Foggy, Then Wet, Weather

It's been quite foggy here for the past few days. At Willen you can look out of Carol's window and see across the lake. A really calming view. Lots of birds on it, ducks and swans mostly, but you do occasionally see herons. It was so foggy the other day you couldn't see the other side of the lake. A slight amount of fog as I took Alfie out for his walk around Eaglestone Park this morning, but generally quite mild, certainly no frost to mention.

I forget to mention that I stayed the night with Carol in her room  at Willen on Friday. Our neighbours, Garry and Shelley, looked after Alfie, going in to feed him and take him out for a walk. I was hoping that I could sleep on the reclining chair which is in the room, but it wouldn't recline sufficiently for me to lay flat on it and, frankly, it was never going to be an ideal place to sleep. When it was reclined right back it only pulled the plug out of the power point on the wall behind and then it was impossible to re-plug it. The nurses came in with a Z-Bed, or at least a sort of camping bed. Very ancient and not particularly well sprung and extremely narrow, but since this was to be a temporary arrangement I was willing to give it a go. But when it was set up and the bedding arranged on it and I started to lay on it, one set of very flimsy legs collapsed and I fell on the floor. Not very successful, you might say. So I had no alternative but to improvise. Carol kept on saying I should give up and go home, but I wasn't going to be defeated so I removed the mattress and the bedding from the wreckage of the camping bed, folded the thing up and put the mattress on the floor and made my bed there for the night. It wasn't entirely the most comfortable night's sleep, particularly as I had to keep waking to use the toilet along the corridor. But at least I managed to stay with Carol, as she had requested it. In the morning, at around 7.30, I crept out of the room and went to the lounge further along the corridor and made myself a cup of tea. One of the nurses made me some toast and marmalade and at around 8.30  went back to see Carol, still fast asleep. In fact, according to the nurses I spoke to later, they said she had a really good night's sleep, probably because I was there with her. She woke eventually at around 9 o'clock, really late for her. I left her to be bathed and washed by the staff and when I returned later she was siting up in bed eating a bacon sandwich!

I was hoping to have the rest of the day to myself at home. I needed some time to myself. But Carol insisted I come back later in the day. So, having have a couple of hours at home, basically to see how Alfie was and let him out into the garden as well as to give him a walk across the park, I went back to Willen in time for lunch and then came home at around 2 o'clock.

(Tuesday). I had to get a doctor's appointment this morning. I have had an annoying cough for several weeks. It began when I was prescribed Ramipril after my heart attack in September. I only discovered that it might be a side-effect of this medication when I spoke to one of the cardiology nurses at Milton Keynes hospital. I managed to change this medication back to what I had previously been prescribed, candesartan. On changing this medication the cough seemed to subside, but didn't entirely disappear. I get really nasty phlegm in my throat which causes an intermittent cough which can strike at odd times, usually at night or when I least expect it. This happened during church on Sunday and I had to leave the hall to get a drink of water. Which is why I decided to get an appointment. I had mentioned this the other week when I went to see my doctor and he said I'd need to give a sample. Which I did and would get the results at the surgery when I made the appointment.

I had to ring the surgery early. I was surprised that I got through relatively quickly. Only two other people ahead of me in the telephone queue. I was soon speaking to a receptionist and I explained why I needed an appointment and then I had to wait around an hour before a doctor rang to give me an appointment a 9.50.

It turns out that the sample I gave and was analysed didn't show any bacteria or anything nasty, so there's really no explanation for the phlegm or why I'm coughing. The doctor said it might be a viral thing, but they're not sure, so antibiotics won't help. I know they try not to over-prescribe them, so I'm not surprised. He just told me to drink plenty, which I know I don't and should. He wrote me a couple of prescriptions because I have two lots of medication which will soon run out, so I left the surgery and went into Cox and Robinson to get the prescriptions made up which took around 10 minutes and then drove over to Willen to visit Carol.

Willen, Strange Phone Calls and Stents

Not easy writing this blog post. You will have noticed, if you're an avid follower of my posts on here, that I haven't posted anything for more than a week. We now know that Carol's cancer has spread, to her lungs and bones. I'm sorry, but there's no cure, no chemotherapy will destroy the tumour. It's really difficult to put these words on here. All I can do as a good husband is to be by her side, to help her with the pain whenever possible.  She is getting good care at Willan Hospice. We don't know how much time we've got left. It's appalling for me and the family. I have support from my church, Shenley Christian Fellowship. As you will no doubt be aware I have been attending this church since last year and I can't thank everyone there for visiting Carol, either at home, in Milton Keynes Hospital and now at Willen. 

Carol's mum and dad as well as her sister Jackie visited last week (I think it was last week. Time has gone into a sort of over-drive since all this began.) They came up from Bournemouth on the Monday and then stayed with family in Leicester, coming down alternate days and then returned home on the Friday of that week.

On the Tuesday I took Alfie, our Yorkshire Terrier, in to Willan Hospice to see Carol. I had to take him in the cage in the back of the car. No sooner had he got out of the car, than be began to bark noisily. In fact he barked almost all the time he was at Willen. I took him into Carol's room and he licked Carol's hands and face. I think she was really pleased to see him, but was somewhat concerned with him barking. Understandable, really, because we didn't want to upset any of the other patients. The staff loved him and made a great fuss of him, which Alfie, as expected, loved every minute of being stroked and being the centre of attention.

I had a telephone call yesterday. I rushed to pick up the thing, which is in the hallway. I'm talking here about our landline telephone. It's one of those cordless models. which means the unit sits in a docking cradle to keep the thing charged, so you can pick it up to answer and speak and talk anywhere within the house. On putting the thing to my ear there was no immediate response, no voice at the other end. I said 'hello!,' several times, then a further few seconds of silence. A sort of hollow sound, then a really awful, obviously mechanical or at least, recorded female voice said 'Good bye!!' and that was the end to the call. So, can someone tell me, what was it all about? Who on earth would bother to make a telephone call and then . . . .  just silence, followed by the awful female voice saying 'Good bye!' Someone's idea of a joke. If so, a rather pathetic one. What a waste of time and effort.

I've since been on Google to look for 'silent telephone calls,' and according to Ofcom these calls are not illegal, but if you can find out who sends them you can complain to them to get the company involved fined if they make too many of them.

I took Alfie out for his routine morning walk at about 7.15 this morning. Alfie doesn't understand that we can't go out when it's dark. It gets lighter later and later. I'm a bit annoyed that I make a real effort to pick up Alfie's poo and put it in a bin. I always carry at least one black doggy bag in my pocket for this eventuality, but it's unfair that some people don't pick up after their dogs as I see quite a lot of excrement on my walk around Eaglestone Park with Alfie. On the way back along the patch back to the house I am shocked to see a postman delivering mail. I don't think I've seen a postman much before midday around here ever. Certainly not in the time I've lived in Milton Keynes. There was a time once, long ago, when you could virtually set your watch by the postman delivering. In Bedford you used to get a delivery at 7 a.m, more or less on the dot, and then a second one around 11 a.m. Certainly not now. They seem to deliver when they feel like it. The other day we got our post delivered at around 4.30 p.m. which was a real shock.

When I got back home there was a pile of mail on the doormat. One was a package from Amazon, with a book in it which I ordered about a week ago. I am supposed to get stuff from Amazon delivered within 24 hours as I have Amazon Prime. Not really sure what they've been doing with that package. Usually Amazon uses their own delivery drivers for their parcels, but this was the Royal Mail. Never mind. At least I got my order . . .  eventually. But it seems the Royal Mail is slipping.

In that pile of mail I had a letter from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford telling me that I would need a second stent fitted. No doubt they know what they're doing because it came from Professor Keith Channon, Honorary Consultant Cardiologist and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine. I would imagine he has seen the scans done when I had the perfusion test done at Oxford all those weeks ago. I did wonder when I was going to hear. I'm not sure whether I will have to stay in hospital after having the procedure done and how I'm going to get there as well as back as I  don't think I could drive in either direction. Far too stressful.

Car Serviced

This blog post refers to events of over a week ago. Basically because of things the way they are, which will become apparent in my next post, I just haven't had the will to write anything, but now I think I'm able to continue with this blog.

As explained in the last blog post, I had to get the Renault Captur looked at because it wasn't running as well as it should. On Saturday morning I drove to Bleak Hall Motors to have it serviced. I arrived on their forecourt at 7.50. Not much traffic so it was fairly staightforward. It was getting closer to 8 o'clock. Other customers were turning up. Well, they couldn't be staff because they came to stand at the entrance of the garage. A few staff came in cars and parked to the rear of the building. 8 o'clock passed and still the front of the building which has the reception desk in it, remained shut. Once the mechanics had arrived, they took down details of each customer so that they could start on working on each person's car which had been booked in, mine included.

They eventually opened up the reception area so those waiting could sit in comfort, me included. There was no point in me going home as I'd only have to walk or get a taxi and I had bought plenty to read, including my Kindle which I soon got connected via free wi-fi at Bleak Hall and at one point watched the final episode of 'Blackadder Goes Forth' which I've seen on several occasions, but even after seeing it before it still brings a tear to the eye. Good comedy which goes from being screamingly funny one moment to deeply tragic the next. You know what's coming, but it's extremely profound and says more about the futility of war than a great many other plays, books and discussions about the First World War.

I got told, after an hour or so, that one of the front tyres on the Captur was worn, probably due to all the roundabouts in Milton Keynes. It would beed replacing, so I decided to go ahead and have it replaced whilst I was at the garage. No point having it there if it wasn't done so I let them do the job.

Anyway, after three hours the car's service was complete. I paid, and drove off and it was great to have it back, in better working order than it was before it went into Bleak Hall Motors.

Driving and other Motoring Matters

I needed to buy fuel for the car as the tank has run quite low, with all the driving to Willen and other places over the past few weeks. The Renault Captur is an extremely economical car and a full tank usually lasts over a month or more. So I decided to drive to the Shell station on Grafton Street, at around 9.15 this morning, making sure that most of the morning traffic had subsided. It's surprising how busy it gets around Milton Keynes just before 9 o'clock. Almost gridlock along many of the roads around Eaglestone and into the centre.

I drove out of the estate and came out near the Eaglestone shops. It's easier than trying to get out onto Saxon Street which is actually the nearest exit, but to turn right can be an impossibility when the traffic is heaviest. Usually if you turn left and then get to the roundabout on Standing Way, you can double back on yourself and came back onto Saxon Street, but it can be very busy on Standing Way, but in Milton Keynes you can always do this manoeuvre if you get lost, just get to th next roundabout and go back the way you came. So, I came out onto Chaffron Way and drove towards Grafton Street with the intention of getting to the Shell petrol station. But when i got there I discovered it was closed off 'for renovations,' or 'modernisation.' I had no alternative, I needed fuel, so I decided to drive on to the Shell station directly opposite so drove on to the roundabout on Standing Way and so drove around to the other Shell station. On arriving there, I had to drive to the furthest pump, but then discovered that the diesel pump had a notice on it, saying, out of use. Somewhat frustrating, I had no alternative but to try a pump further back on the forecourt, but it's a 'one-way' system in these petrol stations. You can't reverse to get to the pumps further back, so I chose to drive out back onto Grafton Street and drive to the next roundabout on Chaffron Way and then double back onto Grafton Street and drive back round the roundabout on Standing Way and end up at the first pumps at the Shell station, only to find that all pumps that served diesel were 'out of use.' Where else was I to obtain diesel? I chose to drive towards the city centre and use the BP station next to the Xcape on Childs Way. So, quite a long detour around Milton Keynes, along Saxon street and then right onto Childs Way. When I got there I could hear the most appalling sound, someone using one of those leaf-blowing machines. A rather pointless exercise, in my opinion. Just blowing leaves and other rubbish, out of the way, and not picking anything up.

I managed to fill up sufficiently with diesel and then returned home. I had to collect some things before heading off to Willen to see Carol.

The car has been playing up for quite some time. A light has been coming on and a digital message on the dashboard, telling me the car is in need of a service. I'm not getting full power from the car. It's not responding as it should. The journey over to Willen, although not particularly long, is quite difficult. I realise the car is in need of some sort of maintenance, perhaps a service, with a change of oil, filters and a retune. So when I leave Willen at about 1.40 I decide to check the bank balance at the Eaglestone shops where there's a convenient A.T.M. machine and then drive to Bleak Hall Motors, who did the MoT. On arrival I explain what the problem is with the car and one of the mechanics says  that, because it's a diesel car, it might be something to do with driving on short journeys. Not sure how they could fix this. He takes it out for a test run to find out what I'm on abut, and when he comes back he says, because the light is on permanently on the dashboard, it just needs a service, so I manage to book it in for this Saturday at 8 a.m. I'm surprised that they remember my name, which is what you don't often get nowadays with any business, which makes me feel a bit more comfortable with taking the car to this particular garage. So I feel happier that they can resolve the problems with the running of the car and it will hopefully be fixed on Saturday, probably taking two hours or so after which I can go over to see Carol in Willan Hospice.

It's quite foggy today when I drive to Garroways later this morning. An almost typical November morning. The weather forecast on BBC Breakfast says that we can expect it to get colder as the week progresses. Oh well, what do you expect as the winter draws on? 

Grandchildren Visit to Willen Hospice

(Saturday) I've received a letter from the Cardiac Rehabilitation department at Milton Keynes Hospital yesterday, to inform me that I hadn't attended an appointment with them on Tuesday 30th October at 2 o'clock. The fact is, I hadn't received a letter informing me of this appointment. I always open all my mail, so I do't know what happened, no doubt the letter went astray. I will have to ring on Monday and make a fresh appointment.

I have to laugh. Another letter from Milton Keynes Hospital came in the post this morning. I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I had a Cardiology Outpatient appointment booked for Monday 24th December at 3.35. Well, it's been rescheduled to Thursday 3rd January at 3.05 p.m. I think someone realised that it was fairly late in the day and that the unit was probably going to close for the Christmas holiday. Possibly I was going to be the only patient and it would be better to reschedule my appointment until the New Year. I reckon these appointments are made by a computer system and it wouldn't recognise holidays, Bank Holidays or whatever. They just churn out letters regardless. Never mind. I'm glad it's been changed.

Chloe, Steve and the two grandchildren, George and Eddie, came to visit me and Carol at Willen this afternoon. They came directly from their home in Worcester and arrived at around 3 o'clock. I spent some time reading a book that George likes, one of the 'Mog' stories and we went outside with them. George has a push-along scooter and Eddie has a walker. He's not quite walking properly, but definitely getting there. There is an ideal terraced area outside Carol's room and reps down to the lawn area, very idea for those who are in wheelchairs and George made good use of the ramps on his push-along scooter. We then went out through a gate and walked a short way along the lakeside path. George had to go and inspect some logs, the result of recent work by tree surgeons who have been either felling some trees or at least sawing off what must have been dangerous branches of some of the trees. We could hear this work going on the other day and could see this when we watched from Carol's room window. They also had one of those chipper machines into which some of the branches were put and then rapidly chipped for use on the ground somewhere on either the Willen estate or further way, as a sort of mulch to keep weeds down.

(Sunday) It's relatively mild out this morning. No ice on the car. We walked the complete circuit of the park. Not a sign of life except someone came out of their front door but not a word spoken. We met the man walking his whippet but I put Alfie on his lead as he has a tendency to run to every dog in an attempt to make friends but this other dog seems nervous and having to deal with a wild, barking Alfie, who means absolutely no harm, would be too much. I can hardly blame the dog for being somewhat dazed by the approach of a madly excited Yorkshire Terrier. We did the remainder of the walk with Alfie on his lead. 1609 steps according to the step counter.

Mixed Weather

It's really considerably colder this morning, as it has for the past few mornings. I think poor Alfie must feel the chill more than ever, since he was groomed last Tuesday and now has a close trim. He doesn't like being cold, or too hot, for that matter. I will have to go out and find him a proper little jacket for when he goes out in the cold. I've seen some dogs wearing jackets and have to go and buy him one. I have a Regatta jacket which I bought last year as well a Regatta fleece to wear underneath and this morning I had to find my gloves out of the car to put on before venturing out on our regular morning walk through Eaglestone Park. The sun, however weak, was attempting to shine.

Yesterday I had to make an appointment at Ashfield Medical Centre. I began ringing at 8 o'clock and eventually managed to get through at around 8.15. Then I had to wait for a doctor to ringback at around 9.15, to be then given an appointment with one of the practise nurses at 10.45. I have been finding it difficult to sleep at night and sometimes wake at around 2 a.m and don't get back to sleep for a long time, so I have been prescribed Zopliclone. Having read the leaflet which came with the tablets ( a week's worth.) I was put off after reading it, having found out what some of the side-effects are, but then decided to take one at around 9 o'clock and then didn't wake up until gone 6 a.m. Just going to have to see how I feel before continuing with the rest of the tablets. As I write, I don't feel too bad but still have to be careful that I'm not drowsy or sleepy if I'm going to drive the car.

I had to go to the Shell station to fuel the car. I have to be careful to concentrate as it's a petrol model. It would be far too easy to put petrol in the tank, but thankfully there's a reminder when I open the petrol cap flap on the side of the Renault Captur. Then I drove straight over to Willan. I was followed by a woman driver one of those 4X4 vehicles, high off the road, lots of bull-bars etc etc and she was insistent on driving right up behind her. Fortunately there are local speed areas along Chaffron Way driving near Waitrose. Then a tractor came out of a side-road and I had no choice but to slow down, but this woman wasn't too pleased. No, I refuse to drive faster than I'm comfortable with. Why do so many drivers insist on driving like this? It is a relatively small percentage of motorists who behave in this disrespectful manner.

When I got to Willan, Carol was in her room, with one of the doctors. It seems that they have got some of the pain under control. Carol not particularly chatty, due to taking medication to keep her calm. She has a new medication delivered by two pumps, which take 24 hours to complete their administration. They use a sort of skin patch to deliver this medication. Then Roz, a lady from Shenley Christian Centre, and who has been visiting Carol at home and when she was in Milton Keynes Hospital. She cycles from work to visit. But Carol was asleep for most of the time she was there, unfortunately, although shel did wake up several times during her visit.

I was surprised that not one single child knocked on our front door trick or treating because it was halloween. Not that it bothered me. We could hear fireworks being set off somewhere nearby and it seems that some people don't realise that Guy Fawkes Night (November 5th) and halloween are two different things.

Thursday. It was relatively mild first thing this morning, but Alfie and I cut short our walk across Eaglestone Park because it was trying it's best to rain. As the day progressed it got heavier and you could barely see the lake from Carol's room window at Willen when I arrived.

Friday. A bit of a sharp frost when Alfie and I went out this morning. A considerable amount of ice on the car windscreen, but never mind. We can cope with it. Regardless of the cold, quite beautiful bright, golden sunshine lighting up some of the park. Even when it's bitterly cold, the sun can shine and lift the mood of even the coldest Autumnal day. I'm having to put on my gloves now because otherwise I wouldn't be able to do up Alfie's lead.

I had to go into the bank to pay in a cheque this morning. I parked near The Point and walked through the shopping centre. I bought a sandwich in Boots because the bank wouldn't be open until 9.30 and then walked along the shopping centre. So many shops are relocating within the shopping centre. W.H. Smith is now in a much smaller unit, as well as Patisserie Valerie. Where I came into the shopping centre I noticed that Hawkins Bazaar has taken over the unit formally occupied by FatFace. I'm not sure where that company has relocated to, even if it's still within the shopping centre.

Having been to NatWest and paid in using one of their machines (not as simple to use as the system used by Nationwide.) I walked over back towards the shopping centre. I went into Marks and Spencer as I wanted to buy new slippers. My current pair are wearing out rapidly. I was surprised by the range they have in stock. I can't believe there can be so many varieties. But the one's I liked are over-priced. They seem to have increased the price considerably since my last purchase. I think I can get virtually the same for far less elsewhere. I'll have to have a look around.

When I arrived in Willen there was a sign up saying you wouldn't be able to park at the hospice, because there was an open day on. I had to park away from the hospice and walked down the road and in at the normal entrance. You can usually park directly outside the reception area. The place was really busy with visitors.

Carol was fast asleep when I eventually got to her room. I got about two minutes-worth of conversation before she fell back asleep. According to one of the nurses I spoke to she didn't have a good night and they're giving her some form of sedation to relax her which would probably account for her sleepiness. She work to have her lunch, really nice fish and chips and followed by fruit crumble and custard.

I left Willan just after 2 o'clock.