FINALLY - 6 weeks on . . .

 

. . . from testing positive for Covid, I feel back to normal today.  We both slept better, my brain is clearer, I have energy and what's more I have purpose.  I WANT to do things again, and have some wild foraged fruits out of the freezer to make Hedgerow Jelly with tomorrow along with a kilo of Crab Apples which were being given away in the PO.   All the time I've been ill I haven't given a sh*t about anything, and everything has just been SUCH an effort. Even going up and down stairs has made me feel like I've just run a marathon (mind you, I counted the times one day last week and it was 19 trips up and down the stairs!!)  

    Keith too has been better - speech clearer, he has walked briskly up and down the kitchen twice with his stroller, and we've been doing his Pitcherwits puzzle together - his writing was the first thing to go with this horrid disease - it just got smaller and smaller and his whole right hand side was affected with slowness. Only on a very good day can he manage some shaky capitals, so he tells me the answers and I write them in.   

    I had the energy to go up to our neighbour's again and this time he was in and came back with me straight away to change the noisy smoke alarm battery.  I have done the one in the kitchen and think we need a new one entirely for the yellow bedroom as when I tried to get the cover off it started falling off the ceiling!  I will have to get either Danny or Jon to fix that though.  

    Keith and I watched Escape to the Country and then Antiques Road Trip together (Carmarthenshire & Swansea, so some shops and countryside we knew well) and I've done some family history too.  I want to apply for the death certificates of my g. grandmother Harriet Wootton and her mother Mary Ann Fosdick.  They died age 36 and 42 respectively, but it's possible that Harriet died from childbirth complications as she had her final child within 3 months of giving birth.  Until I get the certificate I won't know how close to parturition. You can still get digital copies of the certificates for just £2.50 - I got those of my Bolt G. grandparents that way - but today it's been very slow. 

 *DEBBIE (Country Ways and Cottage Days) - it's the GRO (General Register Office).  You will need to research the death details (Free BMD will be fine) and get the Name, Place, year, which quarter of the year and that will give you a reference  (1A 7 for instance).  When you are typing up the details on the GRO site, ignore the prices for posted certificates and there will be an online option in one of the boxes where you put your person's details.  Then you go on to pay, and THEN you click I'm not a robot and have to jump through all sorts of loops if you can't include every bit of car, motorbike, bus, traffic light etc in photos . . .  Yeesh!  I would say unless you have superfast broadband, wait until the daytime tomorrow when less people online.

    FINALLY I now know - Acute Rheumatism Pericarditis. A rare form of heart failure and due to, I believe, auto-immune problems. Treatable now but of course, not then. Her poor baby was only a month old when she died and my gran was only 3. G. Grandad quickly remarried of course, just 8 months later - he had to with 6 children under the age of 10.  Not much in the way of prophylactics available THEN!  

    Her mother was young too.  Still waiting for things to load on the site before I can share her story. If I've identified cars or motorbikes or zebra crossings or traffic lights once, I've done them 20 times, and then the broadband fades out!  I shall report back later.