I had gone to bed almost totally unable to breathe, but having taken one of Nick’s “bombs” & liberally used my prescription-strength nose spray I was amazed to wake up after an undisturbed night still breathing nasally. Once I was vertical all that changed. A little later while greeting Pam as she made their morning tea we discovered that I literally had no voice at all! As the day wore on I was able to communicate at close range to some extent, but I sound extraordinary.
This was Mum-Mum’s 94th birthday. We all signed a card for her and in the afternoon Pam & Nick added it to the many others in her hospital room. During a leisurely morning we tackled the second bookcase, this time older books & many mementos. The books are gradually being sorted into piles, mine/the girls, Pete, & Pam & Nick, plus those that nobody wants & which appear to have no intrinsic value. This process, along with sorting mementos, again largely duplications including many postcards filled up the morning. I’m beginning to suspect I may have to post/ship some books home separately, but we’ll see what they weigh.
Eventually we went down to The Pilot and had lunch, curry for John & Nick, pork for Pam, & established that Mum-Mum’s (temporarily John’s) credit card & code does indeed work. We then separated, John walking up the steep back alley & around back to the flat, for a leisurely afternoon of trying to get better, and Pam & Nick on to the hospital to spend some time with Mum-Mum, who apparently drifted in and out but was glad to see them when “with it”. They also shopped for a few supplies to keep us going in the flat.
The rest of the day bodes to be a light supper & lots of television, as Nick will not be denied.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
U.K. Duty Visit - Day 6
What a difference a day makes! We awoke this morning to a significant snowfall, enough to effectively paralyze Eastbourne & surrounding areas, especially the hilly streets, which provided quite a bit of amusement as non-snow-savvy drivers in 2-wheel drive cars tried & failed to reach the top of the street outside the flat. Were we ever lucky! Part of our concern yesterday, as flurries came & went, was the proviso in Mum-Mum’s schedule of “if it doesn’t snow”! Had the original schedule been held the operation would not have happened as the surgeon quite literally was unable to get to the hospital today! Luckily we only had a flurry or two more during the day, plus some brightness & it was well above freezing so the roads became more & more passable as the day wore on.
I (John) took two hits today. The progress of the cold Nick gave me made for a miserable & relatively sleepless night, and although not totally debilitating we all agreed it was wise to stay inside & not go shopping and especially not go to see Mum-Mum in a hospital environment. Otherwise it is more irritating than anything else. The second blow came when reading the Republic Newspaper online & seeing a front page headline that the only card that still works over here will be “killed” on February 20th, making me totally dependent on the family for any expenses I might incur during the last week. No doubt in amongst the 3-weeksworth of mail I will retrieve from the Post office on my return will be a replacement under the new bank’s name & no doubt some new PIN that I will have to get changed. But I do feel strangely vulnerable, even though via the family we can get around the issue.
When Pam called the hospital to see how Mum-Mum was we learned that to their dismay, even though a catheter was in place she felt a need to pee, forgot she was in hospital, got out of bed & subsequently crashed to the floor, dislocating her newly installed joint, while her surgeon was snowbound somewhere out of town! Luckily it occurred right around a shift change & with extra staff around she was restored to bed, given a strong sedative (rather than more anesthesia) & another doctor was able to manipulate her joint back into place without any other damage! Much later in the day the primary surgeon called Pam to fill her in. Mum-Mum did not have arthritic degeneration, as supposed (although the speed of her decline amazed everybody) but something called vascular necrosis, which means that the blood had been cut off from that area of her hip bone & the bone was literally crumbling away. This dictated a change to the original plan, but the “fix” was successful. They also think she still has (or has yet again) a urinary tract infection the irritation of which caused her desire to go to the bathroom. With lots of hindsight a number of changes have been made to ensure she stays in bed when she is supposed to do so, plus the surgeon will fit an external brace on her leg to ensure that no twisting occurs for several weeks & it has regained some strength.
The telephone has been busy. I called Michelle to update her/Marissa (who was no doubt still in bed at an hour later on Central Time). Right after Pam & Nick went out to do some shopping & move the car (Nick’s “strategic spot” proved to be too close to the icy corner & the car was nearly hit) and, as it happened, the roads in town were improving so they went and paid a quick visit to Mum-Mum, who appeared to be more worried about my cold than about her own condition! Katy called me for an update. Pat called me and we had a chat & arranged to meet next week. Pam later called her back to give Pat their mobile number & explain why she won’t be here when Pat & Ange visit. In fact, for one reason or another the telephone has been well used, incoming & outgoing, all day.
Once Pam & Nick were back, and all done with the outside world until the evening, when Pam went back out to have the dinner cancelled yesterday, we had lunch and settled in. We continued with the massive sort out of pictures (still largely duplicates we had sent, but also some seriously old ones) and the “to be scanned” pile grows bigger. We are definitely making progress, unless we find another cache in the other bookcase. So we decided finally to just rest and relax until tomorrow.
I (John) took two hits today. The progress of the cold Nick gave me made for a miserable & relatively sleepless night, and although not totally debilitating we all agreed it was wise to stay inside & not go shopping and especially not go to see Mum-Mum in a hospital environment. Otherwise it is more irritating than anything else. The second blow came when reading the Republic Newspaper online & seeing a front page headline that the only card that still works over here will be “killed” on February 20th, making me totally dependent on the family for any expenses I might incur during the last week. No doubt in amongst the 3-weeksworth of mail I will retrieve from the Post office on my return will be a replacement under the new bank’s name & no doubt some new PIN that I will have to get changed. But I do feel strangely vulnerable, even though via the family we can get around the issue.
When Pam called the hospital to see how Mum-Mum was we learned that to their dismay, even though a catheter was in place she felt a need to pee, forgot she was in hospital, got out of bed & subsequently crashed to the floor, dislocating her newly installed joint, while her surgeon was snowbound somewhere out of town! Luckily it occurred right around a shift change & with extra staff around she was restored to bed, given a strong sedative (rather than more anesthesia) & another doctor was able to manipulate her joint back into place without any other damage! Much later in the day the primary surgeon called Pam to fill her in. Mum-Mum did not have arthritic degeneration, as supposed (although the speed of her decline amazed everybody) but something called vascular necrosis, which means that the blood had been cut off from that area of her hip bone & the bone was literally crumbling away. This dictated a change to the original plan, but the “fix” was successful. They also think she still has (or has yet again) a urinary tract infection the irritation of which caused her desire to go to the bathroom. With lots of hindsight a number of changes have been made to ensure she stays in bed when she is supposed to do so, plus the surgeon will fit an external brace on her leg to ensure that no twisting occurs for several weeks & it has regained some strength.
The telephone has been busy. I called Michelle to update her/Marissa (who was no doubt still in bed at an hour later on Central Time). Right after Pam & Nick went out to do some shopping & move the car (Nick’s “strategic spot” proved to be too close to the icy corner & the car was nearly hit) and, as it happened, the roads in town were improving so they went and paid a quick visit to Mum-Mum, who appeared to be more worried about my cold than about her own condition! Katy called me for an update. Pat called me and we had a chat & arranged to meet next week. Pam later called her back to give Pat their mobile number & explain why she won’t be here when Pat & Ange visit. In fact, for one reason or another the telephone has been well used, incoming & outgoing, all day.
Once Pam & Nick were back, and all done with the outside world until the evening, when Pam went back out to have the dinner cancelled yesterday, we had lunch and settled in. We continued with the massive sort out of pictures (still largely duplicates we had sent, but also some seriously old ones) and the “to be scanned” pile grows bigger. We are definitely making progress, unless we find another cache in the other bookcase. So we decided finally to just rest and relax until tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
U.K. Duty Visit - Day 5
This was not the sort of day one wishes to have very often, if ever again! If people think that Indiana’s weather is changeable, just imagine it at 10 times speed! It has snowed some six times, been gray at least as many and been bright and sunny six times, & that is only the morning and afternoon! It has also been fiercely windy all day.
All of us had a poor night, especially me, as I suspect I am in the throes of coming down with Nick’s cold. Nevertheless we were out of the flat before 9:30AM and over to the nursing home where they had prepared Mum-Mum for the day excellently. Mum-Mum had her last food and drink before 7:30.
At 10:00 AM the “handicapped accessible” taxi came & Mum-Mum was loaded in her wheelchair. John rode with her and P & N followed in the car. All went smoothly, but incredibly slowly. After a while she was admitted to her first, or preparatory room, where we killed time while little happened but periodic paperwork & the basic checks. Eventually, Nick & John went out for a walk to get some lunch, getting Pam a sandwich on the way back.
The doctor, an absolute delight of a man, came & saw her & spoke to Pam & I afterwards outside the room. Incredibly, when asked what she was there for, Mum-Mum said “Is it my arm?” Suitably prompted she eventually remembered it was to make the agony in her leg (hip) go away. As the final stages of her preparation were underway they became concerned about the state of her legs, as any sort of “open wound” is a show-stopper. They eventually took her up to the surgeon for final review while we three chewed out fingernails wondering if the already long day was all for nothing. At last we got word that they would proceed; so with nothing else we could contribute we returned to the flat & tried to relax a bit, while watching sunshine change to snow.
At 6:00 PM Pam called the hospital and eventually found someone who knew and could tell us that it had been successful. Mum-Mum will spend about the next 24 hours in an approximation of intensive care before being moved to a regular room for a few more days.
Since the friend she had expected to meet this evening lived out in the country (with no road attention at all) the last snow squall caused a cancellation, so after a while Nick & John drove down to the front to the Fish ‘N Chip shop to get our dinner (even a few mushy peas for John) which we all enjoyed very much. With no plans or expectations for the evening this day’s report will be concluded.
All of us had a poor night, especially me, as I suspect I am in the throes of coming down with Nick’s cold. Nevertheless we were out of the flat before 9:30AM and over to the nursing home where they had prepared Mum-Mum for the day excellently. Mum-Mum had her last food and drink before 7:30.
At 10:00 AM the “handicapped accessible” taxi came & Mum-Mum was loaded in her wheelchair. John rode with her and P & N followed in the car. All went smoothly, but incredibly slowly. After a while she was admitted to her first, or preparatory room, where we killed time while little happened but periodic paperwork & the basic checks. Eventually, Nick & John went out for a walk to get some lunch, getting Pam a sandwich on the way back.
The doctor, an absolute delight of a man, came & saw her & spoke to Pam & I afterwards outside the room. Incredibly, when asked what she was there for, Mum-Mum said “Is it my arm?” Suitably prompted she eventually remembered it was to make the agony in her leg (hip) go away. As the final stages of her preparation were underway they became concerned about the state of her legs, as any sort of “open wound” is a show-stopper. They eventually took her up to the surgeon for final review while we three chewed out fingernails wondering if the already long day was all for nothing. At last we got word that they would proceed; so with nothing else we could contribute we returned to the flat & tried to relax a bit, while watching sunshine change to snow.
At 6:00 PM Pam called the hospital and eventually found someone who knew and could tell us that it had been successful. Mum-Mum will spend about the next 24 hours in an approximation of intensive care before being moved to a regular room for a few more days.
Since the friend she had expected to meet this evening lived out in the country (with no road attention at all) the last snow squall caused a cancellation, so after a while Nick & John drove down to the front to the Fish ‘N Chip shop to get our dinner (even a few mushy peas for John) which we all enjoyed very much. With no plans or expectations for the evening this day’s report will be concluded.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
U.K. Duty Visit - Day 4
We got off to a fairly slow, gentle start as both P & N had passed poor nights & John was in no hurry for anything, playing with his PC & drinking coffee. We were all surprised, after seeing snow settle last night, to see dry roads and not a sign of snow. In due course Nick went off with a friend (who was buying a house) to offer an unofficial review service of the type for which he used to charge a fee. It took most of the morning.
Meanwhile, John & Pam took on the first bookcase. P & N will eventually ship a container to Australia that could include a number of books (mostly very old “Book of the Month” reprints) in which Pete had expressed an interest. John picked out a couple of books, and Pam a few more to which we had a connection & most of the rest are now marked for disposal.
The bottom section was full of photos & the rest of the morning was spent in sorting into piles, one for scanning, two for each of us only, and a lot of obvious duplicates many of which Pam will add to the container stack with a view to a long-term project of making up albums for her children of their childhood.
As lunchtime approached Pam realized she was developing a migraine, took a pill & went to lie down. John & Nick made themselves some lunch & then relaxed, read and fiddled around. We eventually went off to the Nursing Home to see Mum-Mum, and John entertained her with lots of photos while Pam lay on the bed quietly listening. We decided to leave the “packing” for the hospital until tomorrow morning.
The day was chilly, and sufficiently windy to discourage outdoor walking, but from noon on there actually were spells of bright sunshine in between the clouds.
Meanwhile, John & Pam took on the first bookcase. P & N will eventually ship a container to Australia that could include a number of books (mostly very old “Book of the Month” reprints) in which Pete had expressed an interest. John picked out a couple of books, and Pam a few more to which we had a connection & most of the rest are now marked for disposal.
The bottom section was full of photos & the rest of the morning was spent in sorting into piles, one for scanning, two for each of us only, and a lot of obvious duplicates many of which Pam will add to the container stack with a view to a long-term project of making up albums for her children of their childhood.
As lunchtime approached Pam realized she was developing a migraine, took a pill & went to lie down. John & Nick made themselves some lunch & then relaxed, read and fiddled around. We eventually went off to the Nursing Home to see Mum-Mum, and John entertained her with lots of photos while Pam lay on the bed quietly listening. We decided to leave the “packing” for the hospital until tomorrow morning.
The day was chilly, and sufficiently windy to discourage outdoor walking, but from noon on there actually were spells of bright sunshine in between the clouds.
Monday, February 8, 2010
U.K. Duty Visit - Day 3
Major hiccup!!!! None of John’s credit cards can be used in the UK since the UK now ONLY accepts cards with a chip & associated PIN number! This was discovered while trying to buy some extra Vodafone Internet access time & did cause a heart palpitation or two. However, enough UK cash had been brought to cover that, and shortly thereafter it was proven that my new ATM card, with pin, does work, allowing cash to be drawn. Later it was decided that John will use Mum-Mum’s cards & pin for the duration & let Katy sort it all out later, to which she has agreed. However, note should be taken of this insular UK aberration.
Talking of Vodafone, after two tedious phone calls & a little computer time Nick was able to get the “18-year old” restriction lifted & we have now been able to see both Marissa’s and M & D’s new Flickr photos.
We did some assorted shopping in the Arndale Center, and again mutually agreed about how much we would hate to live in Eastbourne ever again! Since much of the day was gray, frequently rainy (until mid-afternoon when it turned to snow) there was no exercise walking. Nick went off to lunch with his old Rotary organization, Pam & John heated up Indian Food from Sainsbury’s, and began the early discussions, mostly around pictures & photos, of who does or doesn’t want what. P & N have installed a printer/scanner in the flat, so all desired pictures will be scanned to ensure we all have everything we want.
Later in the afternoon we popped down to the Meads (in the car) & picked up a couple of things we forgot in the morning before heading on to Mum-Mum. When we got there it was to find Jacqueline, Molly’s daughter, visiting with a friend in tow. We all chatted a while, with me wondering why Jacqueline seemed familiar but unplaceable. Luckily they stopped en route out to talk to Nick, who is avoiding Mum-Mum because he has a cold & doesn’t want her to catch it before the operation, & after a tip from Pam John was able to mend fences with Jacqueline (who looks amazingly like her mother although I don’t think we have met for 50 years).
She and her friend were replaced by Sharon, who used to clean, shop, and do odd-jobs for Mum-Mum, and still visits and after she left John fired up his PC & showed some photos until Mum-Mum showed signs of tiredness. We then left, drove through the snow, which is now settling a little bit & headed home for an evening of R & R. Katy called and we all had a chat with her.
Talking of Vodafone, after two tedious phone calls & a little computer time Nick was able to get the “18-year old” restriction lifted & we have now been able to see both Marissa’s and M & D’s new Flickr photos.
We did some assorted shopping in the Arndale Center, and again mutually agreed about how much we would hate to live in Eastbourne ever again! Since much of the day was gray, frequently rainy (until mid-afternoon when it turned to snow) there was no exercise walking. Nick went off to lunch with his old Rotary organization, Pam & John heated up Indian Food from Sainsbury’s, and began the early discussions, mostly around pictures & photos, of who does or doesn’t want what. P & N have installed a printer/scanner in the flat, so all desired pictures will be scanned to ensure we all have everything we want.
Later in the afternoon we popped down to the Meads (in the car) & picked up a couple of things we forgot in the morning before heading on to Mum-Mum. When we got there it was to find Jacqueline, Molly’s daughter, visiting with a friend in tow. We all chatted a while, with me wondering why Jacqueline seemed familiar but unplaceable. Luckily they stopped en route out to talk to Nick, who is avoiding Mum-Mum because he has a cold & doesn’t want her to catch it before the operation, & after a tip from Pam John was able to mend fences with Jacqueline (who looks amazingly like her mother although I don’t think we have met for 50 years).
She and her friend were replaced by Sharon, who used to clean, shop, and do odd-jobs for Mum-Mum, and still visits and after she left John fired up his PC & showed some photos until Mum-Mum showed signs of tiredness. We then left, drove through the snow, which is now settling a little bit & headed home for an evening of R & R. Katy called and we all had a chat with her.
U.K. Duty Visit - Day 2
Having been picked up at the airport we sailed along back to Eastbourne, with little traffic problems as it was still early on a Sunday. The day was largely dull, but had a few bright moments. I felt like I was surviving on half a brain pretty much all day and despite falling into a number of brief cat-naps I managed to survive the whole day without falling into a major sleep at an inappropriate time. On that subject I did go to bed fairly early and proceeded to sleep about 10 hours straight!
After settling in and relaxing for a while we drove down to the front and took a nice brisk walk which did all of us good. From there we headed to the nursing home where Pam & I visited with Mum-mum while Nick either did errands or read a paper in the lounge area. Mum-mum was obviously happy to see us, although sustained conversation was difficult but mutually doing a crossword helped. We had coffee together and eventually made our escape as lunchtime approached.
Pam had previously prepared a stew which she heated while vegetables cooked and we had a nice late lunch. The rest of the day was just talking, reading, playing with PCs and watching TV. The Vodafone thing works, once set-up, on John's PC (allowing Internet & hence this blog) but we can not access Flickr until we somehow manage to convince Vodafone that we are "over 18 years old!!!!") We'll try and do that Monday.
After settling in and relaxing for a while we drove down to the front and took a nice brisk walk which did all of us good. From there we headed to the nursing home where Pam & I visited with Mum-mum while Nick either did errands or read a paper in the lounge area. Mum-mum was obviously happy to see us, although sustained conversation was difficult but mutually doing a crossword helped. We had coffee together and eventually made our escape as lunchtime approached.
Pam had previously prepared a stew which she heated while vegetables cooked and we had a nice late lunch. The rest of the day was just talking, reading, playing with PCs and watching TV. The Vodafone thing works, once set-up, on John's PC (allowing Internet & hence this blog) but we can not access Flickr until we somehow manage to convince Vodafone that we are "over 18 years old!!!!") We'll try and do that Monday.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
UK Trip 2010 - Start
There is snow on the ground, but none coming down. The accumulation appears to be far less than was threatened by the weather doomsayers so at this point, two hours before departure, a certain amount of optimism prevails. Packing is virtually done, all but the really last minute stuff so I appear to be good to go.
Well, I've never blogged from above 10,000 feet before, even though it costs me a little, but I thought I'd try! Michelle came over promptly at 9:00AM, as planned, but rather than hand about we hurry-scurried to get the bags in the car, do a last minute check & head for the airport. It was good we had an extra half-hour, as we needed it. Michelle did an excellent job and I was glad to be a FWD vehicle as it was definitely slick. We must have seen 10-15 cars off the road, and 5-10 semis (possibly more of both) some alone & others getting help and adding to the traffic confusion. However, with all due caution we reached the airport & short-term garage parking.
I was glad Michelle came in with me and showed me the ropes as humans won't think about helping until you have tried the machines & inserted a credit card. Although my inyternational segment is supposed to be 2 bags at no charge, and even though I checked them straight through to Gatwick I was still gonged $50. My "listed" ticket price was $700+ but so far I must be over the $1000 mark, and I'm wondering what the grand total will be by the time I get back home.
Once we had done our thing at the machine, which didn't want to scan my passport the first few times but eventually did the Delta girl was quite happy to tag my bags & take them & so we headed into the staging area. We both had a Starbucks & sat and chatted for a while. Michelle was not in a hurry as I-65 southbound was clearly in more congestion, stalled traffic, trouble than nortbpound had been & needed to clear.
Well, I've never blogged from above 10,000 feet before, even though it costs me a little, but I thought I'd try! Michelle came over promptly at 9:00AM, as planned, but rather than hand about we hurry-scurried to get the bags in the car, do a last minute check & head for the airport. It was good we had an extra half-hour, as we needed it. Michelle did an excellent job and I was glad to be a FWD vehicle as it was definitely slick. We must have seen 10-15 cars off the road, and 5-10 semis (possibly more of both) some alone & others getting help and adding to the traffic confusion. However, with all due caution we reached the airport & short-term garage parking.
I was glad Michelle came in with me and showed me the ropes as humans won't think about helping until you have tried the machines & inserted a credit card. Although my inyternational segment is supposed to be 2 bags at no charge, and even though I checked them straight through to Gatwick I was still gonged $50. My "listed" ticket price was $700+ but so far I must be over the $1000 mark, and I'm wondering what the grand total will be by the time I get back home.
Once we had done our thing at the machine, which didn't want to scan my passport the first few times but eventually did the Delta girl was quite happy to tag my bags & take them & so we headed into the staging area. We both had a Starbucks & sat and chatted for a while. Michelle was not in a hurry as I-65 southbound was clearly in more congestion, stalled traffic, trouble than nortbpound had been & needed to clear.
After we had drunk our lattes Michelle gave me a lesson in simplifying passage through security & coached me into what to put where. After we had said our goodbyes her teaching paid dividends and passage through Security was as painless as might be expected, mildly tedious, annoying, but better safe than sorry, and it was the only time necessary this trip. After finding the gate and waiting a while, we duly boarded.
I discovered two things. One is that Kindles fall in the “if it has batteries and an on-off switch” category and is supposed to be off between gate departure (or arrival) and below 10,000 feet, which is annoying as long as these activities can take. Secondly I discovered one can buy “Internet time” & use it above 10,000 feet, so for the sheer novelty I did so. Assuming that this applied to all Delta planes I bought 24 hours rather than “one flight” but it appears that the facility only applies to domestic flights – ah, well, one lives & learns!
Once in Atlanta I did some walking and some electric train riding & found my way to the Gatwick gate with hours to spare, so I played with both Kindle & PC but (wrongly as it turned out) didn’t do any Internet stuff, thinking it would help pass the time in the air over the Atlantic. It eventually dawned on me that it would be a long time until I ate on the plane so I went looking & found, combined with a Nathan’s an Arthur Treachers Fish & Chips (having thought that the whole chain went out of business years ago). Not sure what kind of triangular fish they catch on this side of the Atlantic, but it was quite tasty, the chips (fat fries) were excellent and they did have malt vinegar.
On went the tedium, back at the gate. Watched our plane hauled in, empty, & stocked up & prepped. Read my Kindle some more & otherwise followed the tedious routines of modern air travel. It turns out a late comer is occupying the far side aisle seat of my expected-to-be-empty row, so I won’t get a 3-seat stretch-out after all.
The first part of the flight was strictly routine, a classic “been there, done that”. I did not get a diabetic meal, which didn’t surprise me, but the food was bearable. Unfortunately during the middle of the “night” part of the flight, while most, including me were trying to get a semblance of sleep we moved into turbulence and despite trying all kinds of altitude variations they could not find us smooth air. Breakfast was nearly cancelled, no beverages were served although at the last minute they did pass out the pre-packed snack with included a small sealed orange juice.
Everything went well at Gatwick, I decided to come in as an American, so that on leaving it will be obvious where I had come from. Baggage claim was not as slow as sometimes, nothing to declare in customs & out to see Pam & Nick who had been waiting for every bit of two minutes.
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