hope we can all stay safe and well
    Thanks
    John

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  5. Oh John, I am truly sorry, it must be horrible. Actually I have one, and it swells up, and its awful. My doctor said if it is bad, then I should ring her!!!!
    Beautiful images of birds, my favourite is the Goldeneye, fantastic.
    Get well soon John, we will waiting you.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bob,
      Thankyou, it was not good having to be in hospital with this virus about. I had no idea I had a Hernia, but if yours flairs up as mine did the pain is awful. Luckily I had managed to get out the day before birding.
      Feeling better every day, the nurses visited yesterday and said no need for any more dressings and the pain should be gone in six weeks.
      All the best
      John

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  6. Un gran reportaje amigo mío, me han gustado mucho todas las fotos. Espero que te mejores, la salud es lo primero. Un fuerte abrazo desde el confinamiento casero español. Todo lo mejor!!!

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  7. Hola German,
    Luckily got the images prior to going in hospital, like you we are in lockdown so not sure as to when I will get out next but better to be healthy.
    A big hug from England, keep safe,
    All the best
    John

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  8. Oh my gosh John, that must have been such a shock to your and your wife, and to be home so early. But with the visits from the District Nurse visiting you, a much healthier aspect given today's current circumstances, to be out of the hospital and back at home. Certainly good for the soul. Thank you for these amazing photos and I do wish you a speedy recovery and good health throughout, to you and your wife in these worrying times. Take good care of yourselves and all the best, Denise x

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  9. Hi Denise
    It was a terrible shock for my wife as I am her carer but I am improving on a daily basis. I think the consultant decided to send me home as I would be safer and could resume in helping my wife.it -appears I have not contacted this awful virus whilst in hospital so another positive outcome.
    You and Greg look after yourselves and stay safe.
    My best wishes.
    John

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    Replies
    1. Yes John, all very positive and I am so glad you are back home with your dear wife. Continue to take good care of yourselves. Denise x

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    2. Hi Denise,
      they always say no place like home and how true, lets hope we all come out of this awful time
      John.

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  10. Quite an ordeal, John. It must present a great challenge for hospitals to deal with "regular" patients when the entire focus must of necessity be on dealing with the Coronavirus. I hope that you are feeling better every day. Great series of images above, especially the male goldeneye. I hope that in short order you will be out and about with your camera again. I suspect that you are not going to be doing much Osprey monitoring this year, however. Take good care and stay well. David and Miriam.

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  11. Hi David and Miriam,
    It was an awful experience but at least I came out with everything sorted and no contact with Coronavirus and yes I am well on the mend, I cannot see any Osprey monitoring taking place from the hide, some volunteers are monitoring on line. I hope to get some Barn Owl images in the garden soon.
    Our best wishes
    John and Veg

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  12. Hi John,
    oops !!!!!! That is a shock when you wake up with so much pain in your groin !!! And then even get operated on at a time with this horrible corona virus lurking.
    Fortunately, you have chosen to recover at home, although I can imagine your wife's shock hahahahahaha .... I hope that you are soon released from your pain.

    Funny that you unexpectedly encountered your doctor - :-) Nice to experience it this way.
    Your photos of the spectacled diver and the ducks are very beautiful, but also the photos of the Red Kite !!! Wow, so beautiful to see!
    The blue and great tits as well as the finches are also very beautiful.
    Some photos I can see inet because they are black (I was also bothered by that and many more bloggers are currently experiencing this malfunction.)

    Stay safe John and healthy.
    A sweet greeting,
    Helma

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  13. Hi Helma,
    Thank you for the concern, I was treated exceptionally well in hospital and recovering well at home, hop Glad you enjoyed the images,and hopefully I will be back to normal very soon. I have been finding with Blogger that images have been disappearing and have to be replaced, really aggravating.
    You and your family stay safe.
    My best wishes,
    John

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About Me;


Titus White:
Hi I am Richard Peglers friend Titus White, and those who follow Richards posts will understand the name and reason for it. I have been birding with Richard for 3 years and a volunteer at Rutland Water on the Osprey Project for 2 years. My early images were taken on a Nikon D80 with a 70 - 200mm lens. I updated the lens to a 70 - 300mm VR lens but still was not happy with the results. Eventually when Nikon announced the D7100 I decided to change so upgraded the camera and also invested in a Sigma 50 - 500mm lens.
I first met Richard through Arthur Costello as I was having the occasional visit from Little Owls on our land. We eventually found the Little Owls through another contact about 100 metres away. Photo's will follow on future posts.
I have recently upgraded my camera to full frame, this is a challenge I am at the moment enjoying trying to get the best out of the beast.
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