This month has been very busy with various health-related visitors. As I mentioned in my last (April) blog, I lost quite a lot of strength and mobility during my two weeks in hospital, which I haven’t recovered. As a consequence my OT and Physio have recommended I no longer use the stand-aid hoist, which has a significant effect on the work of my carers.
Without the stand-aid, they have to use a mobile hoist and sling, which means lots of physical handling, rolling my 16 stones (100+ kg) on the bed to place, remove or change slings. To help them, I now have sliding sheets and bed rails. Also on order are a fixed gantry hoist and a different type of shower chair. All this new kit necessitated visits to assess the need, deliver/fit each item, and sometimes to advise the carers on how best to use it. The mobile hoist did provide one moment of levity. As I was being moved in the sling, one of the carers said it reminded her of the cartoon pictures of new babies being delivered by a stork. Some baby!
The mobile hoist needs two people to operate, which means Doreen can no longer do single-handed transfers, so we have an additional carer visit at lunchtime, now, to transfer me onto the bed for my afternoon rest. In theory, I should also be put to bed during the carers’ evening visit but as that is usually between 7.00 and 8.00 pm, I have flatly refused! We continue to take the risk of the stand-aid so I can stay up until Doreen’s bedtime (still early for me at 10.00!!).
Another decision I’ve taken is that, in the event of another chest infection, I don’t want to go back into hospital. I’ll take my chances on home-administered antibiotics and physiotherapy. I expected a lot of resistance and efforts to persuade me to change my mind, but that was not the case. My decision has raised my profile with our GP and the District Nurses, who now also visit regularly, and have provided me with a stash of emergency medication that they might need at some time.
The last two months have seen further debate about the sole surviving fish in our garden pond. Is it cruel to leave the fish on its own in the pond? But should we put more fish in the pond just to feed the heron? A physical barrier such as netting would protect the fish but be aesthetically displeasing, and it would also prevent other birds, such as the mallard ducks, from accessing the pond.
Some websites recommend putting a decoy heron by the pond as herons tend to be solitary hunters. Others say they don’t work. I did notice that Notts Hospice has a pond, well-stocked with brightly coloured goldfish, and no apparent heron problem, but they do have a decoy heron, so we decided to give it a go! With the help of our daughter, Fiona, and her husband, Tudor, a decoy heron was installed, and a new fish bought and released into the pond. The new fish is not as big as our resident fish but it has been chosen to be inconspicuous, the top half being almost entirely black.
With Doreen’s track record, failing to spot a highly visible grey/white fish, now the size of a midget submarine, I anticipated she would struggle to see the new fish. What I wasn’t prepared for was that, failing to see the new fish the day after its release, she would insist that it had gone, taken already by the heron! That would be either very bad luck, or imply an exceptionally good heron intelligence network! Nobody else has seen the new fish either, so she could be right this time!
I can’t finish without mentioning this month’s most momentous event: After an absence of 23 years, my football team, Nottingham Forest, achieved promotion to the Premiership, English football’s highest level. A veritable dream come true!!