The Paul's Himalayan Musk in full bloom.
This wee baby bat gave me a bit of a shock today. There I was, putting on my painting/gardening cord trousers ready to do more decorating, put one leg in and this little chap was catapulted onto the bedroom carpet. Of course, I carefully picked him up in a duster and took him downstairs where I very carefully trimmed off the cobwebs wound around his legs. Then I took him out to the old tack/feed room and put him in a cool corner. I'm not sure if he will survive, he may be dehydrated, but I've given him his best chance. We suspect he has come down Tamzin's chimney,which we thought we had totally bat-proofed . . .
Keith saw the Parkinson's nurse today and what a breath of fresh air SHE was! He was just saying he couldn't walk as far as the waiting room and would I get the wheelchair, when she whisked up behind him and told him to quick MARCH, heels first, looking up and ahead, and there he was, doing as he was told and walking better than he has in months. All the muscles have been wasted and it will take him a while for strength to return, but she is going to arrange physio, and he has an add-on medication - which of course Boots didn't have in stock and had to order for tomorrow morning. Things are looking a bit more positive again. Just walking properly will make such a difference to him and he CAN do it.
When we got home and opened the post, we found we had been awarded Attendance Allowance, with a back-dated cheque, so that was positive too. Onwards and upwards.
You've given the little bat the best chance, so I hope it survives. The roses are gorgeous, and I recall it was a year or two ago (time passes quickly and I've lost track) when you'd posted a picture of these that I first commented. I hope that Keith continues to show improvement walking, and the new medicine helps.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Celie. If they were the roses here (I had this one, oh boy DID I?! at our old home too) then you've been commenting for a year now.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the walking is about confidence - which of course he has lost with being so wobbly on his feet. I am hoping he will soon start to make progress though I reckon the physio will get more out of him than I will. He'll listen to him!
Better than a live mouse I guess! I know the time I found a bat half dead it was just fascinating to get the chance to see it close up.
ReplyDeleteGood news re the walking and attendance allowance. - and the physio - who can work wonders
Well yes - when the kitchen was being done they found two mouseholes beneath the sink unit, and duly blocked them up. A week later there was a definite dead mouse smell - yet surely it had been coming in from outside - not across the kitchen floor with 4 cats in the room!
DeleteI am hoping Keith will soon be turning a corner and walking better again. For as long as possible . . .
Good news all round..and well done Keith and nurse!
ReplyDeleteIt may seem odd, but try a static bike... university research in the USA found that sending a patient off for even a ten minute ride on the back of a tandem drastically reduced the Parkinson's shake.
One of our friends has developed Parkinson's and is already a cyclist. We have stayed with them and the difference before and after a ride is indeed noticeable. Sometimes as well when it is bad he tells his hand to behave...and that works too!! If only for a while..as his Parkinson's is well progressed.
Keith doesn't have the traditional Parkinsons' shaky hands. His main problem is mobility, which is pretty bad right now, having waited SO long untreated. The Physio did suggest using a static bike at Llandod Hospital, so may well put that back into play again. Thank you for mentioning it.
DeleteI am glad you tried to save the little bat. It sure would have felt stickery in your pants leg had it not have fallen out. Bats are such amazing little creatures. I hope it will survive.
ReplyDeleteSo many years ago when I was a child, our neighbors had cut down a tree and there was a bat in the tree. The neighbors had put the bat in the hot sun in their yard with a bucket turned over it. It was one of our 100 degree summer days. My Dad and I were out in the yard when we heard about the poor bat trapped under the bucket so it would die. Dad said come on, we're going over to get it. He went inro our house and brought some thick leather work gloves out and we went over to the neighbors and he put on the leather gloves and picked up the bucket a little and took what turned out to be a mama bat and her baby out from under the bucket and we brought them home and put them in a little wire mouse cage I had. Dad helped the weakened mother bat with the baby bat attached to her still trying to nurse to get her feet to cling to the top of the litle cage. Here in Missouri bats are sometimes found to have rabies so I was not allowed to touch the bats in case they were sick. The poor mama bat hung in the cage that we had set on the dining room table. She was real weak from having been roasted in the heat in a bucket under the sun. We got an eye dropper and gave mama bat water from it and she just drank and drank. My Mom thought since the mama bat was nursing we might see if it would drink a little milk from the eyedropper. The mama bat's tiny little tongue just licked and licked the drips of milk from the eyedropper. Then we covered the cage with a cloth so she could rest and cool down in our air conditioned house. We gave her water from the eyedropper several times through the day and after she snapped out of her dehydration and cooled down and got her strength back she climbed around at the top of the mouse cage. The tiny baby bat was so sweet. It clung to her soft fur and just stayed there nursing. When mama bat would open her wings we could see the baby. After seeing how the mama bat drank and drank Dad decided that it probably didn't have rabies or sickness of any kind, and I was allowed to pet the mama bat. Her fur was so fine and soft. She made no attempt to move away from me or to bite me. She just calmly hung there letting me gently pet her. I only touched her for a very few moments, because we didn't want to scare her or stress her or the little bat baby nestled under her wing. When I finished petting her I went and washed and washed my hands with warm soapy water. We gave her plenty of water and a bit more milk through the day, and when night came and it finally got a little breezy and the temperature came down into the high 70's, we took the little cage outside and my Dad reached in wearing his leather glove and took mama bat with baby tucked up under her wing and let her move to the edge of his hand and we watched her fly away with the baby stilll clinging to her. I always hoped she found a tree at our house to stay in.
Susie - sadly it didn't survive. It was pretty far gone by the time I found it and as I said to Thelma (below), I didn't have a tiny pipette to give it a drink without drowning the poor thing.
DeleteWhat a wonderful story about the mama and baby bats you and your dad saved. That sounds like a precious memory for you and your dad was obviously a very caring man. Unlike the neighbours . . .
So good to hear Keith is finally seeing the specialists he needs. I am a big proponent of physical therapy--for me, recently, it is due to ACL reconstruction surgery last month (at 71, I am v old for this procedure--in fact, surgeon's oldest patient for this procedure :). Fortunately, I did PT for six weeks prior to surgery to help build up my quads, hamstring and core. A big help as I'd been in a brace since mid-March when I was injured and my muscles weren't getting enough use. It only seems to take a wink of an eye to lose muscle strength (a definite case of use it/lose it), so I hope that with the physio's help, Keith will gain back enough muscle tone to help keep him steady on his pins. Hope you are keeping well, too. A lot of work on your shoulders.
ReplyDeleteOooh, that sounds very painful both before and after the op. It's something I hear of active dogs (Collies, Boxers etc) getting, but of course, no reason humans don't get it too! I agree with you about muscle strength being lost so quickly. We used to do Fairs regularly before Covid and I soon lost upper body strength when we didn't do the Fairs. I need to keep fit to help Keith but gosh, I relish my few hours off so I can unwind.
DeleteThe Physio is a very clued-up lad and I know will be very helpful.
I hope you soon make a total recovery.
Better news for Keith, hope the medicine and exercise will work. The Himalayan Musk is stunning though given to giantism! That poor little bat looks far gone, did you give it any water?
ReplyDeleteI had no pipette small enough to give him a sip without drowning him - he was so wee. Sadly he expired.
DeleteKeith and I both feeling more positive about the add-on medication, so now we have to wait for THAT to work and the Physio to return.
I'm so impressed with Keith's Parkinson's Nurse - Keith will feel so much better knowing there is a competent, confident professional supporting his rehabilitation. And that will relieve you too. Now you need sun, time in your garden and beautiful flowers to enjoy - my prescription, and all freely available!!
ReplyDeleteYou and me both Virginia - gosh I wish he'd listen to me the way he did to her! I just get excuses!
DeleteA great prescription :) The sun is a bit lacking this morning, but that's good as it means I can garden without expiring (don't do heat). The garden brings me joy, as do the views out of the window and the thought of Keith getting better for a while (for as long as possible we hope).