Over the Christmas period, Theo, aged 6 months, caught a cold from one of his older sisters. So far, so snuffly. But as the new year neared, he didn't appear to be improving, becoming irritable and not keeping his food down. Ick.

Then, early evening on Saturday 30th, his condition dipped as his temperature spiked and his breathing got more laboured. Gail rushed him off to see the doctor at Ipswich's indispensable 24 hour Riverside clinic up on Landseer Road, who promptly advised her to take him straight to Heath Road hospital without passing go. And there he (and she) stayed, overnight, while he had a couple of nebulisers, to aid his breathing, plus a chest X-ray.

When I was with him on Sunday afternoon, with one eye on Murder On The Orient Express on the box, one of the tests came back positive: he'd got bronchiolitis, most commonly caused by something called RSV. As such, due to the risk of the infection spreading, he had to be placed in isolation...with the half-dozen other infected babies on the ward.

And this was home for the next two nights, during which time his oxygen level was checked using the dreaded saturation monitor (which beeps if this falls below a certain level). So that's where you'd have found us as 2000, with Dale Winton's assistance, turned into 2001. Certain unfortunate babes, and their long-suffering mums, had been in isolation when we arrived, and were still there when we got the all-clear Tuesday lunchtime.

If You Take Away With You Nothing Else (We Took Theo)
Tons of thanks to:

1. everyone on Bergholt Ward at Ipswich Hospital
2. family & friends for help, especially with the girls

Since we got him back home, he's slowly returning to his usual jolly self. He's still a little husky at times, not unlike Mariella Frostrup or the young White Fang, but he's eating more (and holding on to it), and sleeping well.

Be seeing you! And hoorah for the NHS!

Ed