How to sleep during a life and death crisis

I've just woken up after a reasonable night's sleep. The fact that I have been able to sleep is largely due to you, dear reader, our friends and our family. We have been allowed to sleep in Kay's room in the oncology department, which is normally not allowed. But because the ward is quiet and the demand for rooms low in the weekend they have not yet had to release Kay's room. This will probably have to happen tomorrow. But for me that huge advantage of sleeping here is the feeling of safety, the feeling of being surrounded by the staff of the hospital, people who care about us rather more deeply than is good for their professional detachment. They know who they are, so I won't mention them by name here.

And then, as I tried to sleep I started to think about all the people who care about us. I started to list them in my head, I literally lay there and recited their names one by one. And as I did this I relaxed more and more, I had the feeling of floating on a sea of light and warmth and the hands of all our friends and family. I felt comfortable and reassured and even more safe and I eventually drifted off into sleep...

Marion's just gone upstairs in her pyjamas to see how Kay has gone through the night. We'll have a Sunday morning cup of tea in bed after that and then begin today's vigil. I'll try to keep the blog up to date as best I can, but there's no phones or mobile comms allowed in the IC, so I have to step outside the department to update the blog or make/receive phone calls.