Wednesday 27 February 2013

Coughs and sneezes spread diseases

Well another week has passed so quickly, still not sleeping to well due to the combined problems of the sling and increased cattarh, which made me cough and cough. Tuesday Husband worked from home and took me to my first hydrothrapy session. I managed to get into my cossie without too much of a struggle and was soon walking into the really warm pool. I was amazed how easily the arm which had been held  so close to my side for so long was able to float up to the surface, only giving a twinge when I moved wrongly. Husband afterwards suggested we had lunch in Sainsbo's cafe, I noticed they have calorie contents up on their menu and discovered that their chilli jacket was less than 300, so  I had that.
I felt pretty tired in the afternoon and had a doze. I did some washing and husband  called from the kitchen to say that the washing machine was leaking. Oh no! I'd noticed a lot of water on the floor the other day and wondered what was going on. I grabbed the very large box of Persil with my left hand to get it off the floor, too late, the bottom fell out and Persil went all over the wet floor! I rushed upstairs to grab a plastic box and husband scooped up the dry stuff with a dustpan. I also put an old bath towel down to absorb the excess water. What a lovely gooey mess!
On Wednesday I got the bus to WW, half a pound off, then I walked home again, it was very cold with only a few flakes of snow, unlike the flurries we had been having on and off. it didn't settle much though thankfully. Later Daughter collected me, and we went to do our weekly shopping. Lydia appeared to have conjunctivitis, and Nat had his usual runny nose and cough. I didn't spent too much again ,and Daughter helped me in with the shopping. Thursday morning was hydro again. Husband was keen to go back to Sainsbo's cafe again, this time I had goats cheese and leek tart.
I wasn't feeling great, my coughing was getting worse, and my voice was beginning to go, so I declined an offer of a lift to women's hour. Lydia was taken to the GP about her eyes, but he said they were clearing. We called in on Daughter for a while, but didn't stay too long as husband was supposed to be working from home. I did get a nap later.
Friday I did get  a walk, but it was such a cold miserable day. I spent time dozing, but then later couldn't get to sleep till after 3.30 am for coughing.
I was up early on Saturday, as I had an appointment with my consultant at 9.35, am. I was told he was running late by 20 minutes, but the seemed to be seeing people quite quickly. He was very pleased with my progress, gave me another exercise to do, explained how he had put a post in the bone to anchor the sutures, and said I could leave the sling off at times indoors. He wants to see me in 6 weeks. We were getting into the car at 9.55 am, so he must have been catching up. We popped home for the shopping bags, then arrived in town much earlier than usual.
Daughter rang me in town to ask if she could pop round with the children to keep them out of the way whilst they had garden waste cleared. Husband and I both dozed after lunch, but Daughter didn't appear. We learned later that the men had cancelled. Much later as I was doing dinner with a bit of help from husband, she rang to say Nat was most unwell, not eating with a high temperature. I said she must take him to the urgent care centre. Later they rang to say his Daddy had taken him and tonsillitis had been diagnosed, poor mite,  no wonder all he would eat was Weetabix and yoghurt. Fortunately there are a couple of late pharmacies in our town, so they were able to get one dose of the antibiotic into him before bed.
 By Sunday my voice had almost disappeared, I went to church and mimed the hymns! I was going to go for a walk, but the weather was so miserable I just did the GK crossword and dozed. After the evening service I phoned Mum In law, she seems to be doing quite well, but is tired like the rest of us. She is also complaning of shoulder pain. I had to abandon the call as I coughed so much.I tried a cocodamol to stop the cough, but awoke feeling really dry. Monday morning I made an appointment with the GP, then cancelled my hydro appointment for Tuesday. They insist you are really well when you use the pool, and have strict hygiene rules. The Doctor examined me quite thoroughly, then gave me an antibiotic, as he said there was an infection. I may well have picked something up from daughter or the grandchildren.
I had managed to track down the washing machine engineer who had closed his shop and gone mobile. He promised to come and look at the machine, which had a chunk out of the door rubber. I surveyed my kitchen, which hasn't had a real good clean since before my op, so had to get stuck in. The dried on bits of washing powder helped get the floor clean, and before he was due at  1pm I was sitting down to a bowl of soup in my now tidy kitchen. Husband is good at putting stuff away if he knows where it goes, but doesn't seem to do working surfaces, I had cleaned them, but now they were cleared and clean, I'm getting quite good at one handed stuff. The engineer said he would turn the door seal top to bottom to save me money.
Afterwards I walked into town to do a bit of shopping and recycle the water filters I had unearthed. I got the bus back up. The pile of washing is now reduced somewhat.
Today I waited for the bus to go to WW. It was due at 9.27, but didn't come down the hill till 9.31. I was dressed for weighing, was freezing and had tummyache from too much fruit yesterday, so I came home. In theory, I could have gone out again after a bathroom visit, in fact I did see the bus later, but I was so cold I got changed, then vacuumed the living room floor, then left to walk up to Daughter's. She wasn't quite ready,but we chatted for a while then she got herself and the children ready and we went off to do the shopping. By the time we had finished it was lunchtime, Nat was hungry, so we lunched there again. bad habits! Still I think daughter enjoyed it having been housebound till today. Nathaniel did eat more so is obviously improving; even the sun shone today. Perhaps spring will come soon.


Thursday 21 February 2013

Progressing slowly

Well we made it to church on Sunday evening, husband felt much less dizzy. It had been raining all day, but as we arrived at church it had suddenly turned to snow. The preacher, a member of the church was quite good, but we didn't hang around after the service as it was still snowing and I was worried about slipping. We came home and I walked very gingerly to the back door. Later, after we had eaten, I phoned Mum in Law. She was due to go for her second cataract operation the next day.
I was later than husband going to bed, and was dismayed to see that it was still snowing.
On Monday husband was working from home. He cleared the back path and the front steps, but I was afraid to go out in case I slipped. I pottered around doing what I could, we had soup for lunch, then I had a short doze. I was due at the hospital physio at 4.30 pm, and we set off in plenty of time, dropping off some ironing on the way, and wondering if the road up to the hospital would be clear. it was ok, a very steep hill. The physio was very nice, added a couple of exercises,said my shoulder was tight, and that I should relax into the sling. She recommended some hydrotherapy to help loosen things up, but I don't start physio properly till the sling is off, and I was warned that then it will hurt. We also discussed what I can and can't do. I have use of my arm from elbow to wrist provided that the upper arm is close to my body
We hit the rush hour, didn't stop to pick up newspapers,and got home in time for me to change clothes. Friends from church had invited us for a meal. Our recent pastor's wife was to be there, her husband is lecturing abroad again and she is still working part time in our town. We had a very pleasant evening, a good meal, and feel we know our friends a little better. We left not long after 9, as the weather was not good and I wanted to get home to ring Mum in Law.  She had also had a meal provided. She had left a message, on our answering machine, but I rang her anyway. She seems ok, is back on 14 eye drops a day. She also still has a shoulder problem from her fall last March, and talking about getting that sorted next. I sincerely hope she doesn't need an op like mine as I don't know how she would cope. I struggle enough. The op I had last time wouldn't be too bad, but would cause problems. I didn't sleep well Monday night as I'd had a caffeinated coffee.
Tuesday, the pavements were better, and I was able to tie my walking boots on. I didn't really need them though, and had a decent walk as the pavements were all clear, but still plenty of snow around. We managed to make pancakes between us, and ate 3 each! I watched 'Call the Midwife' on iplayer in the evening, husband wasn't too keen as we'd heard it was traumatic. I was quite interested as a Christian friend of mine had a boy with spina bifida in the 1970s. I'm not sure what the treatment was in the 50s, but her boy was whisked away to Alder Hey and operated on. Sadly these days most babies with that problem are not even allowed to be born, they are disposed of in the womb.
Wednesday was quite a busy day, Daughter arrived really early to take me to the dressings clinic. We arrived quite early, and Nathaniel was kept out of mischief by being fed rice cakes. I was seen before the appointed time, and the dressings removed. No stitches, just steri strips. On the way back we called in at the sorting office as we had both missed parcel deliveries. Parking was easy there for a change. We took it in turns to go in, to save getting the youngsters out and in of the car.
The next stop was Sainsbury's, where we had lunch in their cafe  before doing the weekly shopping. We dropped my stuff off, and I put away the cold stuff, then went to Daughter's where I kept an eye on the children whilst she unpacked her stuff, then nipped upstairs for a quick tidy up.
Lydia was still fast asleep, snug in her snowsuit. Later, Daughter took me to the ironer's and we collected bed linen and a whole load of shirts, then she dropped me off at home. I was quite exhausted and fell asleep before husband came home. That night it rained and the snow was washed away.
Again C picked me up for women's hour. It was favourite hymns, sadly someone else chose mine, but I managed to find another, 'Give me a sight Oh Saviour', all in all we had a good sing. I was pretty tired again, as I am still finding it difficult to sleep in the sling. However I am now counting the days to when I can be without it. Hopefully it is 10 more days.
On Friday it was a beautiful sunny day. I noticed how grubby the sofa was, so got out the leather cleaner and gave it a one handed scrub. The sunshine showed up fingermarks on the back door and the porch door too, so I attempted to clean those. The glass cleaner left them smeary, so I finished them off with Mr Sheen. I felt quite tired after all that effort, and going for a walk. My cattarrh is very bad at the moment, not sure why, I seem to be coughing a lot. I'm trying a sea water spray, as I find it difficult to cope with mixing salt and water. It's quite hard taking cough mixture too, with my arm trussed up.
Saturday was quite unremarkable, except that we had lunch in M&S. The mild weather has continued, but colder weather is forecast, but no snow. I am grateful for that. I have had trouble trying to add photos from my HP camera, so will have to publish this without.

Sunday 10 February 2013

Getting better every day

It could take a while for me to update this,as I'm typing with my left hand. My hospital stay was as pleasant as it could be, under the circumstances. My room overlooked a patch of woodland where people walked their dogs. Of course my BP went up, but only the top one. husband stayed till nearly 3, but came home as he was supposed to be working. They said if I was a long way down the list I would get a glass of water, and this appeared just after 3. I had been nil by mouth since 8 am, admitted at 12 noon. I channel hopped as I was bored. I had just finished watching Antiques road trip, when the nurse arrived to escort me to theatre.
I was teased by the anaesthestists for being nervous, but despite the cannula insertion being painful, I was soon totally unaware, just as I came round I was still being teased for screaming in the anaesthetic room, (I had said 'ow' 3 times), I began to shiver and my teeth chattered so they piled hot blankets on me, bliss! It was a reaction to the anaesthetic apparently. Back in my room I was soon sipping water, I had been out of the room for 2 hours. The anaesthetist and consultant both popped in to see me. Apparently the area had been really inflamed and needed the op.
Later I was able to eat a panini and a fruit salad,and drink a small pot of tea. Husband didn't visit, as by the time he knew, and drove there, it would have almost been the end of visiting. I got a cup of hot chocolate just before midnight.
The night nurse said she wouldn't do my BP overnight, but would look in on me, the problem was, every time she looked in on the chap next door, he spoke to her, and she to him. I eventually dropped off at about 3 am, only to be woken at 5.35 am by the arrival of my meds. My BP was down, later I had my pre-ordered breakfast, then later was able to freshen up. I phoned husband and he promised to come over, they were aiming for a 9.30 discharge. The nurse helped me dress, the physio popped in, and just after 9.30 we were on our way out of the building.
We stopped off in Harpenden for newspapers but soon I was home and resting. I slept quite a lot. In the afternoon daughter arrived with the children and some flowers. I was in bed early, but didn't sleep too well because of the sling. Saturday we popped into town, but not for long as I tired easily. We bought an M&S ready meal for the evening, Husband chose very naughty melting middle choc puds.
Sunday morning we went to the church service, but I yawned so much during the sermon that we decided to skip communion. We popped home for slippers, and went up  to Daughter's home for lunch. We had a lovely meal, and later we all fell asleep. Oh well it was a day of rest.
I didn't feel up to going to the evening service, so we came home and I phoned Mum in law. During the week I found I was feeling low, probably as I struggle with being one handed and get frustrated.
I walked most days, got the bus to WW, half a pound on, then walked home. I intended to walk halfway, but just missed a bus, and didn't want to share the bus stop with a bickering couple. The bus passed me just as I neared home.
C picked me up for parent and toddlers', I was doing registration, nice and easy, and I helped with the singing. Daughter collected me, and took me to Sainsbury's where I found a decent trolley, which I could push with one hand. I managed quite well, didn't overspend, but admitted defeat and had help with packing, for the sake of those queuing behind me.  One of my cures for the 'blues' this week was to phone 2 people who are far worse off than me, that cheered me up, and hopefully did them too.
Thursday I popped into town, heartily sick of the blouses I had bought, but no one had anything cheap and cheerful, so I decided to wear cardigans buttoned up to the neck whilst the blouses were in the wash. I can load the washing machine one handed, but have resorted to the tumble dryer, as it's easy and cuts down on ironing. I haven't attempted ironing yet. C took me to Women's hour, we had a lady speaker, we were fewer in number this week, but someone brought their Mum, so that helped
Friday I got the papers at a shop near Daughter's, but she was out, so I walked home. Husband was in Bristol, so was home early, but was so tired he needed a long sleep before dinner. Yesterday he was complaining of stuffy ears, then after we had done the shopping, dizziness. I was going to teach him to make spag bol, but he didn't feel hungry. Nor did I as we'd had lunch at the Cornish pasty Co, pasty and wedges for him and baguette and wedges for me. He ended up going to the drop in surgery at the hospital where labyrinthitis was diagnosed. Then he slept in a chair as he  felt worse if he lay down. As usual I struggled to sleep on my back. Neither of us made it  to church this morning, so we listened to a sermon from sermon audio, by our former pastor. Husband managed a decent roast, he has antihistamines to take. We may make it  this evening. I will add a  picture if I can.
me and my sling


Friday 1 February 2013

Newsflash

For those who are wondering, I went to theatre at 5.20 pm, was back in my room at 7.20 pm, the consultant popped in at 9pm to say it was a success and had been badly needed. Husband collected me at 9.30 am today, and I have been dozing on and off. Typingwith my left hand is tiring, but I wanted to thank everyone who prayed for me. For the medically minded I had a shoulder decompression, and rotator cuff repair. will write more when I have recovered a bit