Rubbish Route. 5th September

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Coach and Horses Bridge 25

With quite a bit of rubbish accumulated on board we decided to have a walk into Willington together. Mick is aiming to do more exercise, I slowed my pace, we still managed to do 21 minutes of brisk walking to the bins. I suspect if I slowed my normal walking pace a touch I’d achieve more minutes, but I’ve got used to my brisk pace now. Would there be any room in the bins for our recycling? A lighter load than the main bin. When we’d been moored opposite the bins we’d heard that they’d all been emptied on a Friday, so we hoped that would be the case today. No rubbish on the floor and space for our stuff, there’s not a recycling bin in the compound so unfortunately it all had to go in with the general waste, we were getting so we couldn’t move for it on Oleanna.

No rubbish on the floor!

Mick headed back to Oleanna along the towpath, I had a different route planned. First I called into the Co-op, then to the Chemists on Kingfisher Lane. Mick was wanting an additional pill box to add to his collection, plus he was after a urine sample bottle. I asked at the counter only to be directed to the GP surgery next door. For some reason in Scarborough you have to buy these at chemists, but here in Willington at the GP’s they have a big crate full of them on the reception desk, I was told to help myself. I did and tucked it in the bottom of my bumbag.

The other day on the towpath I’d spotted a sign ‘Willington Wetland Circular Walk’ The internet suggested it was 4.5 miles and takes in a stretch of the towpath which I’d already done most of walking to the bins, I just needed to find the right road into the Wetlands Nature Reserve. A long track brought me to a gate, one that gets locked overnight to protect the nature inside.

Signs had warned it might be muddy, stepping stones along the path weren’t needed today, it was just a touch squelchy under foot. I soon came across steps up to a hide overlooking a lake. A chap with a far superior camera told me that there were two Green Sandpipers. I zoomed in with my little camera, I think I got the right birds. Egret to the left, Green Sandpiper to the right, I think.

A pretty good view

There are a few more hides along the path, some with seats, one enclosed with three enthusiasts trying to identify a bird a bit like a Kestrel, but it’s tail wasn’t quite right. My aim was to walk and see if I could see anything with my little camera, so I didn’t bother staying long.

The Wetlands is where Beavers have been reintroduced, not that you could see any today in the early afternoon and I suspect that is why the reserve is locked off over night. However this is where the images came from up at the hospital yesterday from an infrared camera.

The route, I could hear the Lapwings but not see any

The circular walk doesn’t show on OS maps, nor Google. I eventually found an information board that I could take a photo of so I knew I’d be heading in the right direction now as I was leaving the reserve. There is a map on the internet but it’s not so easy to look at on a phone.

A walk to have time away from the last few weeks

Nettles don’t seem to have been affected by the drought, I needed my arms above my head to avoid getting stung as the path became narrower and headed towards the River Trent. This morning on the Try The Trent Facebook group levels had actually moved upwards by a few inches, at last there was some fresh coming down river. Here in Willington it was very obvious, the flow zipping along downstream, the level looking quite high. The recent rain rushing down stream and not hanging about to help top up reservoirs, the ground too dry to absorb sudden cloud bursts.

The path now cuts back across land between gravel pits, numerous signs warn of the dangers of swimming here, one being that you would loose your hands. The Cemex site then comes into view, industry making use of nature and when finished with returning it. A concrete road now takes you over the railway line, Willington Cooling Towers just in view on the horizon.

No trains though

Then back to the canal down a track, passing a posh travellers base, a vintage caravan peeking out from a modern barn, most probably built for it. I didn’t feel I could take a photo through the gate, it would be like someone leaning in through our side hatch to take a photo.

These two barked at anything!

Back on the towpath, the noisy A38 running close again, it was however drowned out by these two woofers who were working overtime on the off side. Back to Oleanna for a late lunch then an afternoon touching up more panto. Tilly explored, hopefully leaving the cat on the next boat alone. Mick retired to bed for 90 winks, whilst I was out he’d had a phone call from the hospital about his new medication and warning him not to get blind drunk and fall over!

Muddy boots

Broccoli Bacon pasta tonight.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 cats on the towpath, 1 Tilly must learn to share, 21 minutes walking together, 2 bags recycling disposed of, 1 pill box, 1 sample bottle, 2 green birdies, 5 hides, 1 rushing river, 1 nice walk, 78 brisk minutes, 2 muddy boots, 2 woofers woofing, 1 side of the front cloth stretched and tidied.

Shuffling Through X-Ray. 4th September

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Clay Mill Aqueduct to Coach and Horses Bridge 25

Should I go with Mick to the hospital this morning? He seems okay, but is he really?! He isn’t bumping into things. I questioned myself, would I be better off doing some work and leaving him to it? Would I be better off accompanying him to keep an eye on him? Would that be better for both of us? I opted to go with him.

Bus stop almost on the dual carriageway

A wet morning, thankfully not far to walk back along the towpath then climb up on the right side of the busy road to find the bus stop, then wait. Timetables were checked, at least two buses were late, but the knowledge that there are two services that would stop here and that they each have at least two buses an hour was reassuring. Once picked up we only had to travel to the next bus stop, at quite a lick!

Under the underpass where you wonder where the monkeys and parrots have gone as you walk between carriageways through a meshed tunnel. Then into the hospital, now just where is the X-ray department? We’d both been whizzed through there last week by a porter. Today a helpful chap gave us directions, Mick not noticing the direction signs as we went. He checked in at reception.

Name, date of birth, address. No that’s not the one we’ve got for you! Ah could it be a London address not Scarborough? It was. There seems to be a glitch in the NHS systems, I’ve also had this when being called about an eye appointment. Somewhere in the system, especially when it come to hospitals they still have my brothers address, which we used when we lived on board full time. We both changed back to Scarborough when we reclaimed the house. I’ve had to have my address amended at the GP’s, it now looks like Mick will have to do the same, even though he’s already done this once.

Weaving ends in in the Yellow area

The Yellow Waiting area. I read the notices on the wall about CT and MRI scans. We waited.

We chatted. We waited. I got a sock out to weave ends in. We waited. We watched night time footage of beavers, water voles and badgers. We waited.

Mick was called in. They had been expecting him to be brought to x-ray by a porter from the stroke ward. They didn’t realise he was now an out patient, even though he’d had a phone call notifying him of the appointment. I waited. One sock done, the matching one half done when he reappeared 35 minutes later. He’d had several noisy scans all concentrating on his head. Someone would be in touch. We’d spent an hour in x-ray today, last week I think it was about twenty seconds! Now to find our way out, Mick spotted the direction signs and I didn’t this time.

We popped over to Aldi to pick up a few things, more fruit, vegetables ad some firelighters. Then we caught the bus back one stop to Oleanna. Tilly headed out, it rained, it didn’t bother Tilly!

A new draft of the panto script arrived, then an email to the new props maker from John the Director. There’s a production meeting next week so things are starting to warm up again after a lull over the summer.

Quick before it rains again

It started to brighten up after lunch, should we move along a bit and hope to be able to put a little bit of distance between us and the A38. Tilly came home, we pushed off. I walked ahead the mile to find us a mooring. Last week when we’d pulled up here we’d been the only boat, now there were three others. This time hopefully we’d be staying longer than an hour. As we pulled in it started to rain again. Tilly headed straight out into the wooded bit, see ya! Another stamp of approval to be awarded today, the still noisy A38 not mattering to her.

At the helm

An afternoon kip for Mick and more panto touch ups for me. Hopefully I’ve managed to stretch the front cloth design and split it in the right places. It just needs touching up now.

Hope this is right

Liver, bacon and onions with mash and broccoli tonight. No packets of salt and pepper.

0 locks, 1.1 miles, 2 buses, 1 hour in x-ray, 2 outsides, 1 soggy cat, 1 mosaic nearly finished, 39 minutes brisk walking, 2 cloths stretched, 4.2 draft of panto, 1 Mick capable of getting about.

https://what3words.com/mercy.tolerable.running

What3words No wonder my writing isn’t the neatest!

All’s Well. 3rd September

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Shobnall Fields to Clay Mills Aqueduct

About to wind

Tilly was allowed some shore leave this morning whilst we had a slow start. All of a sudden our phones were ringing, an old friend checking on us and a change of time for Micks MRI tomorrow. We spent some time working out where would be best to moor for ease of bus access, plus filling with water a job that needed doing today. A plan was made, how would we fair?

Shobnall Marina

With Mick at the helm we pootled up to Shobnall Marina to wind. I busied myself below giving Tilly a fresh pooh box, we’ve both been doing our bit to conserve water, but she really couldn’t hang on any longer! Then I bobbed back up on deck to make sure all was as it should be just as Mick was winding. I hopped off, was handed a windlass and walked on ahead to Dallow Lock to set it for us. Someone had lost a ball, well it was more like a head. Those with kids, grandchildren are likely to know this characters name, but not me.

Who is this please?

We reversed back onto the service mooring at Horninglow Basin. It took a while for the hose pipe to actually register that it was attached to a tap! With the tank filling a load of washing was put on, then the yellow water could be dealt with. I’d considered having a shower whilst at the water point, but a boat arrived and the Paddington stares we were getting from them even though we’d said the tap was slow made me stay smelly for a while longer. We actually gave up when the tank was three quarters full. Oh blimey, the sliding hatch at the stern was open! Thank goodness Tilly was having an afternoon kip.

I walked ahead, but kept Oleanna in view as much as I could. Mick seems fine, but I just want to keep an eye on him for a while. My Dad had a similar stroke a couple of years before he passed away which only affected his vision. There were a couple of other things that he had problems with, for quite a while he couldn’t remember what the toaster was called, the kettle was fine, it was just the toaster. Stroke symptoms are individual and there are times when Mick doesn’t notice anything wrong with his vision. But sometimes moving through the outside he has a sort of fogginess, well not quite, hard to describe, his blank spots seem to be happening less. Are there other things that we just haven’t come across yet? Maybe the stern hatch being left open was one of them? Maybe he’d have done that anyway! Thankfully he does still know what a kettle is and can make tea!

I’ve seen a few slices of this tree on boat roofs

We moved on up to Bridge 28, it was starting to rain. Rumbles of thunder had been rolling around us for a while, would we get moored before the skies opened, it was certainly getting darker and darker. I walked on checking that there’d be space for us just after Clay Mills Aqueduct, there was. We pulled in away from over hanging trees and just about got away with mooring up before the rain came down.

Go away, I’m trying to make it stop!

If it wasn’t for the A38 this would be a really pleasant mooring, a good view to the south of the canal, good internet and very close to a bus stop for an express service in the morning. At first Tilly wasn’t sure about it. This outside is rumblingly wet! But I sat and stared at it for quite sometime until it obeyed. Off she went, heading off into the friendly cover, not returning for ages despite it raining again. It was gone 6pm when I had to put my shoes back on and walk the towpath calling for her, the noise from the road meaning I couldn’t hear Tilly replying to my calls nor her bell. But in the end I spotted her and she came running.

It is, so far.

Mick had an afternoon kip, he may now be caught up on missing sleep from his stay in hospital, but this also may become a regular thing. I made use of the time touching up more of panto. It’s a shame my mind had been elsewhere and I’m now revisiting work, but I know I’d not have been happy with it once enlarged.

Broccoli and mushrooms were added to the very last of the roast chicken and leek sauce and enjoyed with some brown rice.

1 lock, 3.5 miles, 1 wind, 1 reverse, 1 Mick back at the helm, 2 outsides, 1 slow day, 2 bags of used cat litter on the roof, 1 cloud burst avoided, 1 afternoon nap, 37 cows, A38! 50 minutes brisk walking, 1 soggy cat, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval, 0 packets of salt and pepper required.

https://what3words.com/mend.yacht.womb

Released! 2nd September

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Burton on Trent / Derby Hospital

I’d set the alarm clock, but I was awake long before it was going to go off. Tea with breakfast, no shore leave for Tilly, there were far more important things to do this morning, I hoped!

Mick messaged. The new shift of nurses arrived at 7am, ‘You’re going home today!’ one of them said. Next news that the missing box of pills had been dispatched from the pharmacy. It now depended on the route the hospital drugs run took around the hospital as to when it would arrive.

Breakfasted, I headed into town, to the Market Square where a queue of Bus Pass holders waited for it to turn 09:28 for them to be able to tap onto the 09:30 bus to Derby. At 09:58, as I got out of the lift on the 4th floor of the Royal Derby Hospital I got a message from Mick.

Dressed and packed and released Waiting in reception

I pressed the bell to allow me entry onto the ward, there he was sat with all his things, checking his paperwork! The nurse had been, delivered his last box of pills, he’d signed things then been left to get dressed and pack his bag. He managed to say goodbye to Brian in the bed next door, but the other two inmates had their curtains closed. Everyone was busy, no-one to say thank you to, we thanked the receptionist and headed on our way, the first time Mick had seen any of the hospital really.

A free man out in the sunshine again

No ambulance crew to help him, not that it was needed. We waited for the bus, checked which stop would be nearest to Oleanna with the current road works in Burton. Then I pointed out the sights as the bus whizzed it’s way along the A38, Willington Cooling Towers, Clay Mills pumping Station.

What to eat this evening? What would the released inmate most like to eat? I ended up having to offer various things, chicken pie and a jacket potato came out top. A few items would be needed from Sainsburys where the bus would drop us off.

Veg and fruit

A few items purchased then we took our time walking back to Oleanna. This is the first time Mick has seen this side of Burton on Trent, he had been going to explore whilst I worked for a few days. Being outside was one thing, moving through the outside another.

Oh Hi, I’m busy!!

Back at Oleanna Tilly was keen…. to go out! No healing head nudges for Mick, there was the great outside to explore! Lunch followed by an afternoon kip for Mick. A phone call regarding an MRI scan back at Derby in a few days gave us something to think about. Water and bus routes to be kept in mind. I worked on better scans for panto, piling up books to get things as flat as possible took up most of the afternoon, just a few pesky little areas not quite in focus.

Scanning, again!

A catch up phone call with Frank was interrupted by the sound of a boat engine, NB Bargus with Kat, Teddy and Bella. A few days ago I’d placed an order for a top up of diesel and some bags of coal, not knowing whether I’d be onboard or not. Kat topped us up and chatted away as Teddy her admin helper scurried along the top plank making sure she only delivered the right amount of coal to us, keeping a tally on their stock. Diesel £1.01 and coal £15 a bag. Yes we would have saved by topping up at Shobnall Marina, but we try to support the coal boats whenever we can as they are a life line in the colder months.

Having first hand information about the level at Alrewas was good. Kat had struggled her way to Fradley with one boat towing another pushing through bridge holes on the Coventry Canal a few days ago. Yesterday the locks around Fradley had gone onto time restrictions, that today had reached Bagnall Lock, the one above the lock onto the river section. In Kats opinion it won’t be long before Alrewas closes too due to lack of water. Below the canal is fed by the river, so venturing as far as Wychnor Lock should remain possible.

Chicken leek mushroom and tarragon pie

For dinner, there was the chicken to use up from my Sunday roast and the remaining pastry in the freezer from our Whitsunday Pie. Individual pies were made up with leeks and mushrooms in a Tarragon sauce, jacket spuds cooked in the oven too with some nice green crunchy broccoli. Not one packet of salt or pepper in view. We may even have had a glass of wine too!

It’s very good to have him home.

Us

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 buses, 1 leek, 2 pies, 2 jackets, 1 afternoon kip, 75 litres diesel, £1.01, 3 bags excel, 12 more scans, 7 books, 3 box sets precariously balanced, 1 box of pills, 1 Mick back with his boat.

Where we travelled in August

Just A Box Of Pills Away. 1st September

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Burton on Trent / Derby Hospital

Would today be the day? It would certainly involve more waiting, that was guaranteed!

Mick asked what the new drugs were that he was being given, no chance of remembering their names, that will come once he’s opened the boxes a few times. Lunch arrived, but no Ophthalmologist and Mick wasn’t taken to see one either. Mick asked a nurse in charge if she could chase things up as he’d only seen the Hostesses (Tuna sandwich and yoghurt for lunch), the obs nurse and been given drugs today.

Royal Derby Hospital

I got on with panto stuff. The newest version of the cyc came back from the printers with a big thumbs up, so that was a relief.

Just before 2pm Mick got to see a different doctor, who told him things he already knew about his heart beat. He wanted another ECG doing. With regards to the Ophthalmologist he didn’t think Mick needed to see one anymore. After the ECG they would revise his meds then he should be discharged today!

The briskest of brisk walks to the bus stop at the station, only to stand there for a while until it was realised that the bus stop was closed, a handy sign attached below the time table on the lamp post! Even brisker walking into town where I just missed a bus, but at least today there were two express services heading to the hospital so the wait wasn’t long.

An NHS Derby Ram

Up on the ward it was quite busy. Lots of visitors. One chap certain he could get to the loo by himself, kept taking his oxygen mask off and then his feet would appear through the curtain over the end of his bed only for the nurses to come and gently tell him off and assist him into a more comfortable position and offer him a bottle. They have to be far more patient than the patients.

The chap across the way was being briefed about the rehab place he was heading to. Maybe they’ll teach him how to make a cuppa before he heads home.

Mick refused to pack or even get dressed fully, that would only tempt fate. Someone had been along to do an ECG, it had been marked as urgent. There are more ECG machines in the hospital than Ophthalmologists, we know this as an hour after his ECG another person turned up to do one for him, two in an hour! This time he had some of his chest fur shaved off. The results sent to the doctor.

Waiting.

The doctor came over. The ECG had confirmed that Mick has AF, atrial fibrillation, his GP a month ago had said he didn’t have this. A new drug to be added to his meds. Once they were sorted out then he’d be able to come home. However, the doctor warned us that the paperwork needed to be done before that and they were very busy at the moment, so it may not be today.

More salt and pepper

Dinner arrived, chilli today.

A portable x-ray machine came into the ward, visitors were asked to leave the room, I opted to leave and head back to the boat before I got into serious trouble with Tilly. Maybe everything would be sorted for Mick to leave later on, if that was the case he’d get a cab.

I had a chicken couscous salad with lots of veg, Tilly had Salmon.

GF cous cous useful to help use up things in the fridge

An ambulance crew arrived for the chap across the way, heading off to do his Home Economics course and learn to live with reduced sight. Mick asked if they’d drop him off at the boat. Nice try, but it didn’t work.

The drugs run nurse arrived to see Mick. His discharge letter had been done! They discussed his new drugs, one they had on the ward, the other was having to be ordered from the pharmacy, it wouldn’t be with them until the morning. So just one box of pills away from being back home.

Only one thing for it, to wait.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 portals, 1 thumbs up, 2 buses, 46 brisker than brisk minutes walking, 2 ECG’s, 4 sharp showers, 2 new drugs, 1 more night in hospital.

Ham or Chicken. 31st August

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Burton on Trent / Derby Hospital

A cuppa in bed with the papers

10 out of 10 and 8 out of 10 for the blind date was relayed to the hospital where Bran Flakes had been served up this morning along with a request for a banana.

I joined the Geraghty zoom, very good to see all of Mick’s sisters, there seems to be a touch of hospital relay race going on in the family, one out, one in and another waiting to go in. Here’s hoping in a few weeks everyone will be at home and all sorted. Subjects discussed today obviously included medical things, armed guard drug deliveries, jazz hand sight tests, pulling the whistle and poo dominoes!

A good sun puddle day for Tilly

I packed a bag for Mick, our hope is that if I provided him with several clean sets of clothes he’d end up not needing them, fingers crossed. A new set of pyjamas was requested, no washing of clothes allowed on Oleanna at the moment to conserve water, plus his ear plugs. Last night after one chap had finally persuaded the staff to let him go home despite there not being a full array of his drugs to take with him (the missing one he had plenty of already at home) a new patent was admitted. Everyone on the ward has been affected in different ways by their stroke, this poor fella needed his bed changing several times during the night which obviously was quite disturbing for everyone, especially himself.

A brighter sky today

One bus company don’t run on Sundays, I had to make sure I wouldn’t end up being stranded either as the buses stopped late afternoon. A visit to Primark on the way to catch the bus then it zoomed it’s way up to Derby.

Mick was making full use of his chair, it even had an extra gel pad to sit on. No new news and no visits from a doctor of any sort, he’s just in a holding bed, or that’s what it feels like. In the bed opposite is a chap who has lost more sight than Mick. The Occupational Therapists had taken him into a kitchen on the ward and asked him to make a cuppa. ‘I wouldn’t know how, I never make tea, my wife does it’ ‘What sort of things do you cook?’ ‘I don’t, my wife does the cooking’. He was also taken for a walk down the ward then asked to find his way back to his room, ‘How am I meant to do that?’ He’s certain they have written that he is stroppy on his notes and isn’t allowed home because of this. He did offer Mick some positive news that 18 to 20% of people who have sight loss after a stroke make a full recovery, wonder if he’ll ever be capable of making his own cuppa!

We chatted, swapped clothes over. Took a photo so everyone can see he’s still with us. He insisted on me taking the photo of him pulling that funny face. Good job he was a telephone engineer and not an actor hamming it up like that! Mick ordered roast chicken for his dinner which sounded like a good idea, so I headed off to catch a bus that would have me back in Burton in time to do some shopping.

How do single people manage to shop? It’s been twenty odd years since I lived on my own. I wanted just a chicken leg to roast with some veg. I could only buy them in fours. The freezer is full of the things we had delivered last week so no room for three legs in there. I ended up buying a small chicken to roast.

Micks chicken breast looked like it had been grown in a lab, mine had tarragon and garlic under the skin. Mick had watery things that resembled sprouts, I had crunchy broccoli. Mick had gravy that had been nuked in a microwave, turned slightly chewy towards the edges, I had gravy with wine and tomato puree in it. What I didn’t have was little packets of salt and pepper though!

0 locks, 0 miles, 4 sisters, 2 buses, 1 pyjama set, 2 clean pairs of pants and socks, 1 cheese salad, 1 bored boy, 1 stroppy chap, 1 well used chair, 1 small chicken, 1 cultured chicken, 1 bored cat, 0 new neighbours on the cut, 2 boaters 1 cat with everything crossed for tomorrow.

Salted Butter. 30th August

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Burton on Trent / Derby

I woke at 6 feeling a little odd, was it something I’d eaten or stress related? I haven’t had a funny turn like this is in years. Mick had a slightly quieter night in the hospital. Porridge for breakfast, not really hot, but not cold as he normally has it on the boat. When I woke I opted to collect the Saturday newspaper before having breakfast. My pace nowhere near brisk today, I felt quite rotten really, good job we’d decided I’d not head to the hospital. If I had a bug I didn’t want to take it in with me. The paper was placed on Micks side of the bed, it’s purchase not quite so much of a treat this weekend.

Hopefully these would sort my insides out

Poached eggs on toast would hopefully make things better. Then it was time to do some work. I tried rescanning things. I compared scans. The ones the print company were saying were better, were in my mind really quite bad!

Quack!

Was there a different way of scanning them? Would they need to be sent to the printers to be scanned? Not having my IT department handy wasn’t helping. I decided to do some chores instead for a while. On Oleanna, as I’m sure happens in most homes, we each have jobs we do, you could call them pink or blue jobs, but I’m really not partial to pink! It’s time we got to know each others jobs. Today the yellow water needed emptying. Which cap to take off? There are two next to each other, one connected to a gulper pump, the other for a manual pump should the gulper stop working. ‘Which ever is finger tight’ ah yes easy! Container outside the bathroom porthole and you can reach everything . Job done.

Container and hose, ready to pump

Now could I sort the bathroom cupboard? The mirrored door goes into a spring loaded push to open catch, which should release when you push the door. With aid of a screw driver pulling the door out whilst I also pushed it in it came free very easily. It might be that the door hinges need tightening. Or more likely the catch needs replacing as the spring isn’t springing anymore. For the time being the door can remain slightly open, Tilly hopefully won’t be so bored that she tries to empty the cupboard, the toilet roll will get murdered long before she discovers the cupboard.

A bit of a tuna theme with hospital meals today, a jacket potato with cheese and tuna, this came with 3 pats of butter, most probably salted. For dinner Mick opted for a tuna salad, far healthier than the chicken goujons and chips.

Butter

I battened everything down on the roof as the wind was picking up. Did my best to popper the extra poppers on the covers. This is quite difficult on 8 year old covers with my reduced grip, as the covers have shrunk and are really REALLY tight.

Time to get back to panto. Chatgpt suggested using a setting I’d tried on the scanner, it should allow me to scan at 1200 dpi if I dug deep enough. Just how to turn off the thumbnail viewer though?. There were suggestions, but the right things didn’t appear on menus, a bit like veg in hospital meals! The scanner wanted to update itself, I let it. Then hey presto the thumbnail viewer had vanished! The first scan took forever, a good sign. The file size bigger in pixels as well as DPI and half a GB. Before I lost whatever settings I’d set I made sure I scanned everything I could find.

Us girls holding the fort

A try out to see if Mick would be able to join the Geraghty zoom tomorrow from his hospital room. At Christmas he was given a headband which has built in speakers. This is so you can lie in bed without having headphones in your ears, much more comfortable. The headband has proved useful in hospital as it also can be worn over your eyes. Mick wanted to try it out with his phone to see if he could talk on zoom without his room in the hospital being able to hear everything. Well I was audible across the ward, Mick was only occasionally audible here in Burton and he was nowhere to be seen on screen. So sadly he won’t be able to chat to his sisters in the morning.

The chilly wind outside spurred me on to light the stove. So as the gales and downpours hit, Tilly and I sat all cosy inside Oleanna. I spent the rest of the evening tidying up the cyc for Panto, if the printers say it’s better I need to find the time to rework all the other things they’ll be printing.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0.5 water tank, 1 Saturday newspaper, 1 wobbly Pip, 1 bored Mick, 1 sausage day for Tilly, 13 minutes brisk walking, 18.6grams Butter, 1 cosy warm stove, 1200dpi, 1 scanner fooled into working beyond itself.

Not Quite Hattie Jacques, But! 29th August

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Burton on Trent / Derby

When Mick had talked to the GP on Tuesday they had decided to change a blood pressure drug he was on. Unfortunately this drug wasn’t available in the stroke unit, but there was a prescription waiting for him at Boots in Burton which would mean he’d be able to take one today.

Tidying things up

I had the morning checking proofs for panto that had been sent to me. One looked like they’d used a version that I hadn’t touched up. Had they used the wrong file, I certainly didn’t want there to be water drops in the sky! Tilly had been given two hours shore leave. The first hour she really wasn’t interested, but then something caught my eye, that needed further investigation!

Bass on the pavements

Mick had seen the consultant this morning. Mr K (as he’s known on the ward) was happy with Mick’s stroke. However, some of the symptoms Mick had described to do with his eyes were not typical symptoms of a stroke. He’s definitely had a stroke, but could there be something else happening? He was referred to an Ophthalmologist in the hospital. After that he’d have his medications reviewed and be sent home! Great news.

Coopers Square

He also saw a Physiotherapist, who didn’t bother to even walk him around the room as his mobility hasn’t been affected, it’s just his vision. He was advised that he’d not be allowed to drive for a month, standard after a stroke. Then he’ll need to see a GP to be assessed before knowing whether he’ll have to revoke his licence or not. Looks like I’m going to have to put my big girls pants on, I’ve not driven for about 8 years!

Quite serious downpours of rain at times today, all quite short lived

Tilly had got herself busy. I called and called for her. I really wanted to head to the hospital. I waited, it’s not so easy waiting for a cat as it is the NHS! I started with some work again, chatted to a boater from up the way, then she returned, ‘AN HOUR LATE!!!’ Somebody needs to reset their internal clock!

Shobnall Stores is the closest shop to the canal, I bobbed in to see what newspapers they sell. They get one copy of our Saturday paper. Was I from a boat? He’d add another to his order for me. Brilliant, we can have a Saturday newspaper on a Saturday morning!

Traffic was chaos in town. I picked up Micks drugs and headed to the nearest bus stop. The bus took ages to arrive, some road works somewhere. But once on the bus it shot along the A38 depositing me back at the hospital.

Bran flakes for breakfast today with a banana I’d bought for him, then a ham and egg sandwich for lunch. He was still waiting to be seen by Ophthalmology. I took his box of new drugs to the desk and said I’d managed to score in town, paperwork was filled out, computers checked and a pill was dispensed.

Such a messy bed!

A chap across the way was refusing to sit in a very special chair, the most comfortable chair in the hospital. He was adamant. The lady across the way was sleeping, then got taken for a scan. The fourth bed had already had one patient overnight but they’d been discharged. A chap was wheeled in, then wheeled out again. Another fella arrived, lots of questions, it was a return visit for him. He chatted away to the nurses. A menu was brought for him, far bigger than Mick had been offered. This chap had missed the normal ordering of dinner. He selected, there was a comment of ‘we’re the NHS you know!’ Then a hostess arrived, said he’d been given the wrong menu. She reeled off the options, nothing was suitable for him. Eye’s rolled. More options were offered, a cheese and tomato omelette maybe. It sounded like he was expecting a glass of red wine to arrive with his meal!

Mick was informed that it was now unlikely that he’d be seen in Ophthalmology today, they might do a clinic on Saturday morning, but not guaranteed. However he would be moving again. He was in a room where people are kept under observation 24/7, he doesn’t need that and is very independent, so he’d be given his own room! Mick got things packed, then we waited. Dinner arrived, chilli, some veg in the rice. Not sure what the picky chap got in the end, maybe they’d had to send out for a Michelin starred chef!

A Team Leader arrived, Sister possibly in old language. She was going to move Mick as he was unlikely to now be seen until Monday, his bed was needed for someone else. He’d be moved to a bay. We asked if there was a possibility that he could go home and return to the hospital on Monday? This was swept away without comment. Okay then, his own room, great! Except she wouldn’t allow that! She checked her sheet. Had he been seen by a Physio? Yes, he was independent, no mobility issues. But as his problem was his eyesight she wasn’t going to allow him to have his own room. In a room he’d only see staff when they came round for drugs, food or obs. Should he have a fall he could be there for four hours before being spotted, then possibly end up needing to be in hospital longer than just the weekend! She wasn’t quite as stern as Hattie Jacques in the Carry On Films, but close.

Beware of the Hattie Jacques stare!

A bay it was, where staff come and go to see the four patients. His table, cupboard then his bed with him in it were moved from one end of the ward right to the other, no stopping off on the way to join in with the dancing session going on. None of his new neighbours seemed to be chatty, no machines that go BING! so that was good.

The bus took a different route back into town, a longer walk back to Oleanna. I cooked up a veg stir fry with yellow pea noodles whilst catching up with Frank who’d started his next lot of treatment today, he was quite buoyant about it all and kept going off on tangents as he does! Messages to catch up on, then a look at the artwork for panto. Somehow whilst I was thinking I’d scanned them to a higher resolution, I’d actually done the opposite. This weekend I’d best see if I can resolve it. Damn!

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 boats gone, 1 new boat, 1 paper on order, 2 buses, 1 box of drugs, 1 awol cat, 1 more move, 5th room in the hospital, 1 chair, 1 very excited Mick, 12 weeks not 6 months for Frank, at the moment, 1 glove to be kept handy.

Speeding Through X-Ray. 28th August

3 Replies

Burton on Trent / Derby

There was a message from Mick when I woke. At 2:30am he’d had the news that he was being moved to a different part of A&E. Here he would have a bed rather than a reclining chair but more importantly he’d be moving away from Chatty Man who hadn’t stopped talking!

There seems to be a thing about crocodiles around here

I packed a bag with all the things I should have packed yesterday, neither of us had thought he’d be staying in the hospital for long. The X38 bus works on a loop, so I returned to the station and climbed aboard, the destination on the front of the bus was Burton but it would carry on back to Derby on a slightly different route. Blimey it doesn’t half whiz along the A38 back to the hospital! Now I just had to find firstly where A&E was then ‘C side’. It really doesn’t help when the staff refer to part of the hospital as side, rather than area which is on the signs. Logic had me walking into the right bit of the hospital in the end.

Mick was in the second bay, a wide bay all to himself! Peace and quiet too, well apart from when the hospital had woken up around him. Breakfast, blood pressure checks. He’d seen a doctor from the stroke unit, had similar tests as yesterday. Hopefully soon he’d be on his way up to the ward.

Phone was put on charge, there were things for us to talk about. It’s times like this you stop and think about things that have been on your mind but other things, everyday things get in the way, so they get filed away to the side. We’ve been meaning to sort out Power of Attorney for each other for the last few years, but never got round to it. There were other things to discuss as well.

Sandwich comparison

Yummy! Lunchtime. Hot food or a sandwich?

Egg and Ham on white sliced for Mick, the side of the packet said ‘Just For You’! My chicken mayo sandwich brought from home looked a lot more appetising!

Still we waited, we’ve got waiting down to an art form now!

The number of messages we’ve received from friends sending healing wishes and love, offers of fish pie from Australia, offers of company, offers of help with the boat from our boating friends has been very humbling. Thank you all so much for your support. Social media has it’s problems, but in our nomadic life it is a great connection to our friends and family. If there is anything people can help with I will most certainly ask, for now we’re fine.

A phone call from Frank, little signal so I went outside to chat to him. Medical PA Duties for two clients now. Frank had had a procedure this morning, but was more interested in how Mick was doing.

Speeding through x-ray

As I walked back to Mick’s bay there was a porter and nurse, bags packed and he was about to be moved up to the Acute Stroke Unit. Blimey that porter must get plenty of brisk minutes walking in every day, I managed to keep up, many wouldn’t have! Along one corridor, a handbreak turn onto another. A short cut through xray, Micks bed swinging round corners, one poor chap in an electric wheelchair had to quickly get out of the way. Did this porter have blue flashing lights going? The only time we stopped was when we reached the lifts to climb to the forth floor.

Round a few more corridors to the ward. ‘Who’s this?’ ‘That way’ ‘In Here’. A tourniquet (collective noun?) of nurses and medical staff stood at the entrance to the room where Mick was to be. As his bed approached they swarmed round him, mobbing him. I was directed to a waiting area, I’d be called when they finished.

Don’t think he needs conditioner

All wired up to his own BING! machine. He was now in the right place for tests, observations and crockery with his meals. We waited. I headed out to see if I could find small bottles of shower gel and shampoo. Nothing in the hospital, an Aldi across the road. Shampoo choices were amusing. I selected and returned. It didn’t seem like there would be much more happening today so I left him with the jolly staff, hoping to be able to give Tilly some shore leave when I got back to Oleanna.

Tilly has her own fur super hero mask, unlike this cat

Photos of hospital not-so healthy food were sent to me. He had CHIPS! I made do with chicken pasta. A shower was taken then he was rigged up to a super dooper heart monitor, results taken to a doctor. Three BING! machines in the room reduced to two which gradually worked them selves to be in unison. Time for him to try to catch some sleep and me to cast on the next pair of socks.

Pair 104?

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 buses, 1 boat across the way, 1 hours shore leave, 2 bottles of toiletries, 1 ft of tubing, 40 minutes brisk walking, 1 super speedy porter, 5 handbrake turns, 1 near miss, 1 mob of nurses, 1 boyfriend with Kevin Keegan hair, BING!

To Grow A Peach Like You. 27th August

4 Replies

Burton on Trent / Derby

I was delivered a cuppa in bed this morning, Mick was having breakfast, he then set off to hopefully catch the A&E department at Queens Hospital Burton early. It’s about a fifteen minute walk to the hospital and across the busy A38. He was triaged quickly at about 8:30, the screen saying that the waiting time to see a clinician was currently 17 minutes!

Very autumnal

Twenty minutes later he moved to the Urgent Treatment Centre waiting area. I got up and started to do some work on panto. Today with Mick out of the way for a while I was going to sort out stretching the artwork for the front cloth. With Tilly out I had the peace and quiet to find a solution and start work on it.

By 9:30 Mick was waiting for a CT scan to make sure he’d not had a stroke, they didn’t think he had.

Opposite the moorings started to empty out. I considered moving over but the wind was building and I didn’t fancy fighting to tie Oleanna up. Plus there was a group of youths chasing each other around the fields holding large firework rockets in their hands, the rockets aimed at each other.

An empty waiting room

11:30 Mick joined the queue for a scan. Fifteen minutes later the fire alarm went off and he was put in a wheelchair to move him to somewhere safe, this is when Mick seemed to become attached to wheels. Just after midday he’d had his scan, just had to wait for the results. The waiting room emptied out until he was the sole person there, had everyone gone for lunch?

Then at 2pm he was given the results, he’d had a small stroke. They were deciding what to do with him, where to refer him to. I headed over to be his back up memory, my second client as a Medical PA, I’d already caught up with Frank this morning. Mick’s messages suggested he didn’t think he’d be there long, he didn’t want me to take lunch, I took a banana and not much else. Have to say the result wasn’t that much of a surprise to me as my Dad had a stroke that affected his vision, he couldn’t see Judith Stamper one of the Look North presenters on TV one night. Mick’s problem had been similar, but his blank spots had come and gone.

Ambulance 4851

Finding the A&E department was quite complicated, just as I got close he said he was being sent to Derby Hospital to the stroke unit there, they were arranging transport. Then I was given the number of the ambulance he was about to be put in, we met just as he was being pushed up the ramp into it. Neither of us had expected him to going somewhere overnight.

Our second ambulance ride and third hospital in two weeks. It didn’t take that long to reach The Royal Derby Hospital where he was popped on a trolley in the middle of the A&E Majors. Pretty soon a nurse from the Acute Stroke Unit arrived, she chatted things through. Did various visual tests and others for stroke victims. She’d seen his CT scan and they wanted him to stay for tests to try to find out why it had happened, maybe it was connected to our previous trip to hospital ten days ago, or it might just be a coincidence.

Finally someone asked him to move to a room with reclining chairs, he was allowed to actually walk there. He was given some food, pasta carbonara … possibly! We waited, there had been mention that there was a bed for him up on the ward and it would only be an hour before he could move. We waited, a few people came and went, we waited. Nothing else was going to happen today so I opted to leave and head back to feed Tilly, we made a list of things he’d be needing. A very handy express bus back to Burton, a bit of shopping and I was back on board within an hour. I had a nice homemade chicken curry old style for my dinner.

By the time I headed for bed, Mick was still sat in his recliner, a man was asking everyone who arrived what they were there for, he was obviously an expert in everything and seriously annoying! His chat up line for the nurses, ‘They grow pears in America, they grow apples there too. But it takes a place like (insert where the nurse comes from) Swadlincote to grow a peach like you.’

0 locks, 0 miles, 0.3 of a front cloth sorted, 2 hours shore leave, 1 CT scan, 1 blood test, 2 A&E’s, 1 ambulance, 1 wheel chair, 2 trolleys, 1 recliner chair, 1 bus, 1 bemused cat, 241 messages, 1 stroke.