Hello Ann - hope you had a good weekend.
I am afraid I have just broken the Waffle chain again and gone back to 0 and also got 0 stars on the Deluxe Connections continue to challenge me, so I’ll just post what I’ve done so far as I am not sure what the day holds in store for me.
#waffle1501 X/5
streak: 0
#deluxewaffle197 X/5 (26)
Waffle - daily word game
Wordle 1,717 4/6*
Not the best start to the week/month 
How is everything with you and your Mum? Have you had chance to do anymore pilates/yoga? Are you finding any benefit to it?
I’ve had a rubbish week of fatigue but it is improving slowly and will no doubt come out the other side of it again soon. I have a week off work coming up next week and that will help me get time to rest as I need to.
Sorry you had a bad day on the puzzles. You will get it back again. I am plodding along with them. I’ve had a couple of days with 2*s on Waffle. I seem to have lost my momentum with it. Streak still intact though and I am slowly creeping towards my previous record. I really hope I can get past it this time. I am aiming for the Diamond Streak.
#waffle1501 2/5
streak: 64
#wafflegoldteam
Not looked at deluxe yet.
Wordle was another solid 4 moves. This seems to be my standard. It is a while since I missed getting a wordle so I am happy with that.
Wordle 1,717 4/6
And connections is going ok too. Some are harder than others but all have been solved.
Connections
Puzzle #995
I hope your week is a good one.
Hi Ann - Sorry you’ve had a rubbish week, but hopefully the week off will help recharge. Do take time and make an extra effort to get rested - the weather today is lovely here and if it is the same where you are it might be a good time to get out there walk in the orchard, get some fresh air and even earth yourself. Walking on the grass will do you a power of good, I wish we hadn’t dug out our lawn which we did when we did home improvements for Mum - it was a sacrifice we had to make. Lose the small patch of turf not have downstairs facilities for Mum. It was in the end a no brainer but I do still miss the turf.
Talking of Mum, I am sorry to say things may have taken a turn for the worse. All those troubles we had with bloated tummy etc. might have been a red herring and the real problem may have been chronic constipation
Self-diagnosing/trouble shooting as I have to, I asked the GP to give Mum an enema and of course they did. I might seem deluded, but these days, if I request something, that is not too taxing, there is little or no resistance from the GP. They went along with it, and sure enough Mum had a bit of a clear out, but in so doing she may have lost more essential body nutrients and so her system seems to be out of balance and needs work to restore the balance which is easier said than done when you don’t know what is causing the imbalance.
So Mum is weak right now and I have had to cancel the last two sessions of physio and I only attended the one Yoga/QiGong session as the next one was on the day Mum was not so good following her enema. I was meant to go today, but Mum is nowhere near her usual self and there are new “side effects” such as
GP came today and now things may have fluid in lungs and swelling might be down to a clot as she has high BP (but BP is being measured in an idiotic manner as I have discussed on here before).
Suggested a scan but that needs a hospital visit and I don’t want to put Mum through the last A&E visit fiasco.
Awaiting Rapid Response to do a blood test which may or may not add value.
Right now we are in a new unknown state and I am struggling to know what to do or to see the wood for the trees
Monday is not a good day to be ill
Oh no. Sounds like you’re having a bit of a rough time of it at the moment. If it isn’t one thing it’s another. She probably needed the enema (having had one I can honestly say I would never want another) but like you say that has likely upset her system a bit.
Is there a way you can get the scan done without going through A&E? An urgent referral perhaps? If she has a clot it really needs sorting quickly. Are they doing anything to clear the fluid from her lungs or do they think that will get better as the infection clears up?
Perhaps the blood test will help. At least you shouldn’t have to wait long for the results.
It must be so hard to work out what to do but in the end you have to do what you think is in your mum’s best interests. I am sure you will know when/if the time is right for a hospital trip.
Really hope your mum starts to improve again soon. Look after yourself as well as that is just as important.
Sending my best wishes and lots of strength your way.
Ann - I was presented with a no brainer by the Rapid Response Therapist. He said he suspects a clot and a blood test would give an indication. If it comes up positive, he would recommend going to A&E. Alternatively go to A&E and get it tested immediately.
As much as I am reluctant to put Mum through all that, I had to act in her best interests and so we went to A&E.
Luckily it being Monday or just our lucky day, it was fairly quiet but busy enough still for us to wait in the dreaded corridor for six hours, but lessons learned from last visit and also less strain on the system meant I made sure Mum was comfortable even as she lay on the transfer trolley and I got her freshened up 3 hours in. All in all she was very relaxed and things moved quickly.
In this six hours
)We then waited in the transfer area for a couple of hours where Mum got more rest in a single room.
Then nine or so hours in we got a bed in one of the new wards. Again all very nice and Mum very relaxed - her diarrhoea has now stopped so it is a matter of sorting out the chest infection and deal with oedama (legs, feet and hands) and anything else e.g. sleeping lying down which almost certainly is linked to fluids in lungs.
So all in all it has been a fantastic 24 hours from what started off looking as our worst nightmare.
Doctors have been fantastic as have all other staff - a totally different experience to the last one. We are in AMU (Acute Monitoring Unit) and may get transferred to a less pleasant ward in the next day or two, but by the time Mum is discharged, I feel she will be in a much happier place.
We have already seen improvements and if she is able to catch up on her sleep and things it will have been worth the trip
It’s strange how sometimes good things come out of the not so good
Hopefully you’re having a good week and thanks for your kind supportive words
Sorry your mum has had to go to the hospital again however as you say it turned out to be a no-brainer and you had to go and get her checked out. Glad to hear that there’s no clot and that their appears to be no new stroke. I’m assuming they’re going to do the MRI whilst they have her in the hospital. Now she’s being treated for her pneumonia hopefully that will start to improve and also the oedema in her legs. It’s great to hear that you’re experience of A&E this time was much better than last time and that they are treating your mum much better also. I hope that whilst your mum is in hospital that you are also getting a bit of rest so that once she comes out you’re in the best place to look after her again.
Sending my very best wishes to you and your mom.
Let us know how she’s getting on if and when you get chance.
Ann x
How is everything going with your Mum? Hope things are improving. Hope you are doing ok too and looking after yourself.
Hi Ann - It’s not going well after a positive start when I felt we were going to get listened to and get proper support.
Right now, Mum is still in hospital but has been transferred to her usual pre-discharge care ward having come through A&E and Acute Monitoring Unit. All the while, the doctors have been putting a positive spin on things and trying to come across as supportive though sometimes I get the feeling it’s just lip service. Each transfer means a new doctor and each new doctor needs bringing up to speed with where we’re at with Mum. I don’t know how they do the handovers and how they document the consultations but I get asked the same questions and get the same old, diagnosis and prognosis. I am now much more prepared for it and try not to lose it when they want to send Mum home because she’s medically stable and hospital is not a safe environment for her.
Last night (Friday) the night doctor came over and asked why we had not been discharged!! He said I’ve checked the notes and it says it was discussed with you and you should have been discharged. I said the misunderstanding might be at your end as I had not agreed and I was not of the opinion this is what was discussed. And anyway, surely it they who should be driving this and since no one had come to me during the day (Friday) to say we’re preparing Mum for discharge, I expect the failure is at your end.
But I made it very clear, it is just as well she is still there as I don’t believe she is ready to be cared for at home as she has not slept well in hospital and not sleeping well is one of the main reasons why she is in hospital. To cut a long story short, we agreed that early next week might be the best we can hope for as w/e are non-starters.
Today her condition has not improved and she new issues - her haemoglobin has dropped and will require a transfusion and she has got internal bleeding again possibly because they started giving her blood thinners (common practice for patients in Mum’s condition, but a mistake in my view as she has been taken off the blood thinners when she was last in hospital when she had the GI (gastric issues)).
This being the weekend, is not the best time to be developing new issues, but at least she is not at home and just as well we didn’t agree to their planned early discharge.
It’s long saga and I am tired right now as I/we are with Mum as her advocates and so this is actually worse than caring for her at home since we can’t enjoy the home comforts
To end, she is not all the great, but in the best place to be helped as far as I am concerned and hopefully, she will fight through it as she always does.
Now I can’t not mention the puzzles because I do still get the time to distract myself a little and whilst I have not been doing great having lost some of my runs, I am aware you were about to set a new PB on the Waffles and I suspect you will have done this as you have now really got the hang of that game and do even better on the Deluxe.
So here are my stats for today.
Connections
Puzzle #1000
- Looks like it was 1000th puzzle and I am pleased to say I solved to though was initially thrown by the connections icon instead of a word.
Wordle 1,722 3/6*
#waffle1506 4/5
streak: 5 - Back to rookie
Have a lovely weekend.
Sorry to hear that things have gone a little bit downhill after the positive start to your mum’s hospital stay. You would like to think that the hospital would listen to the family as you are the ones that care for your mum on a regular basis and therefore know when things aren’t right. Particularly as your mum is non-verbal and they won’t understand her communication methods as well as you will.
As for her being discharged it sounds like it was better that she wasn’t given that she now needs a blood transfusion. But discharges about more than saying to somebody you can go home bye bye. There are things that they should do as part of the discharge process and therefore the fact that your mum was still in hospital would suggest that they hadn’t been done.
I really hope that things start to take an upward turn. The blood transfusion should help a bit. Sleeping in hospital is always very difficult and I’m not surprised your mom’s not sleeping too well.
I have been quietly plodding away with the puzzles. I have reached 70 on waffle which is a record for me. I did think I was going to blow waffle this morning as for some reason I managed to lose two moves without even realising I had done so . I think I was a bit impatient with my phone and pressed something which moved the tiles accidentally. Welcome back to the Rookie club with yours.
#waffle1507 2/5
streak: 70
#wafflegoldteam
Wordle and connections have also been going okay although I did blow wordle a couple of days ago. It was one of those words where there were many options and on my last attempt I’d narrowed it down to two and I pick the wrong one.
Wordle 1,723 2/6
Connections
Puzzle #1001
Really hope things are soon on the up again for you all.