After the death of the Pope yesterday, there was no clear consensus on the lead stories of the day yesterday. No doubt, a bit of journalism has hit the popular imagination but Pope Francis is now being called 'The People's Pope' and his concern for the poor and underprivileged will remain his constant epitaph. In death, as in life, the deceased Pope has chosen to be buried in a simple fashion avoiding being buried in the Vatican vaults like so many of his predecessors but instead being buried in his favourite church on a not very fashionable part of Rome with the simple attribution 'Franciscus' (the latinised version of his name) If his successor choses to be known as 'Francis II', this will be taken as a signal that the reforms initiated by the past will be continued. Nonetheless, some of the 'vox pop' conducted both in Rome and in London revealed that some of the Catholic community wish to return to more traditional and probably conservative) forms of Catholicism. On the domestic front, I am now returning to the task of tidying up the bookshelves and removing some of the clutter they contain. The dilemma I face is that in front of the books, I used to have a collection of little but essentially useful things such as receptacles for the receipt of various coins. £2 coins are not as common as they were and I tend to save them these days but always have a collection of £1 coins which I keep in case a coin was needed at short notice for car parking or a shopping trolley - so any new home needs to be both accessible but clutter free. After Meg has gone to bed, I spend a certain amount of time in the study doing things like making sure my accounts are up-to-date, reading emails and so on, I utilise this time to let my mind gradually suggest solutions to storage problems instead of forcing a 'there and then' solution. In the days when I was doing a lot of statistical programming, sometimes I used to run into a little problem that needed to be solved. I would literally 'sleep' on the problem and it was often the case that the next morning (sometimes whilst having a shower in the morning) my brain had worked on the problem overnight and a solution had suggested it itself. The first time that it happened, I assumed it was just a fortunate solution to my problem but I came to realise that this was one's brain actually working on a solution overnight. Research suggests that 'sleeping on it' can indeed help with problem-solving. Sleep allows the brain to consolidate memories, process information, and identify meaningful patterns, potentially leading to better problem-solving the next day. There is a certain amount of subconscious processing overnight. Some theories suggest that the brain continues to work on problems even during sleep, potentially leading to insights or solutions that might not have been apparent while awake. The subconscious mind may process information and generate new ideas while you are asleep, leading to a more creative solution.
Yesterday morning had long been a date on our planning board when the Wheelchair and Mobility service were due to come along and see how Meg was coping with her wheelchair. The service sent along a technician to work on the wheelchair itself which he did whilst his colleague, an Occupational Therapist who specialised in wheelchair use, engaged herself with getting Meg in her hoist ready to be seated in her existing chair. This pair, who were excellent, understood completely why I had been making ad-hoc adjustments to the chair to keep Meg secure and appreciated how Meg's lack of body strength meant that her existing chair was not now suited for her needs. They came to the view, fairly quickly, that Meg needed a superior chair and had had the foresight to load an enhanced model on their van. This was a German made OttoBock wheelchair and to my untrained eye seemed like the BMW of wheelchairs. The minute we got Meg hoisted into this chair, we appreciated how suitable this was going to be. It was larger and a framework that enable the whole rear to be slanted backwards (so that Meg could be semi-recumbent if necessary) as well as a sculptured seat, a headrest and generally superior fixtures and fittings. It evidently took some time for Meg to be seated in the new chair whilst assessments were made and some adjustments made as well as giving me instructions how the new chair was to be used. I wheeled Meg down int our Main Lounge to make sure that all angles and doorways could be navigated safely and to cut a long story short, I am completely delighted that this new chair has now been supplied for Meg. It means that I can take her down to town with much more peace of mind and I am happy that if she were to be in the chair for a few hours, which is typically the case on Tuesdays and Saturdays, then she will be so much more comfortable and secure.
In the morning, we awaited the arrival of the District Nurse team and it is anticipated that it will take a couple of nurses to address the increasing problems that Meg is now experiencing. She now has pressure sores in about five or six locations on her body and this is a direct consequence of the fact that she has no body strength or the mobility to adjust her seating positions. The OT who specialised in wheelchairs was very supportive and helpful and all seemed to be well. Then three district nurses arrived in a flurry and, looking at Meg's newly developing bed sores, declared that they were probably caused by the sling to the hoist which the care workers often do mot remove. They were pretty horrified by this and by the fact that often only one worker turned up when there should have been two. They suggested I phone social services (some hope!) and demand the agency be replaced by a better one. This would have been cutting off one's nose to spite one's face and just as they were leaving, a solo care worker turned up. The three district nurse vented all of their spleen on this unfortunate individual so this necessitated calls to the manager and a difficult conversation about the care that Meg should have been receiving (and, in the opinion of the district nurses), was not. So it looks from now on as there will have to be a change of procedure so that the sling is removed every time it has been used (which typically it is not, because this is fiddly) and that there should be henceforth a rigid application of the '2 carers for each attendance' for Meg from now on.
© Mike Hart [2025]