Not a day I want to repeat in a hurry

 No positives at all yesterday.  I was on my own with Keith, and he was obstreperous as it's possible to be.  I found that the D. Nurse had to come out again (we'd only seen her the day before), and I ended up having to change sheets 3 times (twice in the space of an hour) and try and replace the dressing which had gone on less than an hour earlier.  Not easy as Keith was tired and found it difficult to stand for me to get the dressing in place.  To do this with him lieing down it takes two people - one to help him stay on his side and the other to do the dressing.  As the day went on I became increasingly angry and frustrated and worried and horrible and kept bursting into tears.  I hate myself as I was shouting at Keith, and he wasn't co-operating as he hates the tilting mattress and keeps telling me it isn't working (it is, for the main (large) pressure sore but we can't seem to get the surrounding area to stay dry.  He refused to have a pad beneath him which the D. Nurse said to use (hence the sheet changing and washing machine on all day).  He has wax in his ears and had the tv nearly as loud as it can go and it was driving me mad.  I have come close to breaking point today and there seems very little likelihood of ever having carers to help here.

Debby - communication is via a sheet printed with the alphabet or with a predictive text i-pad but Keith seems to prefer the sheet.  However, I keep missing letters or he doesn't point clearly or the letters are covered by his hand, and that is frustrating for both of us too.  The OT woman is the one who does everything by the books and is NOT helping with adaptations to help him, but actually taking things AWAY!  I said we didn't want her here again, but have to suffer her being back here again next week, or else cause a delay.  I rather think I shall be telling her this when she arrives next week, having found out that she has not allowed an order for a motorised wheelchair to go through but modified it to a non-motorised one and the first we heard of this was when I was chasing the order up.

The day continued to deteriorate when I noticed I needed two new front tyres on the car but I couldn't get away to the garage.  Hoping they have them in stock . . .  Then the Asic running shoes I bought on Ebay arrived and seemed ok at first, but the longer I wore them the tighter they got and so I have spent good money for nothing.  I know - don't buy shoes without trying them on, but needs must. I will have to try and get to Hereford today to go and actually try some on before buying.  I just cannot get away these days and Hereford is the nearest place I can go shoe shopping.  It's Malvern Flea on Sunday and I HAVE to be able to walk comfortably for that.

I have been awake since midnight (2.30 a.m. now) and came down as feet so painful (the bad one still hasn't healed) and back and arthritic neck hurting from trying to get Keith up the bed earlier.  I've had Ibuprofen in the hope I can sleep when I go up again.

Pippi has been catching 3 meeces a day and I have either been removing corpses or trying to rescue the poor blighters before they are murdered.

The only good bit of the day was relaxing a bit this evening watching two episodes of Poldark with D & E (well, D was on his phone listening to Podcasts instead).  I hope today is better, but the Respite afternoon I had planned has now been hijacked by shoe shopping. Yeesh.

A full house

 Tam and Rosie have been staying here - Tam wanted me to look after Rosie whilst she was in the Dentist's yesterday.  She was gone an hour and I was quite relieved to hand Rosie back as she needed to sleep but wouldn't settle in her pram - I'm not surprised as the pavements were very bumpy.  I was in the single bed in Keith's bedroom and didn't sleep at all well as too hot and Keith's bed is noisy, plus his breathing was too for a while. 

This morning we had a meeting over funding for continuing care for Keith.  Gabby and Tam were present to help support me.  Was it down to the Council or did the NHS pick up the bill? We had the Social Worker and the Parkinsons' Nurse on line, and we did a series of questions which determined his vulnerability.  He doesn't come under NHS terms yet, and so we will have to carry on waiting for Carers to become available via the council.  I'm not holding my breath.  I spent two hours and more yesterday writing notes for this, only to find they weren't needed.  Next week we have more professionals coming out, including the officious OT lady again and the Speech and Language Therapy lady.

Isn't this pretty?  My favourite from the display of a local sewing group in the photo above.

Above - some of the lovely textiles on display in the Church.

Now, a taster of the FABULOUS quilts to come in the next post:

These are the work of Liz Jones, who has displayed them in the USA and been a prize   winner (no surprise there!)  Here is a link to one of the quilts (displayed here too) when it was at Malvern Quilt Festival this spring.   Back in the morning.

Threads Through Creation at Leominster Priory Church

 A long picture-heavy post, and there will be more textiles photos in a post tomorrow.  Yesterday I went to Leominster Priory Church to see the textiles exhibition by Jacqui Parkinson.  These fabulous hangings took her three years to design and make.  They are fabulous works of art and illustrate the Genesis story.  Sorry - few words from me as I'm busy today, playing catch-up after having a house-full yesterday when Tam, Jon and Rosie came to visit.  D,E and I are out at a re-enactment day at Tretower Court.  I wish I was there too.

If you click on the photos, you can enlarge them (useful for the words telling you about each piece).

When I last visited, I missed the Piscina in this side chapel because there was an orchestra setting up there .

Finally some outside pictures showing the massive Norman door way and the beautifully carved capitals, carved by masons of the Herefordshire School of Romanesque Sculpture - though at the times they just thought of themselves as masons of course!  

I hope you are all having an enjoyable weekend.

I am here . . .

 but it's been a difficult and demanding week, with visits from Professionals.  I am off to Leominster this morning for a bit of Respite.  There's a textiles exhibition in the Priory Church and various folk demonstrating weaving, knitting, quilting, sewing etc and giving little 5 minute talks throughout the day.  I will, as always, have to be fairly swift - Tam, Jon and Rosie are here this afternoon.  It is of course, POURING with rain! and feels like a relapse into winter.

The week bought good things too, beautiful flowers from my dear friend Danette (thank you again my dear, they are lovely and have brought great pleasure).  A visit from another dear friend, Nia, who bought me a Hosta, which is currently in the greenhouse until I can get some more copper tape to protect it.  We talked the hind legs off several donkeys!   Then Nia had scarcely left, when my friend Pam came round, then whilst we were still chatting, the GP and the D. Nurse came . . .  D. Nurses have been here several times this week (twice yesterday) and Keith is now on pills for Thrush.  Don't ask . . . The downside of antibiotics. 

Danny is on holiday for a week now, so I will have another day out next week, but haven't planned where yet.    Right, better stir my stumps, as mum used to say! (And find my waterproofs!)

An Evening Drive

 I had to go out this evening  This afternoon's visit from the GP required me to try and get my head around a situation.  The two D. Nurses here for over an hour today too and a more bomb-proof dressing now in place.  The new tilting Toto mattress was also delivered.  I'm not sure how well it's going to work as it has a 30 degree tilt and has had Keith on his "bad side" for far too long.  We need to turn it off when he is off the bed, and then it reset to the side it had been on so he's been on the painful side for several hours now.  I've adjusted it to one hour turns instead of 2 hrs and hopefully it will go the other way soon as it's painful for Keith.  Worryingly, we have also heard that Covid numbers are quite high in the town, which is the last thing we need.  Back to mask wearing again.  I won't sleep well tonight, though I have been up since 5 a.m. when I was sewing Gabby's C. present quilt.  I am relieved to say it is going much easier than Rosie's crawler quilt and I have good alignments where blocks join.  The quilt is called "Step this Way".

Anyway, here are a few photos from my drive out tonight.  It is SO BEAUTIFUL here.  I drove over the top, to capture the views of the Black Mountains and Hay Bluff, and of course the Brecon Beacons too.