By Peg Prendeville

I hope readers will forgive me for some personal notes this week.

As you all know I have been on an unexpected journey over the past 28 weeks with my husband Jim in hospital, following a major stroke. But the good news is that this part of the journey is almost over and a new part begins. Jim is coming home on Friday! I can hardly believe it. It will be very challenging for him and for us at home but we live in hope that we can adjust to a new way of living and do our best to enjoy the years ahead. His speech has not returned and he will need a wheelchair to move around. Thank you to all of you who continually ask about him and who are keeping him in your thoughts and prayers. It is all this kind support that has kept us going over the past months.

I take this opportunity also to say how much we have appreciated the care and attention he has received in Limerick, Newcastlewest and Dublin. It is hard to believe that he has been a patient in five different hospitals since last November and, despite Covid, he has been getting the best of attention throughout. The visiting was severely curtailed because of Covid but that was not the fault of the hospital staff. I have nothing but good to say about them. As I drove home from the National Rehabilitation Hospital on Monday evening, negotiating the M50 through evening traffic, I offered thanks for being able to cope through all this time and heaved a sigh of relief that I will not be doing it next week again, please God.