Although February is a short month, it seems to have been a very busy one. On the sporting front, we have had England’s cricketers playing three test matches in India, and the first World Golf Championship event of the season. This year’s Six Nations Rugby Tournament got off to a flying start (from my point of view, anyway), with Scotland winning the Calcutta Cup match against England at Twickenham; a rare but very welcome event! But we have also had a string of medical appointments, with more visitors to the house than we’ve ever had.
It started with a home visit by Lesley (our OT) and Bridget, from the Community Neurology team, who came to fit me with finger splints to help me keep typing. The splints, one for each forefinger, had to be individually moulded from strips of plastic, cut to size and softened in hot water. I was amused that they brought their own slow cooker to heat the water! The splints do help with typing but with my right forefinger held rigid, I struggle to use the mouse. Everything is a trade-off!
Soon after that, Doreen and I both received our call-up for our Covid-19 vaccinations. I was given the option of a home visit but with the warning that it might take longer to arrange. ‘The sooner the better’ was my feeling about it, especially when I had an opportunity to have it at our local GP’s surgery, easily accessible on foot/wheelchair.
Our next home visit was once again by Lesley, this time accompanied by the Nottinghamshire County Council OT, to discuss and evaluate the options for more advanced hoisting facilities when I reach the stage that I can no longer cope with the standing hoist. Hopefully, that is still some time away but it is good to have a plan in place for when the time comes.
And then, near the end of the month, came two people from a specialist team advising on disabled access to IT and other technologies. They were quite pleased by the speed and accuracy of my use of a mouse, and can’t offer anything to improve on that, but they gave me some advice on voice-to-text software, and they plan to return and demonstrate some of the alternative technologies available, for future reference.
The biggest impact on our lives this month, though, was the start of our daily care visits on 8th February. Doreen still manages to get me out of bed in the morning, transfers me to the wheelchair, and makes me a cup of tea. The two carers usually arrive around 8.30. They transfer me to the shower/commode wheelchair, position me over the toilet, and discreetly withdraw while I do whatever is necessary. Next stop is the washbasin to brush my teeth, and then off with pyjamas and slippers, and into the shower. One of them will shampoo my hair if I ask, and wash my back. The rest I can still manage myself. They then dry me off, dress me, and transfer me back to the electric wheelchair. All done in about 45 minutes.
With care being provided 7 days a week, we have had several different people here, especially at weekends. Almost all of the carers are women, of various ages, but several of them are surprisingly young. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about such intimate personal attention but they are all lovely caring people, and they are so professional and matter-of-fact about it all that I very soon became quite comfortable with the whole thing. It was suggested to me that being undressed by two attractive young women might be considered by some as fulfilment of a fantasy, but when they are wearing face masks, plastic aprons, and rubber gloves, I can assure you it definitely is not!!