– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – If I say that today was an odd day, this would be an understatement, a mild euphemism, and an undeniable matter-of-fact. Morning Carer Selina arrived. She medicated me and put on the socks, and after the gal had gone, I’d lost the plot with what I was going to type. Sad, innit?
The day continued in this mould. There were a few Out-of-it moments. Either I fell asleep, had mind blanks, or had a few Non-Epilectic Seizures. Take your pick; it could be any one of them. Or perhaps a mixture. Occasionally, when I returned to imitation life, I found I’d been working on something on the computer while mentally AWOL, with no memory of doing so! On other occasions, I’d done nothing whatsoever as far as I could ascertain. Also, before Selina departed, she took photos of the wee-wee I released into the jug…
The fluffy bits of whatever were back again! But the nurse last month wasn’t worried. I’m sure it will be alright. Likely, it was bits of my prostate coming out. Cause when the Specialist Doctor put me on the Finasteride tablets for a month.
Hoping they will reduce the size of my prostate to let me manually wee again. So the month’s course is now a year-long one, and still, they ply me with more Prostate (RIP)-killing capsules?
A touch of overkill here, methinks. This is what makes me believe it’s the residue of my prostate floating in the jug of released urine? I don’t know, really. You never know; the Finasteride may have already done for the prostate and has now moved on to another organ to murder? Hehe!Haha!
I hope it doesn’t have a go at a larger organ; that would be pure agony to try and get whatever it was through Little Inchy and the Catheter’s narrow tube. (Inchy laughs weakly) With Confusion reigning again within my poor brain.
Concentration was as bad as it’s been for months today.
I’ll have to rush now; it’s Monday (10:15hrs), and as usual, I’m miles behind with the blog. I’ll have to comment quickly on the photos if I can recall the moment I took them. I’m so frustrated! And this morning (Mon), when I did the ablutions, I turned on the fan heater, and the room was filled with Acne and Eczema bits blown from all over my chubby, belly-dominated body. I don’t know why I told you that?
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
A better colour this morning.
The sun was creeping up from the rear left of the blocks of prison cells—no, no, flats! It gave this shot a specific flavour, but I forgot what word I was going to use.
It’s safe to say that the oven burn scar will soon start to crumble off of the hand. It’s not easy taking photos with one hand.
Out came the new cordless hoover with its headlights on when in use. I think I’ll name it Vacuum Victor.
Had a good long session on the crossword before I could encourage Conrad to free it.
I caught my hand on the rack as I grabbed the toilet roll, and bits of a green-looking scar dropped off. It has taken eleven days to heal. I’d better not pick at it, though.
Afternoon and evening sky snaps. Pareidolia’s Delight. Faces, bird heads, a human head… A taser, a beast with an open jaw, and a bird with an open beak—it’s incredible how many things I spotted today. This is the last of the sky shots I took. I took some later ones without the SD card being inserted into Kodak Tim. Tsk! It could happen to anyone, (he says).
16:20hrs: Carer Ali arrived as I sat down to have the meal. The feasting was resumed after he’d gone. Baked beans with BBQ seasoning were added to some tomatoes and veggie sauce, mini vegan sausages, and chips, and I had such a hard time getting grime off the oven tray. I tried cleaning it, but I gave up and threw it away! Hence, the chips were mangled, but I still enjoyed them, even if they had cooled too much. The pot of jelly was of a sour-type one. Nice & Tangy! I put the TV on until Carer Richard arrived. He suffered from leg problems and was in pain, so there was no laughter tonight; bless his cotton socks. Gave him a cold drinkie, and he soon had me sorted. Diabetic socks removed.
Even I had to laugh at the mess I got myself into getting into the hospital bed tonight. Farcical? Yes? But at the time, it was also humorous. I’d done the safety checks on the taps cooker, etc., and pulled the curtains back to get as much light in the room as possible; this was to try to avoid needing to use the torch. Turned off the lights and edged my way in the semi-darkness, along the bed, towards the operating thingy… I trod on a power socket extension that slightly made me jump. I knocked the overbed mini-table over, followed it onto the floor, and tripped again over the walking stick that had been knocked over as well. I wish this was being recorded in something other than my memory! It was worthy of being a Brian Rix-type Farce! As I struggled with my painful knees, which took me ages and started to foolishly, unthinkingly pull myself up using the bed as a grip… What a Plonker! Of course, the loose quilt on the bed assured my falling back down onto the floor and my bum again! I did feel like a silly old fool! and started bleeding, I was back to square one, on the floor in agony! I somehow walked on my knees to the recliner to get myself upright again. The grief from Cartilages Chloe and Carole was so bad that when I did manage to haul up my elephantine-stomached body onto my feet again, I took a Codeine, creamed the Fungal Lesion and Harold’s Haemorrhoids, and Phorpain-Gelled both knees and Back-Pain-Brenda! I rose upright to make my way to the bed again… No, there’s more to come yet!
I fought my way carefully and cautiously into the hospital bed, using the torch this time. Within seconds of finding a comfortable position, the need for me to use the Porcelain Throne arose! I was extra heedful and got to the wet room without further hindrances. The flow started as my bottom hit the plastic lid. It came and came… and came! It was a Kharki, almost liquid type of evacuation. You know, the kind that leaves an uncomfortable sensation in your innards… well, my innards!
The cleaning up afterwards took a long time. I had to clean and medicate again.
Then, a high alert mode was adopted for the trip back to the long overdue, belated sleeping on the bed. Amazingly, all went well with the return trip! I had a few hiccups getting into the bed, but they are not worth mentioning. I think I drifted off into the land of Sweet Morpheus Post-Haste. I woke up after a decent amount of time with a vivid memory of the farce in my mind. So, So, I scribbled down some notes to use here.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – My concentration is degenerating into tabefaction. I was chatting away with Carer Joanne while she got the medications sorted, and I lost what I was talking about in a flash – twice! Then, later, as I was paying a visit to the , nothing moved, no motion, was in full control – absolute control. I sat and waited, counting the cracks in the ceiling (23), had a bash at the crossword puzzle (Got one answer), and as I gave up and stood up, I knocked the olive oil bottle, and it fell straight into the WC! Yes, I think I may have sworn… but not as much as I did two minutes later. Using the picker-upperer to get the Protection Pants back up, I tore them at the seam. I got a fresh pair out of the bag and started to carefully get them on, not easy as it took place mid-way through the procedure. But, no falls, no injuries, no harm. I got the pants in position and sorted the leg bag into position, and I seem to remember thinking to myself, at the time, ‘Well, that went well. ‘Fatal!’ I should have known better with my luck! I turned to leave, and I walked into the bloody doorframe again! Hitting it right where I’d had the Covid jab inserted! I cursed so angrily at myself; there was phlegm coming out of my mouth, and the pain seemed a second consideration; my first one was to curse my luck… several times and with a wide variety of self-vituperation & condemnation-led foul mutterings. Acrimoniousness, blasphemy & self- malignity! I was so angry at myself that I felt guilty and foolish a minute or so later – what if someone had heard me? Oh, dearie me!
No wonder I want someone to adopt me as a grandad!
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – A smidge darker this jolly morning.
A jolly mug of Glengettie for me. I pathetically knocked it over in a Shaking Shaun second; Humph! Made another.
Morning’s first photo.
The scab is breaking up slowly. I think some will be missing by tomorrow morning. I mustn’t pick at it!
As wot I wrote in the prologue. Fresh leg bag on after ablutioning.
Second external photo.
I’ve been blogging with more mistakes than I could count for three more hours to put things right that I got wrong, I hope! Carer Shaquille, then Carer Joanne.
Emptying the Catheter Day Bag. I swear it was bubbling. Hehe!
Third window shot, beautiful clouds.
AGAIN!
Later on, clouds again. Plenty of things in these, I see, A duck, fish and a bee, And a sun so shiny!
Tore the PPs. As already mentioned above.
Carer Victor. Did his BP, good result. SYS 110 – DIA 73 -Pulse 93 – TEMP 34.3°c.
More figures in this wonderful photo of the clouds from the kitchenette window.
I got it! But it took me far more than 3 seconds!
It’s late now, very late. I better save the blog, switch off, and get a meal sorted out. I’ll do the catch-up in the morning. Back later! Well, I hope I will. Haha!
Contrails in the sky… or are they?
It was a lovely meal. Lamb and mutton burgers were eaten on thin slices of milk roll bread, dunked in ketchup with pickle. Nice UK tomatoes and crinkle-cut chips! A pot of mandarins in jelly eaten for afters. Nice!
I took this shot of the sky as I washed the pots up, and then I settled down to watch Death Wish 3 on the TV. I managed to stay awake throughout the movie, even during the advertisements. I dozed off as it was finishing. I’d forgotten how far-fetched yet almost amusing this film was. I like it when the goodies win. A fantasy, of course.
Got in the hospital bed. But sleep was not coming, although I felt tired and drained. After an hour of trying to kip, I got up and fetched a cold drink from the fridge. Took this early morning photo. And got back into the bed. Within a few minutes – Zzz!.
Today was the hardest one in a while. My concentration was terrible, and my memory was maundering. My eyesight was repeatedly more double-vision than single. The return of the Catheter pains was disappointing more than painful (if that makes sense). Not a lot made sense today. I was concerned about the medical appointments on Thursday. Well, not the appointments, but getting to and from them without missing something and first getting ready for these things. Using the bus did worry me. The last two times I used a bus, I fell down getting on the first one and fell getting off the second one. I was fretting about not forgetting to take something I needed to go with me. Can I get up and do the challenging ablutions in time and safely. Struggling to get dressed. Will the Caregivers arrive in time for me to do the socks and medications? Will I miss them getting back late? Or the dreaded risk; will I leave the hot tap running and have no hot water for washing & shaving? (I left it to run cold this morning!) So many pathetic things I worry over, nowadays. The blog may suffer over the next few days, but I’ll try to get something on it. I may have to miss one or two, though. In the event that my reaction to the Covid Jab is like it has been for the last two years. I just flaked out. The second year, for 18 hours! According to my blog, I also felt tired even after I woke up for another 12 hours or so of feeling out of it. This blog took me a long time to complete, finishing it so late on Wednesday. I’m not in high spirits. Hahaha! Me, in high spirits? What am I expecting, saying? Hehe! Silly Old Fool!
05:25hrs: I leapt out of bed, did a couple of somersaults, and yodelled out loud. I then did squats, toe-touchings, and press-ups. Then I woke up. I painstakingly nudged my way out of bed and removed the catheter’s nocturnal night bag, grabbed Metal Micky, the four-pronged walking stick, and went off to the wet room to empty the pouch and use the Porcelain Throne. Tried to get some of the crossword done, while waiting for the torpedoes to start. A Massive Mind Blank followed. I think it was Carer Marie who came during these hours. I do recall her helping me with getting the JS order in the kitchen that had arrived. No other details until after Marie ♥ had gone, taking the waste bags for me. I started to sort out the delivery. I obviously must have taken these snaps of the fodder. As I recall, Carer Kara did the midday, and Carer Chris raided the IPA bottle, cans of lager and tropical fruit, and some biscuits along with the usual nibbles. No stopping him, so I gave him a beefburger as well. Hahaha! This array of Kodak Tim snaps were taken; well, they were on the SD card, so they must have been. Nobody told my brain that I’d taken them at the time; and Cognitive Impairment Iris had kept it a secret!
Top one: Must have been taken early on. 2nd: A little later. 3rd Through the balcony glass door. The flash reflections spoilt this one a bit.
The fourth was taken in the wet room. It shows the five-day-old scar from the hand-burning on the oven rack wire Accifauxpas.
I think I recall taking this last one of a brew of Glengettie on the desk near the computer as I started updating the blog. Contrails in the oh-so-blue sky, taken from the balcony, I think, this time. In comparison to some of the later shots, these are almost serene. Bootiful!
Carer Kara called. She checked the catheter bag; I think she said it has to be changed tomorrow. She gave me some Peptac and painkillers and checked the taps, fridge doors, etc., for me.♥ It’s one of my better efforts here, sky-shot-wise, methinks. Exploding clouds, faces, and an amazing selection of different colliding clouds! Throughout the afternoon, I spent hours and hours making the templates. But occasionally, I marked where I was up to carefully and nipped to take more shots of the fantastic sky clouds on offer from the kitchenette window, then got back to the templates. The last one of these on the right almost spoke to me. It had a lot of interesting things in it; A dragon, a hand & fingers, faces, an explosion, and a dog. This one on the left is another mystery photo. It was plainly taken by accident when I was shooting the above sky shots. Was I possibly adjusting the camera at the time? I made a meal that went down very well. I’d got two ready-made Cumberland Pie meals, both just out of use-by date, so I decided to cook them both, along with a Cornish vegetable pastie and peas. I buried them in shredded Leicester cheese. I cooked them all in the oven, then scraped them in the bowl, adding some ketchup with pickle. Slurp!
The last snap of the evening. I’m already worrying about getting things sorted for the medical and voting appointments. Tsk!
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Or it might have been Carer Victor or Israel. Erm, if I remember correctly, I’ll reveal it all on Monday. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – It was not an extraordinary sort of day, with a few intermittent happenings that were out of the ordinary. I can’t recall having a single , no, honestly! A carer failed to arrive for the midday checks, which was not all that unexpected; last Monday, a morning medication Carer failed to arrive. The ailments and injuries were, as usual, ever-present.
My , or of course it may have been , added up to three. This seems to be the agreed count these last few days, with my brain taking over masters in conjunction. For some unknown reason, the burn on the right hand of the oven rack is taking a while to stop being painful. Constipation Conrad is back in charge of the evacuations. My concentration is no worse than yesterday. Not that that’s saying much. I think Concentration Konrad is now a permanent fixture. He joins the other ailments as a part of the Mysteries of Woodthorpe Court, with the hobgoblins, spectres, gnomai, phantasms, ghosts, the grotesque succubae, extraterrestrials, ectoplasms, spirits, or the Fata Morganas, that have been sent to taunt, irritate and terminate my already limited saneness of mind, which is losing its marbles? It’s a busy week coming up, too. On Tuesday, the J Sainsbury order arrives – a big one, too! On Wednesday, the Pegasus Police form must be filled in and posted back – without any help from Caregiver Kara, who is on holiday for a fortnight. The results could be catastrophic if I get confused and fill it in wrongly, but a man of calibre should be able to cope. When I worked at Tesco, I had six tills to cash up, making sure the money was right, coupons were given and checked, and even the issue of Green Shield stamps had to be checked every day of the week. Of course, that was in 1966, a few years ago now. My brain had most of its functions working. All were pre my getting shot (twice), cancer, heart operation, duodenal ulcer operation, Cataract Katie, Glaucoma Gladys, Saccades Sandra, Dementia Doreen, falling in a lake, having the Stroke, getting Peripheral Neuropathy, Cancer of the bladder – Catheter Bag fitted… currently the most painful of the ailments! FND, Diabetes Insipidus, Diabetic Polyneuropathy – leading to Diabetes 2. Going deaf, a failed Cataract operation – currently awaiting a second one, a Glaucoma operation and having a permanent catheter fitted, Cartilage Chloe (left knee), Cartilage Carole (right knee), Onychovryptosis (Ingrowing toenails), None-Epileptic Seizure Disorder Dina, Cognitive Impairment Iris, Vasculitis Vanessa, Dental caries, which in turn assist my given ability for . I wear alert wristbands; if I wore one for each ailment, I’d run out of wrist and arm-room. Hahaha! I’m still searching for an ‘Allergic to Clopidogrel’ wristband. Not that I have room to wear it, Hehe! They give Clopidogrel to everyone taken in after a stroke. But we didn’t know until it was too late that I was allergic to it. Thus, then I got Peripheral Neuropathy. But it’s been fun and exciting. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – I think I saw a speck of blood in the bag this morning when I photo’d it. Likely, it’s just a reflection from the flash, I assumed? Much drizzle is out there from the balcony’s right window. The usual excellent parking is available from our senior citizens on the yellow chevrons, indicating, do not park here. I’m not jealous that the drivers can still afford to own one. Or that my licence had to be surrendered due to the ailments making me unsafe on the roads. Har, Har! The drugs would still have me nodding off; that’ll most likely be the s. Coming home from work one day from Rempstone, I stopped at some traffic lights in Clifton and dosed off for two hours. I woke up in an ambulance going to the hospital. I felt fine; I just have no memory of what happened. Apparently, other drivers couldn’t wake me up and thought I’d snuffed it and called an ambulance and police. I decided that at that time, I’d hand in my licence. I realised that I could have killed someone. What if I’d been driving at the time? The RAC returned the car to my garage. I thanked them and cancelled my membership. Within two days, I’d given my beloved vehicle away. At least it helped a mate who was out of work. I never saw him again? Boy, I’ve waffled on here! Sorry. Off to the wet room. A rare return of . Almost caught me out! I was expecting a battle with . After the slushy evacuation, the stomach remained gurgling. I cleaned things up and started shaving.
Partway through doling, I hastily plonked down on the seat again for a repeat performance. Well, not so much, but what exited was even more watery this time. With a tinge of orange in the colour that was not there on the first session on the throne? By the time I finished shaving, washed, and did the medicationings for the delicate areas in need, then got the place cleaned up again, I’d been there for over two hours! It was a more painful-to-pass scenario, but I’d gladly welcome him back. Pants and slippers on again, I meandered out onto the balcony. The rain was still pouring down. I took the first two of the snaps. They were not very good, taken through the window glass. I hobbled into the kitchenette to do the same through the kitchen glass. All three show how much it was raining, though. We had a fair bit of it yesterday. There followed an almost rapid selection of I caught the hand in the window closing it, right on the burn scar, which naturally made me jump away… ; I knocked the towel roll and holder off of the window ledge. : The stalk broke off from the base. : Bending down to retrieve those as mentioned earlier, I hit my forehead on the edge of the radiator. Turned and dropped the walking stick, which hit the fridge and fell right on my left foot’s ingrowing toenail! Did I swear? Yes! And I did again when I realised I’d sprayed the kitchen cleaner all over the dressing gown when cleaning things up. Humph!
I got out the new vacuum cleaner and hoovered up the mess I’d made when walking to the wet room in the hallway. I took a snap of the new cleaner to show you the fancy headlights on the machine. Hehehe! The vacuum arrived in eleven pieces in a square box, with miniature writing on the instruction booklet. Luckily for me, Carer Chris came and assembled it within three minutes. Of course, I could have handled doing it quickly; I just wanted the lad Chris to think he’d done something worthwhile. . The new Catheter Pouch Bag keeps slipping down the leg. The new Tena Protection Pants keep slipping down. I also seem to have misplaced my hearing aids. I’ve checked the wet room, kitchen, rubbish tip room, and front room without any success. To the rescue again. He found the hearing aids within minutes. He’s a very good ferriter. While he was searching, he spotted some biscuits, and he had to have a packet. Hehehe! They had dropped behind the rickety 1962 G-Plan cabinet, and he retrieved them for me. Saved again! The evening sky kept changing hue. Well, I thought it did, anyway. Of course, what my eyes see and you may not do…
Or should that be the other way around? You can tell I’m getting tired, can’t you? My thoughts at this moment, remind me of vegetable dumpling stew… mixed, unclear and lumpy. I took this last, catching the edge of the window frame and the sun on its way home. There’s an elegance to these sunset shots. They’re vivid yet semi-opaque – a bit like the cameraman. Har-Har!
A simple nosh for a simpleton. Salt & vinegared chips, vegetarian sausages, a soft brown baguette with pickle-flavoured ketchup. Followed by a pot of mandarins in jelly. My hunger was pleasantly sated.
The Dang-nabbed pains from the lower regions of Little Inchie are slowly getting worse again. I know how this affected me over the last two weeks of agonising suffering, and I am not looking forward to the pains getting worserer. And this, with the more frequent ‘Out-Of-It’, Mind-Banks and possible seizures, I am going to ring the Doctor on Monday and try to get things looked into. The Acne and Barrier cream prescriptions that the Chemist had received from the Doctor eight days ago have not arrived with the monthly prescriptions; they were late and left me without pain-numbing Codeines for two days. Just when I needed them more than ever. That (I hope) is the end of my moaning.
At 05:50 hrs, I bounded out of bed and did fifty toe touches and 100 press-ups. I ran down the 12 flights of fire escape stairs and back up again to the flat. I made a drink of carrot juice and had five raw eggs. Or, the truth. At 05:50 hrs, I came back to consciousness, in pain with the , they’d woken me up so many times in the night), , and the pains from rampant. I had a feel around with some kitchen towelling, and at least this time, there was only a smidgeon of bleeding. As I forced my legs from the bed, a new language was coming from my mouth. Something along the lines of; Arghhh, ug, shit, oho! sodditski”. As I was catching my balance, a developed. It only lasted for a few seconds but it , right against the right foot . I caught the ankle, and my lesion is now leaking. Not that it bothered me, of course. Ahem! This shot of the legs and nocturnal pouch I took when I was doing my ablutions shows how good the urine colouring was this morning. Do you see the bones sticking out on the feet? That was due to contribution to the morning ailments. I washed and shaved, and after stopping the bleeding ear hole, I did the Medicationings as required and made a brew of rich, strong Glengettie tea. Then, I got the computer on and faced a mammoth task. I’d done a little prep work on CorelDraw, but I have not started anything on this blog yet. And due to Mind Blanks whatever, I was struggling. This cost me even more time and bother. I found myself in the kitchen, cooking a microwave meal, and unconcerned at that time, I got out a baguette to go with it. I knew it was beans, and it had an odd taste—not bad, just different. I sat at the computer with the tray in a drawer and ate it, not all of it. But I don’t usually have a meal in the morning. Good heavens, it’s afternoon now. Investigations were needed to satisfy my own curiosity. First, I retrieved the sleeve from the waste bin to find out exactly what I’d just eaten. It was a Vegetarian Chilli. Then I perused the caregiver log folder. Yes, two caregivers had called on me without any memory whatsoever of the visits! Joanne and Israel, this must have been a long seizure or whatever it was. I’d used the new vacuum thingy during the blackout, I suppose. Because it had been moved and left near the caregiver’s table, I may have been demonstrating it. Joanne, likely. The tray and dishes had also been washed.
The rumblings and grumblings from my innards suggested that I might want to visit the wet room. So, I did! Another turnabout in the evacuation process! A complete reversal of yesterday’s reluctant, painful, rear-end-splitting concrete torpedo! This was like a straw-coloured with a tinge of green, cabbage-bringing to mind, never-stopping sloppy dollop. The catheter day bag sleeve was standing up well. I’ll need a carer to do it when it needs replacing or gets dirtier. It is fraying at the bottom cut-out hole to accommodate the on-off valve snout. The right hand is more painful than when I first burned it on the oven rack. I’m trying not to put anything in my right-side pocket because I’ve been going into it to get the camera, and each time, I forget all about it and give out an Arrgh! Hehe! Carer Israel came for the least two visits. I spent a while concentrating but did not succeed in finishing the blog. I think I finished it at about 23:00 hrs.
The potatoes had been in the crock-pot for over 14 hours. But they tasted okay. For some reason, the brown baguettes seemed tasteless, as if something had been left out of the contents. I ate half of one of them. The sausages were brilliant!
The blessed, unaccountable reduction in the agony, down to merely a bothersome pain. It is now reverting again. Slowly, it is getting worse and more frequent, but I have hopes. It is currently estimated at 50% of the high reached over the two previous days. In the morning, I will have an ablution session, concentrate, and cream the ‘delicate’ area (Little Inchies zone). Getting the new catheter bag pouch off and on might be a stumbling block, with having to bend to get it off and then on without damaging the frail cotton it’s made of. (Fingers crossed on that one) We’ll see how it goes. At least I have some Codeines to ease the pain now.
I’m sure I had a or during the day. Some were in which I was doing things, albeit making a mess of them, but I had no memory of them. One, in the afternoon, was a cracker. It was as if I just blinked, and two hours were lost. After the blink, I could not see that I’d done anything. Had I unknowingly nodded off, perhaps? Indeed, if I had dozed, I’d still be getting the leg dances as I had all day and would have fallen off of the chair?
Is it all a part of the Mysteries of Woodthorpe Court, with the hobgoblins, spectres, gnomai, phantasms, ghosts, the grotesque succubae, extraterrestrials, ectoplasms, spirits, or the Fata Morganas, and my failing mentality and physicality. That taunt, irritate, and terminate my already limited saneness of mind? Just a thought.
I lost so much time being out of it that tomorrow morning at 09:40 hrs, I’ve only just started this blog.
Oh, dearie me. Hehehe!
05:25hrs: I stirred back reluctantly to life. (I’d had a dream that I’d died and was arguing with St Peter at his gates. No details were available; I was just getting irate with him over something. (Mayhap he wanted to send me back to earth?) Haha! I cannot recall taking this, but I must have; it was on the SD card in order. Looking at it with the spyglass, it seemed rather shaky. A reversal in evacuation stakes this morning.
Trotsky Terence’s return was short-lived. Still, on the bright side, it meant far less time, and aches needed to be cleaned up after the session. I went back to putting on the Unisex Protection Pants today. Yesterday, the new Tena ones were a little loose, which meant Little Inchie and his lesion got scuffed a few times. Not that the pain bothers me. Oh, no! I got the out of the pouch holder relatively quickly. Mainly because it was so full, which helped. However, when it came to getting things back on again, it took me ages and a lot of frustration to do so. (Pain as well)I ripped the side of the leg bag getting it back on. I also knocked the burn scar on the right hand from the oven-singeing against the grab bar, the skin broke, and blood flowed.
One of my better days.
Minutes before my first ‘Blank’, I took this snap of the Woodthorpe Court end car park.
Hours later, I could see nothing had been done on the blog or cleaning, and the notepad barely had three lines of reminders on it. Hurumph!
Because I’m a Pareidolist,
Finding figures I can’t resist,
Faces, animals I can detect…
In the clouds, even with mist,
Yet, I’m no astrologist,
Maybe I’m an illusionist?
I wanted to be a harpsichordist,
Nature at her bestest…
Because I’m a Pareidolist,
The day’s views from my little kitchenette. Of the clouds on display, for me to find things hidden within. A goose, a tree, fingers, three faces… no, four! A snake, a mouse, there’s probably more.
I can’t be sure. There is no possible cure. For my habit, I’m a Pareidolist.
A different type of nosh today.
Vegetarian sausages (8.8/10), Milk Roll Bread (8/10), Air-Fried Chips (6.5/10), and ketchup with pickle (8.2/10). I can’t work out the average, But I’ll try. With the help of the Windows calculator, I made the average 7.875/10?
I may struggle to get a blog done tomorrow, folks. Or it will be a short one, if at all. Things medicationalistically are not good, pain-wise again, today. Saturday at just gone 17:50hrs, must get things sorted after a meal. I’m just getting this finished to send off. Nothing has been done on Starudays blog yet. And I’m on the verge of depression. But I will not allow it to get to me today. Will-Power, huh! Naturally this may be or not, so what! Just another of life’s aims shot.
I was gobsmacked this morning and genuinely amazed, astonished, astounded, surprised, staggered, stopped in my tracks, stunned, dumbfounded, discombobulated, flabbergasted, knocked sideways, to the point of feeling awestruck! I had a slice of inspiration last night that I didn’t realise then. I might call it an epiphany. It is complicated to word it, but I’ll tell you about it.
Last night, I was still in agony with the Little Inchie problem, so I got a wash and felt the tribulated lower regions. Anyone with a much lesser midriff than I have would have taken a look. I had a grope around. My hand felt dried blood on the hairs. I tried tugging it off, but that was too painful, so I got the scissors, and using feel instead of sight, I riskily cut of the bloodied hair. Ouch! With the help of the now-working Codeines, the pain abated shortly afterwards. Brilliant! I went into an adopted temporary Smug Mode.
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Up at 0:15hrs. This photo on the right shows how it came, terrible and oh so blue, of the Nocturnal Catheter pouch. I did not have the foggiest idea of what I did wrong and tried another effort. That came out spot on what my eye saw. A too-deep colourisation in the urine again. Humph!
Off to the wet room. Diverting to the kitchen en route to ensure that I’d not left the taps (faucets), cooker on, or fridge or freezer door open. I took a snap of the morning view while doing the safety checks. Eventually, it was ruled by an iron rod—or maybe a reluctant concrete torpedo. It was one of the longest evacuations, from start to finish, ever, leaving a highly stretched, pained bottom and slight bleeding. In fact, when I rose to tackle the cleaning up and freshening, I felt a bit giddy. A quick ablutioning session, in which I did not have a shave or clean my teeth. But there is a perfectly understandable reason for this. I forgot to! Another duff photo of the beet and legs was taken, so I tried again, and it was much better this time. The legs are getting much thinner, and the bones are showing through now! but are more infrequent.
I had to sort some frozen foods out, and when I checked the fridge, I found many items out of date, not that I could read many of them.
I made up two more bags of waste. I needed to make some room to get the frozen food ordered for delivery today. What a Plonker! Carer Chris came, scoffed some nibbles and scrounged a drinkie. Hehehe!
Then Window Cleaner Man Joe arrived. I nattered away about my problems as he did the windows. Paid the lad, and off he flew to his next client.
The Asda order arrived.
I was well pleased that they had the vegetarian sausages in again. I decided to have some for my nosh… then found that the pork pie had an eat-by-date for today on it. So, I’ll have that tonight instead.
Minutes later, the Iceland order arrived. Eight carrier bags worth were put in the doorway, and I moved them one at a time into the kitchenette,
I bought some crisps and snacks. There must have been a reason for so many, but I don’t know what it is. The freezer was not cram-packed, and the fridge a little fullerer. I’ll not starve, that’s for sure. I think I also have a J Sainsbury order coming next Tuesday! Patties, chips, pies, sausages, a veritable feast.
Or must have hit me because I recall nothing until arrived. The bad news is that Kara is going off on holiday for two weeks, so if I have trouble with the bank, they will only talk with Carer Kara as my representative or something, and I’ll be up the creek. Going to have nobody to check my finances or orders and no one to set my heart beating. Haha! Kara fitted the new catheter bag holder on my leg for me. I hope it helps because yesterday’s pain relief for me is now starting to come back on again. Kara also brought some Codeines; bless her.
I cut the pork pie into pieces, sliced tomatoes, and spread some of the gorgeous-tasting Flora Non-Butter butter thickly on some slices of Milk Roll bread. It’s a giant round potato hash cake, and very nice, too! What a feast it was with Heinz tomato ketchup and pickle! I got the hash brown thing frozen from Iceland. It crisped up marvellously. I may have the other one tomorrow. A shot taken with Kodak Tim while I was washing up came out looking somewhat eerily. Haha! Another one for the Tate Gallery to reject.
Carer Chris returned, bringing the laundry up with him. He attached the nocturnal night pouch to the catheter and whipped off my diabetic socks. Chris selected some nibbles and a bottle of Lucozade, and then we said farewells.
I soon nodded off into a deep and miraculously uninterrupted kip. Nice!
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I wanted to buy a Volvo, But broke, I settled for an Oxo, I don’t drink alcohol or vino,
Now I’ve become a fatso…
Chips and marshmallow?
Ever in a mental imbroglio,
Confusion an ipso facto,
I used to do judo,
Then it was Ludo.
Not now, thanks to ailments neuro, I blog but with many a typo,
I’m mentally all Akimbo,
Physically, I need a neuro-physio,
Life’s all saltimbanco, Cheerio!
Not a lot passed last night. But it’s a decent colour this morning.
Not ‘arf!
Mug of Glengettie tea, with four biscuits dunked.
Those makes that come and go on the lens are back. No matter what I try to clean it with, they suit themselves, whether of not to smudge my Kodak Camera photographs. Tsk!
I took another shot and zoomed in a bit. But the smudges are there in this one, too.
Carer Christopher arrived. Nibbles and drinkies were selected. I’d lost the receipt for the Heron Food Store. I’d been searching for ages, and Chris found it!
The smudge was still there in the end car park shot!
The catheter supplies box and the new straps that Kara had organised were delivered that day. She thinks they may ease the pressure on Little Inchy. I hope so!
Kara will not be back until Monday or Tuesday, I hope they help. Oh, I just said that!
Brightening up out there now as the sun intrudes on the rather pretty view. The smudge is still on.
I felt it coming, I thought?
Carer Sam arrived; I’ve not seen her for ages.
Painkillers, and she did the safety checks.
After she was gone, I discovered that the Alert Alarm Wristlet was not on my arm Ah! I must have left it in the wet room. But no, there were no signs of it in there. On, around, and under the bed were searched. Nope! In the cupboards, drawers, etc., Nope!
Hoping I didn’t need it, I got on with the blogging for a few hours.
Photo to the left. This one is to the right.
I do love these puffer clouds.
I went into the kitchen again to prep the meal.
As gave me a turn, I grabbed hold of the draining board to steady my elf. And there, lying on the kitchen towel, in the draining rack, was the wristlet alarm! Gorrit!
I made a vegetable stew today. All I needed to do was to bake some potato bits to add to the vegetables and sauce already in the saucepan. No smudge?
I woke up, although I wasn’t unaware I’d fallen asleep. I could see the mess I had made on the blog, presumably in a stupor of some sort. A was engaged, and I nervously checked the cooker, taps, etc., with surprising results.
① The taps were all off. ② The fridge door was shut… and ③ I realised that I had already eaten the vegetable stew, ④ and washed the pots!
When I returned to the front room, another surprise surprised me! The evening Caregiver had already been. I realised further that this was correct, as the diabetic socks had been removed. I had not the vaguest memory until I noticed his. I had to check the Caregiver’s log to see who had called! It was Christopher. The nibble box contents had been significantly reduced, so I knew it had to have been either Chris or Helen. Bits of foil from the medications were on the carpet. Haha!
I then proceeded to fall asleep properly this time. I didn’t have the energy or willpower to sort out the blog mistakes anyway.
The last call was from Carer Vi tor. Medicated me and attached the night bag for me. These Carers’ names cannot be guaranteed to be accurate. Not in the state I’m in.
I found them! Eventually… well, alright then, I found two of them, or maybe one? I can’t tell the difference in the lower left circle with the prawn. Is it a shrimp? I’m not optimistic about the chocolate, either.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – I bet Tim Price gets this! – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – I coped reasonably well with getting up early, getting the ablution done, getting dressed with the trousers on, and being on time for the lift to the Doctor’s surgery with the caregiver’s help.
I was lifted back to the flats, and from then on, I got more tired progressively for the rest of the day. Drained, weary, done for. The day’s memory is muddled. Maybe the injections affected me? The photos helped a little, but things will be missing or out of order/sync.
Fell asleep on and off ever since getting back from the surgery. Memory blanks, possibly a few NE seizures in there. Slept too long and had to rush to do this in the morning. Many of the regular things missing, no time. Worries me a bit cause I’ve got to go out again today. At the doctor, an appointment has been made for a Hospital visit on Monday next for X-rays; I have not mentioned details cause I’ve likely got them muddled up. Not feeling too good at all, I’ll have to rush to get the time to get ready for today’s lift.
Scary red urine!
View.
Leaving the flat, down to wait for the lift.
I have a doctor’s appointment for an examination of the knees and ankles. I have an appointment at the hospital on Monday. The receptionist arranged a lift for me there. Barrier cream and something else was added to my prescription list and sent to the chemist, and I need carers to collect them for me.
Lift home photos. Surgery car park. Arriving at flats.
In the foyer
A hazy blur once I got into the flat.
I think the receptionist from Sherington Park rang to confirm the lift for Monday and the timing. I found it on the calendar this morning, but I have no memory of putting it on there at all. Scribbled notes, the odd one I could read. Carer Chris came first, and then as I got home, Carer Kara changed the catheter pouch and checked for appointments, I think.
Wearier and wearier, I made a meal.
I Fell asleep and couldn’t concentrate on blogging at the time; so tired and confused.
Carer Kimberly woke me.
I fell asleep again…
The last Carer woke me.
Fell asleep – and did not wake for about five hours.
Had to get up to do this update straight away.
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A short blog, as I anticipate tomorrow due to the diabetic session, will have to be… and Mondays with the hospital appointment.
As days go by, I would not have missed this one had it disappeared into the ether. Cock-ups, confusion, worry, semi-panics, depressions, frustrations, apprehensions, fears, dejections, rejections, vexations, and complications. Making it even worse, self-pity visited a few times. More killings and stabbings. A , and the persistent today .
Still, it could always be worse. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Woke around 06:30hrs: Having slept, albeit a broken sleep, for over 6 hours! Dark urine again.
Topped up the freebie thank you drinks shelves. Much more choice for the Carers & Nurses.
Put the waste bags in one.
A hard work getting the motion to start.
The Asda order arrived. It took me some time to get all the bags into the kitchenette. In doing so, I suffered a little bit of a . I caught my ankle ulcer against something sharp in the bag I was carrying. I brushed the bag against it, but it was no bother. I didn’t howl, wince, swear, or anything of that nature. I laughed it all off and merrily carried on carrying the bags in.
Instant mash with cheese, pork pie, bacon off-cuts, Lactofree milk and some haddock goujons. Never tried these before in a light batter; it might just suit my taste buds, but …When I was taking them with the other fresh foods to the refrigerator, I dropped some stuff and then . And proceeded to tread on the goujon packet, and the pack burst open, distributing the crushed fish bit around the kitchen floor! This time, I did howl, wince, and swear a bit. Got some antiseptic cream on the wound, and carried on sorting the food out. A selection of naughty but nice desserts, seasoned potato slices and mash, tomatoes, pasties & a packet of coffee bags for the carers to make and drink in their restroom. The tomatoes were Dutch and delightful! Milk Roll soft sliced bread. Brown French baguettes, cheap kitchen towels. I think that the fridge has never been fuller. I’ve still got the pasta packets to use up. I think, just maybe, I am a little nervous from when I scalded my hand months ago. The Freezer is also fuller than ever. I will not receive any more food deliveries until next week. I even had to throw away some dated stuff to make room for the bread and baguettes, which now will fit into the freezer drawers. Carer Kara later took them with the other bags to the chute for me. ♥
Concentrating on blogging for ages and ages, I suddenly noticed that it was light now. Thought I’d take a picture of the view on offer. Such a gorgeous sky. I also realised that I’d been up for a long time, and it was now 11:00hrs… and no morning carer had been – or had they? I knew I’d had a earlier this morning and was toying with my head. Uncertainty, doubtfulness, and an unreliable trust in my own memory.Had someone been or not? That is the question at hand now. Surely someone had been by now? I could not get anything from my memory box about one. Not that this is unusual. The first clue of any positivity was that I had not got the diabetic socks on. (But this has happened often before, when I forget to ask the Carer to take them off at night or to put them on in the morning). In fact, I had wrapped a throw around my legs to keep warm while on the computer – doubts still lingered, and I didn’t want to ring about it for fear of being told that I was talking rubbish again. A lingering doubt in question… was could I be certain or not? I still couldn’t decide. I was too nervous to ring to check. I’ll wait until the midday Carer calls and check with her/him. I was baffling myself. Battling a battered brain and unreliable, failing memory-blank is not easy. I’d say the words to use are ‘Frustrating’, ‘Embarrassing’, ‘Annoying’ and ‘Hopeless! If only the social and medical helpers would read this blog, they would learn more about the problems that I will no doubt forget about within days. Humph! That’s something else that concerns me about my memory, well, more like amazes me. Sometimes, when writing the blog, I am able to press on, but once I am interrupted or waylaid by the door chime, a phone call, having to empty the catheter bag, the need to check if I’d left the taps running, a visit to the , cooker on, fridge door open, etc., getting back into it is a real struggle. I’m still not certain that a Carer did not call! Doubts linger on, and an awareness that things are not going to get any easier worry me now. Although, if (when) I do get worse, I may not be aware and stop fretting over the situation? I’m becoming a bag of nerves and fears. But only part-time, now and again? I waffled on a bit there, sorry.
I’m back on with the blogging. And shortly arrived. I was still in a state of semi-confusion when Kara came. I mentioned my doubts to her. She checked something on the mobile and then looked at the record log. (I wish I’d done that earlier, Tsk!). Kara gave me the early morning medications and got my socks me legs. She has no time now, but she’ll try to help me tomorrow with the confusing emails that I’ve received. She took the bags with her and did the Safety checks on the taps, doors, and stove were not left on. Thank you ♥!
Memory Blanks again. I assume I took these shots at different times in the late afternoon. I’m pretty certain, but not sure, of the artistic clouds in the sky. The second shot down tempted my Pareidoliaising instincts. To my eyes and mind, it reminded me of all things, of the Red Dwarf spaceship? Not so much now after I’ve put it in and looked again though. Can anyone else see it? Or is it just me? Hehehe! The well urine filled almost caught me out. What a relief! Haha! The backflow pains gave me the nod that it needed emptying post-haste.
Carer Chris did the last two calls. Nibbles and a drinkie. Night pouch attached, diabetic socks removed. He left me nodding off. Hehe!
I nodded off as soon as the lad had gone and had the best sleep I’ve enjoyed for ages. It was a short but Shock-free session, and I was soon back up again at 02:10 hours, needing the Porcelain Throne. It was another Constipation Conrad session. So I stayed up and got some tidying up done, then onto the computer. I soon drifted off to sleep after Chris had gone. But burst back into life at 02:20hrs, in need of the Porcelain Throne, despite Doing her best to have me over. Stayed up and back on the computer… It’s a hard life, full of strife, no wife, mental confusion, physical ailments rife! Still, it might get better in the afterlife?
