Every day seems to follow a different pattern these days, so I have to take one day at a time. The carers were not due to arrive until 8.40 but knowing the Bromsgrove traffic, I was not surprised when they were 15 minutes late. Meg was so sleepy this morning which is a pattern she has exhibited for the last few days so the carers took the decision to wash and to dress her ‘in situ’ on the bed before getting her up and then bringing her downstairs. After breakfast, I knew that I would have to get out to the pharmacy to collect the blood thinning tablets that the doctor had prescribed for Meg yesterday evening. Some time later, I got a call from the local hospital inviting me round for a sonar scan of Meg’s foot some day later on today if that were possible. I explained how immobile Meg was so the hospital declared that I needed to contact my local GP to organise some transport to get Meg to the hospital on Thursday (tomorrow morning being out of the question because the social worker is due to call around tomorrow morning) When I got onto the GP practice, I was informed that they did not organise hospital transport but gave me the telephone number of another agencified service to provide transport to the hospital on Thursday next. This involved hunting out NHS numbers and the like to check eligibility and the like and then learning of Meg’s lack of mobility. they were going to organise at least two personnel so that Meg can be transported by stretcher. Despite my initial irritation, at least I managed to get this service in place. No sooner was this organised but a district nurse called round to take further blood samples from Meg. I explained about the swollen and puffy nature of the oedema in Meg’s left ankle and foot (which might have been a tad better than late last night) and I was glad I did. The nurse photographed Meg’s leg and was going to organise some special cream as well as a special bandage in order to make sure that the condition of meg’s legs did not worsen. Both the nurse and myself realised the importance of ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ so the district nurse was going to send around a colleagues the next day i.e. tomorrow to make sure that Meg’s leg was well dressed and would not deteriorate further. Then I managed to shoot off into town, my son holding the fort whilst I was away, so that I managed to collect Meg’s prescription as well as a copy of the newspaper from Waitrose (where my friends happened to be gathered so I quickly gave them an update of what was happening to us)
Tuesday is generally my Pilates day but I had pre-determined that I would forgo this for yet another week but I knew that the carer was scheduled to call round for a sitting service in about 40 minutes time. I was anxious that Meg get some fresh air and a little trip out so as Meg was already located in her ‘trips out’ wheelchair, I wheeled out as far as the Kidderminster Road and then down into the new little estate which had been built on land which previously had been an orchard immediately adjacent to our property. In the last few days, our Italian friend was telling me about a lady whose acquaintance she had just made who lived on this little estate and she gave me the house number. So whilst I was taking Meg out, I knocked on the lady’s door and explained who I was and I lived in the house that she could probably discern through the foliage of the trees bordering our property. The lady’s husband came to the door and we vaguely recognised each other as people do when they have passed each other in the street. Having established who we were and why we were knocking on her door, I indicated that if and her husband were at a loose end, she could always pop round for an afternoon cup of tea (I gathered from our Italian friend that this lady was feeling a little isolated in this newish house) I also told her and her husband about the little gatherings that we have in Waitrose on a Tuesday and a Saturday morning so I am hopeful that these neighbours (which is what they essentially are) will take up our offer and pop around some time. Then the carer turned up and we devised a plan for her stay as I no longer intended to attend my Pilates class. We made Meg comfortable and then I cooked a simple lunch quite quickly of fish cakes and microwaved vegetables and then the carer helped to feed Meg her lunch whilst I was eating mine. Then the carer very kindly helped me to do the washing up and we settled Meg off, hopefully for an afternoon sleep. On occasions like this, I take the carers into the kitchen and explain what I think is going on medically with Meg so that they are fully briefed but it is fair to say that they are able to confirm the deterioration that they have observed in Meg’s condition over the last fortnight.
There is a very perceptive and well-informed article in todays ‘Guardian‘ that provides the following narrative. When you set out to explore Donald Trump’s personal life and business practices, you don’t expect to meet any paragons of virtue. The writer argues thus:sleazy media figures who buy and ‘kill’ damaging stories? Yes. An adult film actor ready to tell all to make a buck? Certainly. A parade of spokes people and staffers who compromised their own integrity during his presidential administration? No doubt. But the writer then goes on to make the point that a demonstration of this low-life is not the same as a determination of absolute criminal behaviour. The actual charge is that Trump influenced his early election by concealing payments made to the porn star as ‘business expenses’ and the prosecution has to prove, via the star witness of Michael Cohen, Trump’s one time lawyer and ‘Mr Fix-it’, that this was Trump’s firm intention all along. It only takes one juror to be unconvinced that Trump’s activities whilst being unsavoury were actually criminal for the prosecution to fail. In other words, there is everything to play for and the end result of this court case still hangs in the balance.
© Mike Hart [2024]