Only a couple of weeks back a theme for my weekly
blog post was on taking good health for granted.
Mum age 90 and Dad age 86 have both enjoyed such rude health
(with a few exceptions) that I have been taking.
their good health for granted as well. Last week
dad broke his hip and was taken to hospital. Mum's
email to the family says it all:
"
Frank went into hospital yesterday, having slipped on a wet leaf while going into the garden to show where the ladder was to one of the two workmen, checking the central heating.
After the fall, Frank laid on the stone floor in the damp and rain for nearly an hour (we gave him cushions where practical and covered him with a blanket ) until the ambulance finally turned up with 2 girls.. good drivers and nurses.apparently ..did all the right things, except that they couldn't lift him. and had to get the workmen in the house( still ineffectively trying to mend the central heating) to lift him over the garden step and on to the stretcher...(Manpower!! necessary still!!) OK from thereon as all the machinery, lifts etc. worked well and the A& E dept at the local hospital St. Helier... Kathy has volunteered to do our shopping and offers of every kind from transport and bed lifting have come in from everybody. ... All your best wishes and offers of help have been passed on to him which we shall repeat when Steph and I go there today. Meanwhile, very sincere thanks to everybody for everything. LOL MUM/JENNIE and STEPH at the OLD WALLINGTON BASE"
Upon visiting him in hospital his spirits are a high as ever despite the undoubted pain.
The NHS staff are wonderful and although the ward is a little spartan the facilities
are more than adequate despite the UK media column inches decrying the state
of the National Health Service.
Mum's update:
ReplyDelete"Dad got home yesterday. He says he would have collapsed with dementia if he hadn't got out earlier. The newest arrival to the ward who looked quite normal for his age, suddenly startled everybody ...that is those sufficiently awake to hear anything, with his yells "I can see rats under the bed and look there's a tiger there, and a monkey there"..."I'm the only monkey on this ward,"retorted an 'ethnic' nurse with an obvious sense of humour..." and there's a tiger there..."went on the patient "And look there's an actuary over there," called out Dad...which in fact there was, as one of the few really normally 'ill' patients in the ward.. after being there for three weeks, he left without anything untoward (DG) being discovered. So you can imagine Dad's relief at being out of the hospital. Stuff enough for a play. And that's not all of it by any means. Anyway Dad's managed to get up the stairs here and has had a taste of the wonderful 'Sumptuous' parcel sent by Edmund with me making a dive for the choc biscuits included inter alia.. What a truly 'sumptuous parcel it was and is. Many thanks and to everybody who visited and/or sent good wishes. Much appreciated by Dad and me. He'll be back to normal I hope other than that awful bruise that covers his back and side like a black tyre. See you soon maybe but in any case Best wishes and many thanks again to everybody. LOL MUM "