Positive

 Finally 

After two and half years on the front line 

I’ve got covid  

A Cool Pillow

 Terminal Agitation can be a common symptom of the dying process. 

It can start a couple of weeks before death and can be characterised as being behaviours that are restless, unsettled and anxious in nature. Some patients are fidgety, others distressed, sometimes angry, sometimes confused. And the causes can be complicated and multifaceted.

Often patients are hypoxic, or have deranged blood work.

Their primary disease may be affecting their bodies adversely with pain, and sepsis, infection and organ failure being other important factors.

Hospice care is often all about managing these conditions.

Medication has its role and is a big factor

Communication and the simple but practical dealing with issues such as dehydration, constipation and retention of urine are others .

It’s a complicated issue.

This morning, in the wee small hours when nothing feels right 

Medications and communication and pain relief and positioning all had a role to play in the quietening of terminal agitation. 

But the final straw that helped the most, at 5.30 am when the patient was most forlorn ?

A cool, almost cold pillow against a cheek

A pillow that had been left next to a slightly open window 

A pillow smelling “ Vaguely of the Irish sea”

Titivation

 While the CBM continues to lick the bathroom into shape.

I thought about titivation 

Now the essentials have already been bought.( Black accessories to set against the plain subway white tiles) but I wanted one little burst of colour to lift the room

I trolled on line and found a Japanese inspired cotton linen of koi Carp which I thought would look nice framed with a white border in a plain black frame

Loo Tales

You need to read the previous blog post first 

I had been asleep no more than 35 minutes when my phone went.

It was the CBM 

And he was suitably upbeat 

“ Can you come home?  “ he asked with an embarrassed laugh  “ Ive locked myself in the outside loo”

Silence

 The CBM sings loudly and badly. 

It’s fun to listen to , but what with the banging and hammering in the claustrophobia of a 17th Century cottage it feels amplified and overwhelming.

My morning dog walk wasn’t restful as Dorothy was in one of her yappy moods and fearing more tree felling activities when I returned to the village , I dropped the girls off at Trendy Carol’s and took myself off for a quiet coffee.

Y Shed was packed with walkers with their dogs when I got there and there was a loud snarling fight between a poodle and a sheepdog just as I raised my americano to my lips.

I took myself off to my sister Ann’s house and let myself in.

It’s a large family house, full of antiques and paintings and memories 

And it was silent , save for a ticking clock and the odd creak Edwardian houses always seem to encourage when floorboards contract during the heat of the day.

No chainsaws.

No bulldog snores

No singing of power ballads 

No coffee chatter

Nothing.

The shower was hot and the sheets crisp 

And the silence of the old house was the best time I’ve had all week

Too Much Activity

 I knew I needed to get out of the village today.

The council tree fellers have started on the dead and dying ash trees that border the old grave yard and the village is buzzing with the sound of chainsaws and wood cutters.

I had to stop for a moment to say goodbye to one particular tree which used to house Alf,Hughie and Ivy, my spirited trio of guinea fowl in years gone by.

It’s devastating to see the demise and destruction of the Ash Trees and I hope the conservation group may be able to replant some of the losses. 

At least my laburnum looks robust and healthy.

The noise from the field and the cheerful banging from the CBM was all too much so I joined a friend in Liverpool for a sunny lunch outside an Italian restaurant in Liverpool One. 

It seemed calmer than Trelawnyd.

Over a very nice chicken salad and a small Pinot  the CBM called to say that there had been a “bit of a leak” and there was now a hole in the kitchen ceiling 

I refused to get stressed by it . I’m sure it will all get sorted

After lunch I bought a glass shelf from John Lewis.

I got home after four and went to vote. It’s our local elections as well as our community council election and I’m one of 6 new prospective community councillors putting themselves forward in a bit to ensure some balance on the council .

The cottage looks a bit rough when I got home.

Hey ho

Toilet news, Towels, The Northman and Chewbacca saves the day

 There seems to be a bit of interest in the location and origin of my second loo! It’s located in the shed outside and was, as far as we were told, non functioning and not plumbed in .

The shed has been the repository for my bike and dog crates for years so I’m delighted to see it resurrected  back into a working, if basic bog! 

Bless the CBM, he got it working and cleaned it up and left some toilet paper inside for me.

That’s going beyond his remit.

I’ve been out for the day, as the rest of the bathroom was ripped out, the new bathroom was delivered and all of the electrics were put in for the shower. I met a friend for breakfast then , not being far from work , I called into the hospice for a long shower, before popping into TK Max to buy some impractical but delightfully fluffy white towels for my new heated towel rail.

After that I went to see the dire Viking “ epic” The Northman which was an hour I’m never going to get back again. I walked out early, tired of the mud and gore . It wasn’t a total waste of time as I popped into the new  flash Marks for some tahini paste and practiced with my news at nav on the journey home.

My nephew texted about our forthcoming visit to comic con. Apparently some of my heroes from Tbe Walking Dead will be there! How exciting….

I’m reminded of this incredibly moving clip of “ chewbacca” meeting one of his fans

Now that comic con character has class

A 2 Toilet Household

 

CBM was a miracle worker yesterday.  

Not only did he remove a cast iron bath single handedly but managed to get it down the stairs and into the garden without any help.

A phone call to village elder Islwyn was all it took to have his brother, who lives on High Street to come and collect it for scrap. 

Bish Bash Bosh 

All done and dusted. 

CBM also found out that I have a small outhouse that has an old non working toilet in it. In minutes he had repaired the loo thus providing me with a spare ! 

I am now an official 2 toilet household! 

My mother would have been very proud indeed.

Up early today as I’m not getting caught with my pants down again . 

I’m going out for the day after walking the dogs