Whose Smart Idea Was It to Buy A DVD PLayer?

Actually it was mine!   As I said last time Margaret was getting bored so a DVD player appeared to be a good idea at the time.  For Margaret it has been a great but for me it is a PITA.  It has a remote control with no less than thirty buttons on it and I have given up trying to teach Margaret to use it.  I have been trying to teach her how to use the manual controls on the player itself istead.  The player sits on her over bed table within easy arm's reach so it is quite easy for her to use.

There are four buttons on top, two of which are set up and she doesn't need to use them.  The other two are play/pause  and stop.  There is ,of course, the normal control for navigation through the DVD i.e.  an OK button surrounded by four buttons with arrows.  On the side is a volume control and an on/off switch plus a couple of socket for headphones, AV connections and the external power pack.  These are all too much for Margaret.  I forgot the cover for the DVD which has its own release button.

The first problem is getting her to remember how to insert a DVD.  She should press the release button and the lid flips up. Now she should press the centre of the DVD with her finger while easing her thumb under the DVD to lift it out.  She can't do it in spite of having a good right arm.  No worries I  load a new DVD each morning and evening and she has up to four hours of play time to keep her happy.  She just has to switch player on and use the DVD's menu to play what ever she wants.

Next problem she can't remember where the on/off switch is - I shall put a label next to it and while I am at it label the volume control and play/pause and stop buttons.  Another problem when a DVD starts it normally presents a menu which you use the navigation controls for.  There is no standard menu and therefore Margaret can't get past the menu or if she does ends up where she dosen't want to be.  She then just unplugs the power supply - she has forgotten the on/off switch and lets the DVD players internal battery discharge or if we are lucky the screen-saver kicks in and it shuts down after 10 minutes.

The solution is that I load the DVD and set it to play all the normal contents i.e. the complete movie or all episodes of the TV series she is  watching.  She remembers that she can use the play/pause button (I think) so she can go to the loo etc.  At the end the DVD returns to the menu, the screen-saver kicks in and after 10 minutes it all shuts down,  The nurse removes the power pack from the wall  and I set it all up again when I next come in.

Luckily she loves it.  She has watched the complete first series of "Some Mothers Do Have 'em",  "Father Ted" and "George and Mildred" all UK comedy series from way back.  Last night I left her watching "Beauty and the Beast" which she says she hasn't seen before but she bought it for herself several years ago and watched many times.  I shall have a bit of a problem keeping her supplied but I think that I can start rotating them every couple of weeks and she wont notice.

On the health front it is not too good.  The leg binding and TED stockings have been discontinued as her toes were not receiving any circulation and turning grey.  Gangrene was a distinct possibility.  Her feet and legs are once again very swollen.  I don't know where she goes from here.

Her arm is still very painful but healing.  She can use a wheely walker under supervision.  It helps her stop wobbling but she cant use her left arm for support.  If it was only the arm she would probably come home in two weeks but now I don't know.