Our grand day out.

Mum woke very very confused this morning. She seems to think she may have lost something but not at all sure what it is or where she lost it or even when she last had it. Seem to be getting a few mornings like this now, Sarah suggested maybe its some confusion with dreams? Maybe just another symptom of the dementia manifesting itself? As it was though a hearty breakfast managed to allay some of the confusion and she was soon back to her "normal" self.

A day out then. We decide to vist the spectacular Elizabethan pile of Kirby Hall near Corby, an English Heritage site that we used to visit as children when it  had stood as a ruin for many years, Now looking splendid as the work to preserve the integrity of the building continues. When at its prime it had one of the most splendid gardens in England, part of which has been recreated to some extent to give an idea of the scale of things.

The majority of the Hall was built by Sir Humphrey Stafford hoping to recieve Elizabeth 1 on her annual progress around the country, something that sadly never happened. She would probably have loved the house but was worried about being too close to Corby, and the chance her carriage may have been nicked

Mum chatting with the nice man on the audio tour.

Very interesting day out, the free audio tour is well put together and informative and it gave mum someone to talk to on the way round!

Back home for tea just before the skies opened.

No mention all day about the missing thing so just have to see what happens in the morning. 

Heres the rest of the pics from today, would thoroughly recomend a visit.

Amazing bays

Those bays again

Amazing Elizabethan symmetry in the house and garden

Doors

Mum and Sarah in one of the bays(did I mention I was quite enamoured with the windows)

Mum talkng to a hippy

Amazing cantilevered staircase

Some Bird I was talking to

The eyes have it

Oops.

Cant believe its been a whole week since I last posted anything.... Somehow manage to get a few people willing to read this then get lazy....

Strange old day Monday. Mum busy with her deforestation plans so I popped out for an hour or two. On my return I find mum very distressed with one very red eye. With my limited first aid training inspect the eye but see nothing so its off to Kettering A&E.

Kettering, for those of you from distant parts, is not an action usually carried out behind closed doors but a town in Northamptonshire with a population of around 50000. If the menagerie that greeted us in A&E on a monday night was representative of its population then God help us all.

Queue for 20 minutes to be met by a semi tame gorilla in a bulletproof glass enclosure very cleverly designed to transfer no sound at all in either direction. Manage to convey mums details and symptoms through the medium of modern dance and get directed to "sitoverthereandwait".

Another aeon passes and we are summoned by the triage nurse and things look up for at least one minute. She is wonderful, apologises for the delays, gives mum some drops to kill the pain and says we should be seen with in an hour.

Or two.

Or three


Manage to squeeze mum and me into a couple of seats between several pregnant behemoths and a horde of dribbling toothless extras from the film "Deliverance II, you gonna get a good kettering." Within seconds I am engaged in conversation by a greasy hermaphrodite wearing a three wolf moon shirt who very kindly and vociferously explains the virtues of having so many offspring . Oh joy....

Luckily the drops administered have kicked in so at least mum is no pain. We sit and we wait

and we wait

and we wait

Three hours later  we are ushered into the "eye room"  and we are informed  "the doctor will be with you soon" so we sit in the new room and look around and we wait

and we wait

Particulary struck by how dirty the room is and how many times staff casually stroll in and out seemingly at random....

and we wait

Doc arrives he`s absolutely brilliant. God knows how young he is, I`m pretty sure I have socks older than him. He`s very very good with mum, no idea how he manages to look so happy.  More drops, a good poking round and the offending article is removed. Eye patch fitted  its back out to brave the zombie lobby. Mum feels the need  to do a little dance and point at people but we manage to escape unscathed. Finally back to the car and home.

Might have to rethink how long I can leave mum on her own?

A dogs tail part 2

If you haven't read part one you may want to have a quick look here .

Good news Folks.

After a week or two on strong painkillers and anti informatories we noticed Snapper starting to stand a little as she ate and drank. She was also managing to walk small distances with a strap under her belly to offer a little support.

Back to the vet. Very happy with her progress, stop taking the tablets and see how she goes. Every day seems to see a little improvement.

This is where we are up to at the moment, a short video shot this afternoon in the back garden.

What an improvement! As you can see there is still some lack of coordination in her legs but the strength is there. That is about as far as she can walk unaided but with her belly strap she can manage quite a bit more, and insists on going out every night now!

Theres no certainty that the same thing that caused this first time around will not happen again but till then she is happy as Larry, and if it does at least we have her wheels to fall back on and the knowledge that she is happy to use them.

Chilling to think back to option 2 suggested on the initial visit to the vet.

Well thats grand.

Just noticed I hit 1000 views at some point over the weekend.

Now even allowing for people coming back to read each post thats still quite a few people have been here for a look.

Or I have one very dedicated stalker.

So just to say thanks for your patronage heres a cake, please help yourselves to a slice.

Tomorrow have excellent news about the wheelie dog.(I believe thats what you may call a teaser.)

Now on to 2000. If nothing else seeing numbers like that spurs me on to write this drivel.

Fireworks cont..

Been sent a couple of pics of the motley crew at Belvoir Castle enjoying nibbles whilst listening to the riveting commentary. Strangely enough still no firework pictures !!

Fireworks

Last night at Belvoir castle for the fireworks championship, brilliant night.

Took this photo just after we had arrived and got settled, then totally forgot to take any of the fireworks so you will just have to trust me on their brilliance.

As we were leaving for Belvoir at 5pm sent mum upstairs at 3pm to put on "something warm and dry". Fourty minutes later she comes back down in capri pants, sandals and a t shirt. "I have a vest under the shirt"....

Back upstairs. Manage to persuade her to wear something sensible pack another fleece and waterproofs. I know its still summer but in the middle of a field near a lake in Lincolnshire it can get a little nippy and damp as you approach midnight.

Off we go, first call Sewstern to meet the rest of the gang then on to Belvoir. Queues for miles to get in but mum happy talking to the cows and admiring the trees.

As I said, an absolutely stunning show. Still impossible to watch fireworks without oohing and ahhing. Mum on her feet clapping and singing along to pomp and circumstance at one point, thoroughly enjoyable night, even failed to be spoiled by  the most boring commentator in the history of outdoor events and the hour long queue to get out of the carpark.

Hours drive home to the normal conversation of "where are we", "I dont know this place", "when will we be home", "who were those people" etc. 

All in all a great night for both of us, same again next year? Yes please.

A brief history Part 2

Dementia can manifest itself in many ways, memory loss, spatial awareness problems and so on. Mums main problem is language. She is now finding it harder and harder to put a sentence together. The words are in there, she can "see" what she wants to say but cannot put it into words. As mum is so well educated and enjoys the cut and thrust of a good discussion this can lead to a lot of frustration and even anger.

This is one reason dementia is such a cruel illness, the body is still so willing and able but the mind gradually wandering off in another direction, or several other directions, or even stopping where it is and stubbornly refusing to budge.

Sorry....had a lot to say but just cant seem to put it into words tonight. Ironic really.

Marathon man

Today I was subjected to a most uncomfortable half hour that happens every six months or so.

Mums dental appointment.

Watching someone descale the teeth of someone close is nearly enough to turn the most pacifistic of us into murdering psychopaths. Dentistry most certainly is not a spectator sport.

Mind you every cloud.....last year she needed a filling.

Gran-ticipation

Ken treating us to a curry tonight.


Mum looking lovely, hair by Sarah, outfit by quelque chose dans l'armoire and she now waits with great anticipation in the window.


Given up explaining he wont be here for another hour and a half !

Back to School

Lovely day today.

Took mum to Oxford to see Mary, an old university friend. Been a year or two since they have seen each other so will be interesting to speak to Mary and get some feedback on how she thinks mum is doing.

After lunch at Marys visited St Hughs where they were partners in crime all those years ago. Then a walk around Oxford to see some of the other colleges and sights from Morse. Beautiful city, but a lot of it "totally ruined" according to Mary who has lived there most of her life.

Good day for mum because Mary can talk! Think I have heard the entire life story of every one of their friends from their years at St Hughs, and mum really enjoyed looking through old photos and listening to Mary reminisce.

Came home to some of Jamies finest cooked by Sarah and a rather pleasant chilled Argentinian Chardonnay.


Nice when it goes like that .

The bitterest pill . . . continued

There....Nice picture of mum and moved stuff around. Think it looks any better?

Seem to be doing ok with the new tablet regime, as long as I can cope with being quizzed about them several times a day all is well.

"What about my tablets?"

"You had them this morning"

Wait a while, back to line one and repeat ad infinitum.

Off to Oxford in the morning taking mum to see an old university friend. Havent seen each other in ages so mum`s very excited, up and down stairs with various outfits, shoes, hats etc. I haven`t met Mary before but apparently she`s a bit of a character so should be a good day.

Heavy rain here so garden has heaved a huge sigh of relief at being spared the secateurs for a day but sure the onslaught will continue at the weekend!

Its a gas

Just checking emails.....

16.26 British Gas Thank you for submitting your meter reading online

16.54 Reminder from British Gas...Please submit your meter reading.

could be busy if I really  have to submit a reading every 20 minutes.

The bitterest pill

We need  a change in the medication regime.

Up till now I have given mum 7 days of her tablets on a Sunday in a dispenser marked with the days of the week, and she has managed to take them ok.

Recently she seems to be struggling more and more with what day it is. Even the printed calendar and the calendar clock that displays the day don't seem to help. Theres a lot of confusion about (amongst other things)  where she is up to with the tablets. I have decided to dole out the pills on a daily basis, just to be on the safe side.

 Hope I remember.

 Maybe I need another column or row on my calendar as a reminder.