Inchcock: Friday 11th November 2022

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04:30hrs: I can’t tell you I woke up cause I never got to sleep! Because I had   For all night long! I was forever getting up to stretch the calves, massage them and dollop on and rub in the Phorpain Gel. MedPhorpain
And take painkillers. I meandered into the kitchen to get the kettle on for a mug of Glengettie tea. I took these photos from the window; in two different settings, and the second came out much better than the first one did. But can I remember which settings?
Made a brew of the Glengettie, left the bag to marinate well, and I sorted out the waste bin bags. Had a wee-wee and cleaned and disinfected the NWWB (Nocturnal-Wee-Wee-Bucket)
To the computer with the tasty strong mug of black tea and photographed the calves; they were coming down, the carves were easing off now. As long as I do not spend too much time inactive, I hope they will stop twisting my legs. I can’t understand why they played up so much last night and just didn’t stop for about nine hours? However, they seem to have had a calming effect on the able ulcer; I could hardly see it this morning. Hey-Ho!
Finished the tea… ah, now that might be a possible reason for the bad Cramps. I’d run out of Glengettie teabags and not had any for a day or two until they were delivered yesterday. And had drunk a number of mugs last night? But I’ve never heard of that before? I’ll look it up later.

I’ll get the Health Checks done. hopefully, the results will again be in the Amber Zone? We shall soon find out…

Back up again!

Still, it’s better than Wednesdays!

I set to getting the Thursday post done, and after half an hour, I could feel the cramps building up in the calves again. So, I had a walk around and did some stretching exercises, which seemed to work for me.
Which reminded me to have a look on the web for tea and cramps. Back in a while…

Carbonated drinks, caffeine, and aerated drinks should also be avoided during menstrual days because they have high levels of sugar in them, which can cause inflammation and make the cramps more severe.

No mention of tea there, then?
I started reading another page, and it said: 13 more ways to stop period cramps. I moved on…
I altered my queries to “What to drink when legs are cramping?”
Black tea is safe to drink. When he switched to plain black tea, the symptoms disappeared within a week. The scientist who reported this case pointed out that the flavouring in Earl Grey tea is bergamot oil, which can block the movement of potassium in muscles. This can lead to muscle cramps and twitches.
Well, Glengettie is black tea. So that should be safe, then.

  Came in. She looked very tired, but I bored her with tales of my past Whoopsiedangleplops, which brought some smiles. She got the medications handed out.  A can of the new Carer’s treat I got from Asda. Rum & Cola, with strawberry. And a choccy bar in thanks. Took the waste bag with her as she departed! I thank you!

I was making another brew of Glengettie, and Esther came in.
she called int ogive me the change from the overpayment.

I’m going to get the ablutions done now… then get something to eat, and try to get caught up with some sleep… Pleeease! Sweet Morpheus!

I got sidetracked when I saw the wonderful evening sky from the kitchen window and decided they would be worth photographicalisationing.
The hue was so different. Bootiful!

I stripped and put the clobber in the laundry basket, well, bag.

I got into the bathroom, and the ablutioning went well, other than two things.

❶ I managed to get several nicks shaving, and they were a devil to stop bleeding. (Possible Warfarin INR level low?)
❷ After it all was washed and medicated and dried... I did feel like l a fool… I came out and put trousers and day-wear on to go to sleep in!. So I had to changed back into the jammies! Tsk!

🍽️ I got the meal sorted out.
That veggie minced beef & onion pie was gorgeous tasting! Brilliant vegan pastry.
Potatoes, tomatoes, and a pot of the soya lemon yoghourt. My regulation issue of BBQ sauce added, of course.
A well-worthy 8.2/10 for Taste-Rating.
As I got into the aged, grotty-looking c1966 made, charity-shop-bought, horribly beige-coloured, £300, Harold’s Haemorrhoid-testing, non-operational, acne-giving, virus-breeding, rickety, easy-to-fall-out-of recliner, I think I felt the start of a visit from ! I offered a prayer to anyone or thing interested, not to have another agony-ridden sleepless night.
Then thought it wise, to massage the legs.
Dolloped some Phorpain gel and rubbed it in well, and I took two paracetamol. Got back down again.
I’ve no idea if it really helped, but by Jimminee – once I got to sleep, I had the longest unbroken kip I’ve managed for years! (This should not be surprising, I suppose, considering last night’s total absence of sleep?) Damned nearly 8 hours before I woke up!
Sleep at last! Grrreat!.

Inchcock: Wednesday 9th November, 2022

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00:15hrs: I woke up with a little jerk and waited for the brain to catch me up. I was feeling surprisingly calm, considering the upcoming ‘bound-to-be-a-farce’ prepping for the hospital visit, then the mysteriously unknown what for; by both the hospital reception, Deana, Carer Richard, Carer Shannon, Carer Jodie, appointments themselves.

Made a brew of Thompson’s Punjana tea. Updated the Tuesday blog. It took longer than I expected cause I had the evening photos taken to tweak and add.

PREPARED THINGS I NEEDED TO TAKE WITH ME: To the hospital. I’ll have to remember to put the hearing aids in later. Got the paperwork in a plastic folder. Put that with the four spectacles needed. List of medications and doses. I can’t remember the others now, but I’m not going to take them out of the carrier again for fear of losing or forgetting to take them.


Got the clothes needed to change into. Socks, shirt, trews, and a long-sleeved thick shirt.
Into the wet room.
No messing, I got the teggies done, bleeding gums, and started Toothache Tiffany of again.
A few more than usual cause I was rushing, I suppose. I thought to myself, a 2-hour ETA means I’ll be sitting waiting and afraid to do anything cause I’ve got to respond straight away; they tell me when the lift arrives.
Possibly the same reason for the dropsies in the shower? Showerhead, gel bottle (3), flannel, loofah (2) and knocked the scum-cleaner bottle over. What was it doing in there? Well… I’ve no idea?
Drying off under the wall heater (Blimey, it was cold this morning!), I dropped the towel twice. The second time I tried to catch it… well, I did, actually. But I knocked endless items off of the floor cabinets in the process… The olive oil dropper, Eye drops, Germoloid ointment and
Daktacort cream. The oil dropper (it had to be the hardest thing!) landed right on my right foot’s Onychovryptosis (Ingrowing toenail)!
Having medicated and refreshed myself, I started to dress by putting on the Protection-Pants… Felt a twinge of pain from the bum and investigated… I fear it’s another boil or furuncle coming on.
I avoided using Sock-Glide-Glenda by leaning back into a corner of the room and managed to get both socks on.
But copped for a Right leg Neuropathic Schuhplattler dance as I was just about to get both feet on the ground! Hence, I now have a bruise on my right knee and another one on the elbow.
Then I got to do the .

How disappointing, down-heartening and annoying!

I was rather hoping to make it a hat-trick of good numbers…

I was making a mug of Glengettie and spotted the high, very small moon. Surrounded by beautiful blue skies.

Then I proceeded in a northerly direction and zoomed in on the planet. With hopes of getting some detail of the surface showing.

I don’t know why I bother!

I suppose there is a chance that the eyes are not picking out the finer points. No!

I decided suddenly (I do that sometimes, you know), To go downstairs and wait in the front lobby for the lift to the hospital. Did some checks first.

I left down at 0713hrs.

Tenant Chrissie was in the lobby, waiting for her taxi to arrive. We had a most enjoyable chinwag ad nattering session between us.

I got the crossword book out and had a go at it.
But it was a futile effort. As I read a clue, the whole page of them would blend together and look almost like running water! I gave up.

The marks that I could see on the windows while looking out for the lift arriving, for some reason, annoyed me?

At 0858hrs, I spotted the lift arriving. And thus began a long, late arrival for my appointment at the Queens Medical Centre and the EENT department.
The two drivers had three other patients in the ambulance and picked up two more en route.
The traffic was bad. When we arrived, they dropped me off first, and the driver put me in a wheelchair, and they both came in with me to ascertain I got to the right place.
This is how it went: We got to the EENT main reception and showed them the paperwork. The female told me. they had to go up to the third floor – which we did.
On the third floor, the paperwork came out again, and we were told we needed the fourth floor.
I recognised the fourth-floor area; that’s where I went on my last visit. The paperwork came out again, and we were told to go back down to the first floor again! So, we did!
A different receptionist checked the paperwork this time. And they took me through to another clinic to await being called into an assessment room.
within minutes, a young nurse came for me.
Asked why I was in a wheelchair. Can’t you manage with the trolley guide you’ve got? ‘Yes, I replied’ We went into a room to have a longish question and answer session. She checked the spectacle paperwork and began to tell me what was going to happen when they called me back.
She spoke so quickly, that I missed a lot of what she was saying. But didn’t worry too much, as she gave me paperwork and leaflets to give before coming in. 42 pages of them! See lower down on this page!  I then departed to the reception desk and was told where to wait for my lift.
Five hours later, the lift arrived! Another run around, too.
A patient and Carer were already in the ambulance.
The driver cleverly got us to the Treatment Centre to collect another patient.
It didn’t take him long to fetch him. Then in the heavy traffic again, the chap made his way to Basford to drop off the second patient gathered.
Then on to Carrington, to a nursing home to drop off the other patient and carer. And have a laugh and chinwag with the crowd of Carer females who came out to see him. Must admit, he was rather good-looking. Hehe!
Then, back to Sherwood to drop me off.

I thanked him and got the kettle on, sharpish. While it was boiling, I took a quick look at the paperwork I’d got to digest for the operation…

This is going to take some absorbing, methinks!

I got on with updating this blog. And was doing pretty with it. Then, the computer would not let me type or use the keyboard on anything?
I believed I’d just hit a series of wrong keys in my rushing to get the job done. But I know not what I’d actually done wrong. I turned off the computer and rebooted it… Argh! A dreaded Blue Screen came on! lt told me what keys to press for help and to Start… but pressing them made no difference.
I was incapable of sorting out anything. I was in a proper state, mentally, and felt this was the end of my beloved blogging days!
I was desperate, and I went to ask my neighbour Malcolm if he could help.
He came to take a look, uncertain if he could help.
Within minutes, he’s found the problem. The batteries in the keyboard had died a death! Malcolm fitted the new batteries and booted the computer up!
I was so relieved I could have kissed him – but didn’t, of course. Bless him; saved the day again!

I’d spent so long trying to sort it out; the blogging wasn’t caught up with me after all. and
Another late night in the offing. !

Came in and got the medications sorted out for me. I insisted on some treat-selecting being done! Bless her! Listened to my tale of the day’s farcicalnesses.

Went to get the nosh sorted out.
I got the mock pork in the oven cooking slowly on low heat. I forgot to add the olive oil spray tonight. That was not an amazing statement, considering the day I’d had. Took this photo of the evening skyline and had a look again at the leaflets, booklets and A4 pages of advice and instruction on the cataract pre and post-procedures.
My brain froze and refused to let me understand what I was looking at, had just read, or why I was bothering. Considering it was mostly fuliginous-flapdoodle and mostly incomprehensible to my affected brain. I gave up!

Checked the oven and got the TV on to watch what was left of the Heartbeat episode on channel ten.

I woke up and got the nosh served up.
I think the messy long day had affected me more than I thought – I was close to falling asleep several times while eating this meal. Tsk!
Ended up with terrible toothache before I’d finished eating it. Had to leave some of the shoulder and chips; too hard.

Washed the pots, washed and changed into jammies, into the recliner and commenced the usual routine of nodding off, springing awake, nodding off, nodding off, springing awake, nodding…