A Change Of Routine

On Tuesday Margaret had a visit to the Podiatrist. I had told her that we must leave by 12.15 pm to enable me to park and locate his office in Noosa Junction. I checked at 11.00 am and Margaret was up and showered so all looked OK. I gave he a light lunch at 11.30 am but at 12.00 noon when I looked in and she was fast asleep in bed. She was very annoyed at being woken up and had obviously forgotten about the appointment. She took some time putting her makeup on as she has developed some unsightly spots on her nose and she couldn't cover them up properly. She blamed the spots on the package we received the other day which were actually dressings for skin tears arranged by Blue Care. Her nose unfortunately reflects the state of her blood and the spots are little burst blood vessels which will disappear with time but others will soon replace then. Anyway it was a very bad tempered Margaret who got into the car at 12.30 pm.

We had a 20 minute drive to the Junction where I managed to get a disabled car park which has no time limit on parking. I pushed her in her wheelchair down the road to find the office. It was 32C/90F and 85% humidity and I was very uncomfortable. The office had a tiny vestibule and we had to move furniture to get Margaret's wheelchair inside. Here I found that I had left Margaret's Doctor's letter in the car so I left her filling most of the space while I hurried back to the car to get the letter. I got back just after 1.00 pm and Margaret had been wheeled into another small room where the podiatrist worked. We had previously visited him at his Tewantin Rooms which are quite spacious. He spent about 30 minutes tidying up Margaret's feet which luckily weren't in too bad a condition. He explained that the poor circulation and fluid retention around her ankles made it important that her feet were kept a sterile as possible to prevent infection. He recommended spraying the with methylated spirits every day. For our English readers metho, as we call it here, is unadulterated alcohol and perfectly clear.

After the treatment I wheeled Margaret up and down the Junction so that she could look at the shops which are mostly touristy in this area. We got home at about 2.30 pm.

Wednesday was my big day. I had arranged for Blue Care to come and look after Margaret for four hours while I spent an afternoon at my Computer Club. It is three months since I last had a respite break. Margaret didn't want a carer to come and told me to go and she would be OK on her own. Note that during the morning she had had two "accidents" on the way to the loo so I ignored her and at 12.30 pm a carer,T, arrived. I told her that Margaret was really grumpy and was hiding in her be room. I showed T around and than took her into Margaret. I had Louis on his lead as he gets excited with new visitors. Margaret said hello but didn't get up so I hooked Louis to Margaret's bed and went out.

I had a good time at the club catching up with old friends and listening to the talks. Before August last year I normally gave a talk but I think I will just listen until things sort themselves out at home. I got home just before 4.30 pm to find T watching TV in the lounge with Louis at her feet. Margaret came out from her bedroom in a very nice mood. Apparently she had got up just after I left and had a cup of tea with T who had brought her lunch with her. Louis had been let of his lead as T had four dogs of her own. Margaret had got tired and gone back to bed about 3.00 pm and Louis has wandered from her bedroom to the lounge as he felt fit. T said that Margaret had been a bit confused but very nice and would be happy to come again next month.

Thursday was a normal day with Margaret having little "accidents" and being quite confused at times. After dinner, bangers and mash which she ate, she felt unwell and went to bed early. This morning at 4.00am the intercom between our rooms woke me up so I hurried in to see what the problem was. Margaret had had to get up and couldn't find her light switch which is three inches square and right next to her on her bedside table. She had pressed the intercom button on her phone by mistake. I showed her the light switch, helped her to the bathroom and saw her back to bed. She was very confused and said she didn't know where she was. At 4.45 am I noticed her light was still on and found her still awake. She complained of cold feet and I had to re-arrange her bed clothes to enable her to snuggle down. When she went bed it was quite warm and she laid on top with the ceiling fan on. During the night the temperature had dropped and her feet which have very poor circulation got cold and hurt.

She is now quite worried about what she has to wear to go out for a blood test followed by lunch at the Bowls Club. Really she only wears a light blouse or top with trousers over her undies and wears sheepskin slippers/scuffs on her feet. I have told her that I will sort something out at about 10.30 am in good time for us to go out.