All you're dreaming of

After a very hectic time spent mostly at the various hospitals or trying to catch up with deprived sleep, on Christmas Eve we finally made it home as a family. 

It all started last Wednesday when Kath went in for a routine scan. They decided at that point to keep her in the antenatal ward and induce the labour. It turned out not to be an exact science and with the labour ward being very busy it wasn't until Saturday evening her waters broke.

Thom was born at 6:03 on Sunday morning, I was handed him by the midwife while Kath was still asleep from the general anaesthetic. I sat for a few moments with my newborn son and wife wondering what just happened! It was a scary few hours after a labouring through the night, Kath ended up having to go back in to the theatre again to remove a blood clot and make sure there is no further bleeding. 

Thom's also had a rough time during the birth. He was rather bruised and one of his legs was swollen. They thought that the leg got injured during the birth, and after much faffing at Wythenshawe Hospital we were told to take him to Manchester Children's. It wasn't quite the first family outing that we had expected! Hardly a National Trust family fun site. Due to Covid only Kath and Thom were allowed in, it took them a few hours to decide to admit him. Initially they expected him to stay in Manchester while Kath went back to Wythenshawe. 

Fortunately after some conversations she ended up getting transferred to the Manchester Royal too. After an MRI scan it turned out his femur was fractured near the hip joint, this wasn't visible on an X Ray as with his age the hip growth plate is cartilage rather than bone. Initially we were told he would need a surgery to pin the bone, he was first on the list in the morning. When morning came however the consultant had done a MDT with others and some literature review and decided instead to treat Thom conservatively using a harness which Thom will have to wear for a few weeks. At which point we will take him back for another scan and see where he is at.

Christmas eve both Kath and Thom were discharged, finally we got to go home! It was a lovely feeling. On Christmas Day we got up a little tired but glad to be home. My parents brought round Christmas dinner for us, and they got to meet Thom. Fortunately even in Tier 3 there is an allowance for a support bubble for children under 2. We spent the rest of the day cuddled up watching TV, Kath had never seen "It's a Wonderful Life" before!

Behind the buzzword

Feedback from the event

I did my first public ever speaking last night bit as part of behind the buzzword.  It seemed to go really well, I felt confident and got some great feedback and questions at the end.

The talk was about docker, giving some of the rational on why I think it is a great technology.

It was a virtual event using teams with something in the region of 100 attendees. Behind the buzzword is organised by Ross Townsend, and this time sponsored by carfinance 247. I'd been to one of the live ones back before the lock down.

For anyone interested I've uploaded the demo code to github and the slides are available below

Me talking docker

Locked down

Lockdown has been going on for more than a month now. While I am luckier than some, I have a job I and continue remotely, and a garden to relax in there are days when it all gets a bit much. 

Working remotely starting into other peoples living rooms, kitchens and home offices is a weird experience that I haven't quite gotten used to yet.

One of my colleagues lives in an apartment in the city centre, that seems a lot harder. No outdoor space to access easily.

Finland, ‎January 2020

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