The best laid plans are sometimes best just left like that, aren’t they? Just as plans. So that’s what I did today, left my plans on hold and rested. I hadn’t planned anything exciting – it was simply to do the ironing, and to do Mum’s weekly wash and brush-up. But in the end, having messed about this morning with ‘shopping washing’, bed-making, paper-shredding and bin emptying, I sat and caught up on some TV over a sandwich at lunchtime. Well, that was it, then – couldn’t be bothered to do anything else.
Mum was still in her nightie and dressing gown as she ate her lunch and thought about getting dressed afterwards. I reminded her that we were going to do her ablutions, so she stayed undressed. A bit later on, I suggested we make a move to the bathroom, to which she turned her nose up and said she wasn’t looking forward to it. Glad of an escape, I said we could leave it until tomorrow. She relaxed back in her chair, relieved. And, as a result, she’s stayed undressed all day. Ah, well, we weren’t exactly expecting visitors today anyway, more’s the pity!
I wasn’t exactly expecting anything today but, out of the blue, a text message pinged into my phone telling me to expect a parcel between 11 and 12. The parcel duly arrived, although I hadn’t realised it until later, because there was no doorbell sound, sending its multitude of tunes throughout the house. When I finally looked outside, there was a box of beautiful flowers for me! How blessed I have been this week for friends thinking of me. So, a shout-out to Alison and Sally who said they were thinking of us. So thoughtful.
A day of rest for me, much needed, is great; but John, on the other hand, enforced to rest by illness, isn’t enjoying it so much. Without visitors, or any nurses staying to chat, or internet to binge on, or Audible books to listen to, it’s a pretty boring existence in his room at the hotel – sorry, hospital. I think the most exciting thing for him is taking a shower.
We have spent some time chatting on the phone though, which is lovely. We’ve had three goes at it today, morning, noon and night. The ‘noon’ conversation went on so long that the phone line timed out and we were cut off after an hour. Shocker! By this evening though, although I wanted to hang on to him to chat some more, neither of us could think of much to say – him, because he’s doing nothing, and me, because I’d done nothing today either.
Being the weekend, of course, nothing much is happening on the medical side of things either, with drugs having already been prescribed and are simply being administered; and the ol’ man just having to follow the physio exercises that had been discussed and demonstrated. So now it’s a waiting game to see when the blood count improves and infection rates decrease, before they discharge him. Nothing to see here just now, folks.
With the Corona virus is still infecting and killing people, it feels a bit like Ground Hog Day today. 2,595 people were confirmed as infected at a 5 p.m. yesterday; 190 people died in hospitals and 282 in all settings. 30 deaths in hospital according to NH, with 81 deaths now confirmed for the day before (22 May 2020).
I am hoping that this shocking experience, like Ground Hog Day, will help us see what needs to be put right in our lives now. But with Cummings-gate going on, it looks like some people will never learn – which is alarming for our future, our children and our children’s children.
Take care everyone – peace be with you all.