Yes definitely a case of “oh bumminess” as we are now in tier 4, meaning we are (in all but name) in Lockdown once again. While we absorb this latest news, here we are in the middle of the winter, actually a very joyful time of year.
Quite a lot has been going on since the last post and as usual I am feeling a tad frustrated but trying to be sensible at the same time. In my mind I often say “note to self….” and then stoically press ahead.
Take decorating for instance. I have previously mentioned the epic task of painting the hall, stairs and landing before, with it’s fourteen doors and crumbling ceiling. My choice in paint test pots did not go down well with Rachel and I can now see a safe, uncontroversial colour scheme unfolding.
I just don’t want those dark, moody colours like I’m walking through a Tom Waits soundtrack!
“Something to bring some light into the gloom of the house please” says Rachel and, I think she might have a point in this rambling period house. All is not lost, I can always add some interest with art….
Rachel’s mum
It is so hard for Rachel seeing her mum – albeit from the nursing home lobby window – gradually fade from being the mum she always knew. I do feel for her. Her Mum used to be humorous, inventive and clever; nowadays her 94 years are catching up with her.
It was receiving an unexpected letter appointing Rachel as a “relevant person’s representative following request for standard authorisation for deprivation of liberty” and the reality of the situation becoming cruel and stark. Any hope of returning to normal seem to have evaporated as her Mum’s mental and physical decline continues.
Having said that, her Mum has settled into the care home well and they’re good at keeping us up to date, almost on a daily basis. Now the care home has an outbreak of COVID amongst its staff and we ourselves are in tier 4, so things are difficult there.
Added to which we have the Continuing Healthcare funding to grapple with. When Rachel’s mum was discharged from the rehab unit, interim funding was agreed. This is where the NHS pay the care home fees and the 24 hour nursing care supervision. We are hoping this will continue but a virtual meeting in early January is being convened by the powers-that-be. In general we hear this funding is hard to come by – it’s expensive – and it’s tricky teasing out the difference between social care (not funded) and health care (which is funded).
Although we feel reasonably on top of this, it is completely new to us and cannot take anything for granted. This is why we have taken the decision to pay for a professional advocate and this on its own generates quite a bit of paperwork and further things to weigh up.
An early Christmas
It has been so delightful having Becky and her hubby with us for a week. It went so fast and I couldn’t help feel some emptiness as they drove back to Devon through not knowing when we’d see them again.
It was a beautiful time, also poignant and quite sentimental. When I look at them, I see myself at their age, full of enthusiasm and idealistic.
While Becky is busy doing her teacher training, David finds he is looking for work. Both Rachel and I found ourselves helping with the job search and supporting David in applying for two jobs. Fine tuning that CV through picking out key words and phrases from the advert, together with writing and re-writing covering letters was something we could do and was reassuring we were completely in accord on this. I couldn’t help ponder graduates having fascinating degrees but lacking the insight to how the world of work operates. And then I thought of how I would have fared at their age…. there’s no substitute for that hard fought experience, years of twists and turns, ups and downs.
Because of our tier 4 status our Christmas plans will change. Plan A was for my mum coming to stay with us. Plan B was to meet my mum in the Cotswolds on Christmas Day to exchange presents. Plan C is that we won’t see each other. That’s not difficult for us but I do feel for my mum on her own.
Health
A few things are going on….
My latest telephone consultation with the kidney consultant took place a few days ago. My kidneys are the best they have been in 3 years! I am unsure of what I have done to bring this improvement, other than not running. Having said that, I must think of this as being the upper limit of where my kidneys will be as their performance inevitably fluctuates.
The consultant was new and he said he’d only recently joined the team; perhaps this explained why he was so lively and as keen as mustard. He said he was comfortable with my parathyroid levels (despite my GP’s concern) but did say he would order some blood tests to investigate my thyroid gland and the increasing amount of protein in my urine. He has a theory about my occasional fatigue and always feeling cold, so we’ll see where this goes.
The consultant also knew I was a runner and said he looked forward to meeting me personally, since he too was a runner. I thought that was pretty cool!
He also warned me about the seriousness of urinary tract infections. This is rather ironic as I’m certain I now have another infection – stings when I pee, cloudy urine and I’m shivering, plus the dip stick shows the presence of leukocytes and blood. Luckily I have a reserve supply of antibiotics for occasions like this; I’m thankful they always work so quickly.
On a positive note my plantar fasciitis is healing very well, I’d say about 95% better. So I’ve had a few short runs, say 10-15 minutes and some brisk walks and these have been fine. So now the trick is to gradually build up my activity. I do miss running and this is reinforced as I see so many runners in the village going passed the Dusty Museum.