I hope today’s begun well for you, as we reach the end of the first month of 2022. For me it’s a bit sobering to realise that the first month of the year is almost gone already, but perhaps in one way that’a a good thing. As we step into February I’ll be considering that we are hopefully moving towards the arrival of spring, and that’s a welcome thought.
Today’s our recognised day of the week for your off-topic posts, so do share any of your thoughts with us, provided whatever it is, falls within our community guidelines. It’s sometimes really good, especially in the very isolating world of caring, to be able to share our more social posts about hobbies and interests, photographs or even just our highs and lows of the past week. So please do, if you would like.
If you’ve only just arrived here, then an extra warm welcome to you and please do join in with your own thoughts.
This week mine are very much with Care as I had some bad news concerning my brother in law, who some of you will know has mixed dementia and is cared for by my sister.
He suffered a nasty fall, and was admitted to hospital where he was diagnosed with a urine infection, given antibiotics and advice and sent home. Once there he was found to be completely unable to move. As a deadweight, it was impossible for my sister to be able to move or lift him, so she called paramedics again who reluctantly took him back to hospital. This time he was scanned and found to have two fractured vertebrae in his neck, so no wonder the poor soul was unable to move at all, and of course completely unable to articulate what was wrong. He must have been in considerable pain. So he’s now an in-patient and can’t be allowed home until he has a proper assessment and care package in place. In other words, in the media’s popular parlance, a ‘bed blocker’!
Of course this has made my sister relieved and distressed all at the same time, but she is being helped by her adult children and we’re talking on the phone each day so she can let me know how things are, and also because she says ‘I cheer her up’. So I’m glad to be of some small help, even though I feel pretty helpless, to be honest!
I hope that everyone has had a better week than that, and has something to look forward to this weekend. And I wish you all well for next week too!
Good morning Callendersgal, so sorry to hear your brother in law is in hospital. He should never have been sent home in the first place but sadly that happens all too often. I’m thinking of your dear sister and pleased she has family around her. Trust me it’s good to have someone who brings cheer at difficult times so you’re doing a great job. Wishing your bil a good recovery and hope more help is forthcoming. It’s been a fairly quiet week again and I’m pleased January is almost over. Good to see the longer days slowly creeping in.
Wishing you and everyone a good weekend. Take care all. Xxx😘💜🤗💝👍🌹🌸🌼
Thanks sassy59. I just had an update from my sister to say he's doing OK and is less agitated in hospital now (I think they've upped his sedation a bit, which helps). They are going to move him on to a community hospital as soon as possible and hopefully he'll feel more comfortable there. It is lovely to notice that it's getting dark a tiny bit later now. That's always a welcome sign that spring must surely be coming our way! 👍🙏🔆🌳💖😊 xxx
That’s good news Callendersgal, thinking of them both. Hope lots of help is forthcoming. Have a good weekend. 👍🧡💝😘💜🌷🌺
Busy morning here today!
Popped on the washing machine and changed the beds after I came home from my interview at Cardiff Bay so the afternoon will be nice and quiet here!
Had an interview for a legal secretary job down in Cardiff Bay at 10.30am this morning which I went away from feeling like I did my best which is something I do control.
Myself and my sister in law arrived at the bay early so we went for a drink before I was due to go in the interview and I decided on a coke float which is coke with ice cream in it and really enjoyed it before I went to the interview and after the interview we had a walk round the bay and feel the place isn't the same with the millennium centre shut and the Norwegian church arts centre shut as well.
Yesterday was a productive day as I finished off some future learn courses in international aid and physics.
Wednesday was an interview at the Heath hospital for a clinic co ordinators job at the gynaecology directorate and my sister in law came with me for support and had said about sitting in the ante natal clinic reception nearby and get cups of tea from there rather than the main cafe and I said about leaving the seats free in there for those that need them as in the main cafe we aren't taking seats from those who need them so off we went to the cafe to wait and have a cup of tea in there and then walked back to the offices when it was time.
My interview was due at 11.30 but I didn't get seen until 11.40 but they did apologise and seemed disappointed I wasn't upset and whilst I was waiting there was a foreign lady called Patricia who said she was due to be seen at 12 and I had warned Patricia that they were running late and how i had been due at 11.30.
I got into the interview room and it was obvious the job had gone as the questions were too easy and I was pushed out of the door after 10 mins and I had said to my sister in law I wasn't getting my hopes up as I reckoned the job had gone as the questions were too easy!
After the interview we had lunch down at a cafe where I was a regular when I worked in the offices across the road from there and the street was deserted and so were those offices not the places I remember from when I worked there!
We had a walk round the neighbourhood up there and I said about how at the offices there was a lady who lived in Barry who finished at 12.30 on a Thursday and had to get the bus home and had had vile names shouted at her whilst She walked along the street to the bus stop by kids from the high school next door to those offices so I had taken her down one of the side streets called Canada road to another bus stop so she could bypass the high school as She had said to me why should I go to the leisure centre when I had suggested sport at the leisure centre near the offices on a Thursday lunchtime to stay away from the high school and She had said she wasn't changing her life because of them so I had said about Canada road and the bus stop by there to bypass the high school and had shown her where it was!
My sister in law said how the old colleague was right why should she have to change her life because of someone else's rudeness?
I didnt see any old friends from those offices that I knew though when we had our lunch at that cafe!
That job said they would call me back Wednesday afternoon and they did at 4pm came on the line cheery and then the sorree I hadn't got the job and they were so disappointed I wasn't upset it was hilarious and my sister in law says She had laughed and laughed when I had said what had happened as well!
Today's job said they will contact people a week today to let them know if they got the job or not but if I don't I won't be heartbroken over it as I have other interviews to go to next week and the week after!
I think if a jobs for you it won't go by you!
This weekend coming we are meeting our friends in Weston and stopping at a cafe en route to meet them just to do something different and they had cried laughing about the phone call on wednesday to say I hadn't got the job and how they were disappointed I wasn't upset as it was obvious to me the job had gone and they were only seeing myself and Patricia just to say they had interviewed a certain amount to hr.
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I see you are as busy as ever with your job hunting again 'Cat', and hope something will come through for you before too much longer. At least you always manage to be upbeat about the jobs that got away and that's commendable as it can be soul-destroying getting refusal after refusal. Glad you've got some more opportunities lined up and I do think it is at least courteous to receive a call to say that you weren't successful. It's bad how often there's no word at all, unless you are the successful candidate. Best of luck with your next set of interviews!
Wishing you well as always Catgirl. Your positive attitude shines through so someone doing an interview just has to see that eventually. Good luck to you. Xxx
So sorry to hear about your bil Callendersgal and hope he will soon be pain free and get the care and support he and your sister need.
I have had a mixed week as my back has been really painful so I couldn’t go to my fitness classes. Also, one of our best friends sadly died with terminal lung cancer and he was only diagnosed in December after eventually being sent for an X-ray far too late, despite a bad cough for months. It seems to be a regular occurrence now that some elderly sick patients are not getting the care they deserve. Especially with the telephone appointments still in use at most surgeries! If most places are returning to some form of normality why aren’t the GP surgeries? I have to wait until next week for another telephone appointment for the results of an MRI scan. It is all very stressful!
On a brighter note, my sister celebrated her 78th birthday in style at her Liverpool nursing home. It was absolutely fantastic. The party was like a wedding and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The room was decorated by all the hard working staff and food and drink provided with a fantastic birthday cake, complete with candles. It was an uplifting experience and our family can’t thank the manager and staff enough.
It calms my mind to know she is so well looked after by genuinely caring staff considering I live quite a distance away from it. It was lovely to see so many smiling faces despite their disabilities.
Gosh, it turn I'm so sorry about your back Goldenanny! It's really debilitating to deal with, isn't it? It seems inevitable that lots of us aren't getting some quite vital medical treatment as an outfall of the pandemic. I think it's one reason why we must try to move on from it as soon as we possibly can as i don't understand the logic of trying to stop covid19 deaths in favour of allowing everyone else to be placed in jeopardy through complete lack of facilities to help them. It's a mess to be sure.
But on the other hand delighted to hear about your sister's lovely birthday party. That was excellent and shows how good some nursing homes are. I'm so glad you all enjoyed it!
I hope your back feels better soon Goldenanny as I can empathise, so can Pete. It’s dreadful the way people are just being left to die it seems. Things have to improve as everything can’t just revolve around covid.Your sisters birthday party sounded like great fun. Good to hear she’s being well cared for.
I think it stinks the way some people and places have used covid as a shield to hide behind for bad behaviour!
I think a lot of the time its used as a licence to be nasty the covid excuse as if it wasn't that there would be something else to hide behind as a licence for bad behaviour!
Back in December we all went out for Christmas eve and one friend is a very chronically ill woman but still managed to come out not using that as an excuse to hide behind not to do things she is frightened of and a young lady of 18 who is chronically ill and making the best of things and joined us that day as well!
It makes me mad when people could do things if they tried but won't do them and make up excuses to hide behind!
Last Monday I was on the receiving end of excuses of why something couldn't happen and I was boiling mad as I feel when you can do things and won't its cowardly to hide behind excuses!
What's the next excuse to hide behind to be nasty I ask myself?
Here's a photo to cheer people up, Some lichen on a twig
first it is still happy in the winter and doesnot get droopy in the cold when times are bad, then it is teling us we have clean air - wont thrive where it is polluted . There are so many sorts - all beautiful and some this joyful yellow and some soft green
then lastly this twig was knocked off by two mating pigeons so spring IS coming.
I will learn from the beautiful twigs Freda and be happy in the winter and not droop in the cold. Clean air is a must so nature is wonderful in letting us know when it’s surrounding us. Thank you for your cheerful post. Have a good weekend. Xxxx💜
That really is cheering FredaE. Any little bit of colour in nature is really welcome at this time of year. It's so pretty too! And what good news about the promise of spring!
Slightly late in replying, firstly best wishes to your sister and brother in law, let's hope they get the care package they need fairly quickly.
Last Monday my Red Cross support worker came out bringing a, 3 wheeled walker which I tried outside the flat, got on alright with it so we ventured up to the supermarket, which we got to without stopping, we got the few, bits of shopping I needed I packed it away and paid on my own while support worker waited away from till but would have come and helped if needed, one bag of shopping in the basket of walker, another on the handle, part way home support worker asked me to stop, she took the bag off the handle saying to me you've proved you can do it so I'll carry this one home. I'm not seeing her this week as she's on holiday but she doesn't think I'll need her again as I'm doing so well, so since being discharged from hospital on 13 Jan, community physio discharged me, Red Cross borderline for closing my case, yesterday I took walker up to the shops on my own, and and got a few things, and this morning I've done my first real shift back at work behind the front desk
Thanks Jenny and this is pretty amazing. Well done you! Even a work shift now! You’ve made such brilliant progress that I’m not surprised the Red Cross is on the verge of closing your case! Just so long as you feel confident to be more independent again now! 👍👍😊
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