Sunday, December 04, 2011

I have a virus and an allergy


I have a virus, nothing major but I can't speak. I also have an allergy from the floating rubbish in the garden when I was stacking bricks. I don't look well with festering spots but it will keep me from leaving the house for a few days, Yippee.

So what was that I was saying, about going to the Home because we have the room to ourselves. Not exactly quiet. The ageing bones (95) in the corner decided to have a day of biting, pinching and scratching and falling out of bed. Until Mother put a stop to that, "V put your legs back in the bed and pull the covers up!" which the old witch did and slept for the rest of the afternoon.

The nursing staff have to be kind, mother doesn't.

Resident no. 2 of the room was waiting to be taken out to lunch, she loves her food but the family rang to say they would be late. She'd missed lunch and now looked like not being fed until late afternoon and did she moan and groan. She could have had lunch there and had another lunch later and on and on and on. Mother says it's no good trying to stop her, she doesn't have an off switch.

Resident no. 3 usually stays in the day room to look out the window but she was tired so they popped her into bed for a rest but she has a phobia about loud noises and she's in a room with me, poor old thing.

I do not go down there for one Saturday and she's in a mess. Where's this, where's that, try that box, try that bag (the bag was very trying) until she had everything she needed. Then I started with the tidying up and throwing out and the taking home for later. If I cut out the card images, it saves time and cuts down the paper mess and any card not suitable, I tear up and she can't have it back.

So we have a full room with me, two visitors for mum and the tea lady and the residents cat. The cat is hilarious, they have one Christmas tree up in the foyer and the cat can see it but can't get to it and he has tried every which way. There'll be no tree in the day room this year with the cat wanting to climb and one of the residents has a habit of trying to eat anything shiny (a new one).

By the time I left, there were 3 empty plastic bags and 1 empty green bag which I filled with all the stuff she wanted taken home, books, cards to cut up, magazines, picture frame (she wants a smaller one). Great, I'm wasted, loaded down with two bags and the taxi is a wheelchair maxi taxi. The driver offers to help me in. I needed a rope ladder to climb up to the first step but I just wanted to get home and unload the garbage.


I woke up this morning with no voice but went on the usual walk for the Sunday papers, had to give the school Christmas fair a miss and I could smell the bbq snags and onions cooking. If only tofu could smell like frying onions and snags, we'd have more vegos. And it rained on me again.

4 comments:

Middle Child said...

Sounds just lovely. When I help the kids I tell them I a buying my way out of the nursing home....they think its a joke! Not too far away from living in Vic -

Elephant's Child said...

I hope you are able to spend your few days at home, reading and just generally being kind to yourself.
I love your sparkly reindeer. He almost made me feel christmasy. Almost.
When you have had a few days of self care at home, I hope your virus and allergy leave.

JahTeh said...

Therese, I hope the hippie van makes the destination. I really love the house it's just lovely but I think Don would have had a laugh at some of the photos on the walls.

EC, I love reading Christmas magazines knowing that I don't have to do a thing.
Christmas Day takes years off a woman's life. It's unnatural that one should be forced into a small space with a moronic extended family.

Kath Lockett said...

I hope you feel better soon and I hope also that the cat gets to that tree....

LOVE this line - "The nursing staff have to be kind, mother doesn't."