Tag: Red Cross Technician

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Firstly…
My walks through the tree copse, daily,
I recall my visits with some accuracy,
But as more ailments and diseases came to me,
Visiting became a physical impossibility,
Due to Glaucoma-Gladys, and a new disability,
Arthur Itis, seizures and Lymphorrhoea Leslie,
Unguis incarnates, Paroxysmal Dyskinesias,
Both Cartilages & Peripheral Neuropathies,
Duodenal Donald… each one an ancillary,
New medications that work antiapoptotically,
Nurses visit me, kind and benevolently…
Warfarin Nurse, checking my DVT,
Takes blood regularly. She does this superbly,
I so miss going in the copse, I spoke to every tree!
Next Missing Ode, Grizelda & our contiguity!.
Our affair went magnificently…
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A better Morning! Great!
Up and out of the hospital bed at 05:35hrs.

Again, the nocturnal catheter pouch was
almost empty. As yesterday, once I got up and started moving about, I could feel the flow back in the bladder, and it was painful. Within a couple of minutes of taking off the night bag, the day bag began to flood. The colour was a number six grade on the NHS score chart.

I made up some cool bottles of spring water from the fridge, replaced them with others to chill, and got on with updating the blog. It went well, and I completed it and posted it to WordPress.

I pottered into the kitchen to snap a picture of the sky. Low down first.
Then higher.

My daytime catheter had still not been changed. I was on the Porcelain Throne (Constipation Conrad affair) when Ejaz arrived, and I remembered to ask him to do so. Which he did for me. Unfortunately, we had a long-tubed one and had fitted it before realising. So the lad had to search for a short-tubed one, remove the long tube, and fit the short tube in its place. Bless him.

Nice and comfortable fit, Ejaz did. The rear end wasn’t, though; that was stinging something awful. Ejaz managed to clean and medicate the insertion area. He left some of the items on the £300 second-hand shop purchase, circa 1966. Moth-eaten, bedraggled, grotty, cringingly-beige-coloured, much dilapidated, crumb-containing from my nocturnal nibblings, bug-ridden, itch-inspiring, not working recliner. But no bother, he’s had to do the catheter twice, and was running late. 

I dug into setting up the template and began working with this editor. I was making fewer errors than I had lately. And I .

I got the kitchenette mopped up.

Back on the blogging session. I was now making the regular cock-ups. Humph!

The Intercom chimed out. It was a Red Cross Technician. He’d come to check the workings of the hospital bed. I thought he was checking the wheelchair, which had a loose arm. He only does beds, he said. However, he still set out to examine the wheelchair problem for me. Six holding pins on the arm were missing. Luckily, he had some with him for repairing the bed that fitted the wheelchair arm. He mended it for me. I’m being looked after today. This chap followed Carer Ejaz in spending more time correcting things for Inchie. 🤎 

He then checked the hospital bed over. All okay!

Back to the blogging, it needed some tweaking and fixing. Tsk!

The Intercom Rang Again: It turned out to be a lovely District Nurse. She had come to check on both & refit the bothersome,
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What a fantastic Community Nurse. (It was love at first sight!) Patient, understanding, and so gentle with my genitals. She started by sorting out the things underneath the Carer’s table. But we could not find any of the painkiller tubes. She looked into the backroom… and ended up sorting it out for me! The medical stuff, I mean. She thought she might have a tube in her car. The nurse asked me for the door fob, then went down and returned with a tube of gel. How kind was that? Very! The first job was the big one, the removal of the current contraption. She worked carefully; there was no rushing, unlike others. She even suggested putting it back on the other leg. Which, after inserting the new tube into Little Inchy, and with the least pain I’ve ever had in the last three years of being catheterised! Smoothly, and as I’ve said, less painfully.

She then inspected my rear-end. She was concerned and asked me if she could take a photo of it. I agreed, and she took a snap on her mobile.
They told me to wash and dry things twice a day and to apply barrier cream, well rubbed in.
The nurse showed me the photo, which startled me a smidgeon. Chrikey, it was red! 
Then informed me that Little Inchy had a new lesion at the tip. She thinks it may have been caused by not frequently moving the catheter to the other leg. It is essential to do this, as the pressure exerted by the tubing pulling on one area is likely to cause injury. The nurse had already placed the new contraption on my right leg.
What a gift, what an Angel! 🤎FsocjF

To the kitchen to get something to eat.

Back on the computer… but unfortunately, the usual 17:00 weariness & tiredness set in, without any fading down period, instantly at 15:00. And,
Leaving me no option but to close down the computer. As I got up to make a bite to eat before I fell asleep, more bother; something I have not had a lot of bother with for months now. In both knees, and
gave way, all but having me over. I thought that DDDDD coming on was due to my silly excitement at the visits of , Why the knees and Cartilage misery? I now receive complaints from the joints, and I did for the rest of the night. They never fail to hurt or threaten to give way when I partly bend or put weight on them.

Washed the pots, sagety checks and down in 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 sat pondering on the day’s opposing events. More good than bad, I think. Up to now. But memories of the bad I’m used to. I was in mid-ponder, as I drifted off to sleep. I fell into a deep sleep, but it didn’t last for long.

The Intercom chimed up an hour and a half later. I struggled to wake up, and the pain in my knees made it difficult to reach the intercom panel. I  knew it was Carer Ejaz, and as I lifted my hand to press the entry button, gave way, and I needed both hands on the hallway wall to prevent myself from falling. I must have pressed the wrong button in my rush, and the Intercom closed down. I waited for Ejaz to push again. But he didn’t. However, he came in the door a few minutes later, asking me why I didn’t open the door for him.
I tried mt best to explain to him, but I’m not sure he understood me. So I told him about the morning’s Red Cross volunteer and how he had helped me out. Then the story of the District Nurse was a great help, with the Catheter Contraption all done calmly, not rushing, and far less painful than it had ever been done. She also told me I must start using the diabetic socks during the day again. My not doing so will not help with the leg problems.
She also said that she’d try to get the catheter pouch nets supplied for me.
I’m not sure how much he understood, though. I was struggling to start by telling him that the Red Cross man had repaired the wheelchair arm. I had to take him to the balcony and show him the arm of the wheelchair and the missing bolts that he replaced for me. A kind man. I felt he was unhappy with me for not letting him in.
He’s a good lad, and I think he deserves praise for the things he does do, not lambasting for the things he forgets. I’d be lost without Ejaz. As I am without Carer Joe, so knowledgeable & helpful. But gone now. I phoned him up last week. He’s happy in his new job and enjoying it. He’ll try his best to call and see me when he visits his Dad.

Once again, back on the computer.

Three snaps of the kitchen sky view.

On Ejaz’s last call, bless him, he showed that he was listening to what I said earlier. He cleaned, dried, and applied barrier cream to my rear end. He also did a body check, and I appreciated it. Yes, I flipping well did!
He took a photo of the closed window in the balcony with his mobile phone and emailed it to me.

I love a brown sunset. We found the thinnest pair of Diabetic socks I had, and I left them ready to see in the morning so I don’t forget. Ejaz checked the kitchen and wet room for safety before leaving. As the nurse said, it may seem cooler not to wear the socks, but these legs prove that you will have to. When winter comes, you’ll feel happy to wear them. She was right! Kind, too!

I did some late work on the blog, and then popped into the kitchenette to catch the sunset before it disappeared. A better effort with Kodak Tim 2.
Lucky to catch this shot!

I nearlt forgot the snap of the small, but lovely meal. The brown tomatoes and the
chip-shop chips tasted just heavenly!

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TTFN’ski, Each!
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