This morning Jane and Derek had visited Isobel but found her sound asleep. Isobel had been awake earlier but missed lunch as she could not be woken.

When I arrived at the Centre at 5pm I found a note from Miranda who had called this afternoon and also found Isobel asleep. However at 5pm Isobel was awake and very alert. She had limited speech, including three of four word phrases, this may be attributable to the effect of the tripled steroid dose beginning to show. She was certainly brighter than she had been for the past two weeks. We chatted while I watered the cyclamen Jane had brought and arranged the flowers that (presumably) Miranda had left. This was really the first good two way conversation we had been able to have for some time. I massaged her right arm which showed slightly more sign of swelling that for the past few days. Isobel confirmed that she did not have any pain.

Tea arrived and the main course, the cheesy eggy mashed potato concoction which tastes and smells very good even though liquidised, with tomatoes, was eaten very quickly. The dessert of strawberry mousse was eaten more slowly as Isobel's throat and neck muscles began to tire. The food was accompanied by a beaker of tea, and shortly afterwards a beaker of thickened blackcurrant squash.

After Isobel had finished tea we watched television and talked. Isobel watched some of the Winter Olympics in a rather desultory fashion and we talked about the sports. She drank three quarters of another beaker of tea, the only reason that she did not finish this was because she had a beaker of water with her evening medication. After 8pm Isobel began to appear tired and watched the sport with less concentration. She was still just awake when I left at 8.25pm; but probably fell asleep soon after.