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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 1 2017, 09:42 PM (603 Views) | |
| Caro | Nov 1 2017, 09:42 PM Post #1 |
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This is a reply from Tickle to my query about his health on the sports forum but I thought it might be of general interest, so am putting it here. "My general health is not too bad, thanks, Caro, but I still can't really walk and am effectively housebound. That means I have plenty of time to watch and keep tabs on tennis - although not as much time as you might think because every basic task takes me about 10 times as long as usual." I understand exactly what that means, because using a wheelchair in a house not specifically designed for it means things take longer for me too. Our house has been luckily designed so that it is much easier for me to use the toilet than in many "wheelchair-friendly" shop toilets. But the kitchen, even though it fits a wheelchair all right, is awkward in some ways. the fridge and the microwave open the wrong way for me, so I have to manoevre myself in front of them, then open the door, which then gets stuck behind the wheelchair, so I have to unstick it, open the fridge door, stuggle to reach the product and get it out, then shift the wheelchair so I can shut the door, which leaves me rather distant from it, so then I wait for it to close itself slowly till it is in a position where I can stretch my arm back to close the remaining bit. All of this takes a thousand seconds, and then I have to do it in reverse to take the item back! Ditto with the dishwasher. |
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| May-Cee | Nov 1 2017, 10:50 PM Post #2 |
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Hi Caro Health - what can you do? I'm sort of youngish (56 next week) but a spot of bother put me in hospital last week, for the first time in my life. I'm okay now; but, more importantly, how are you these days? (There's hardly a regular around here who isn't suffering from some ailment!) |
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| Caro | Nov 2 2017, 11:12 PM Post #3 |
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Thanks for your concern, May-Cee. Until my stroke aged 65 I hadn't been in hospital apart to have my three children. My parent both died very young and I never expected to get to 60, but once I had I didn't see any reason why I shouldn't live till 85! But at the moment my general health is fine; it's just my mobility that's restricted. I haven't suffered depression: my husband says that I have been very accepting of what has happened, and in one way that is good, but in another it means I don't expect to improve that much. I don't think I will be able to spend a night on my own, because I need to sleep with a splint on that is different from my day-time splint, and I can't put that on by myself. Carers could come in but where I live they don't work after 8pm and that is earlier than I like to go to bed. There has been a lot of vomiting and diarrhoea round here, and I dread getting it. It is always an awful thing, but if I were to get it now, I can't get out of bed quickly. Now my husband has his arm slinged up; he has had a shoulder operation for a torn rotator cuff, but that will be off in a week or so, but then he will still have to take care for another few months. I hope you are permanently okay after your sojourn in hospital. Edited by Caro, Nov 2 2017, 11:14 PM.
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| May-Cee | Nov 7 2017, 03:20 PM Post #4 |
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Hi Caro Your troubles (which you write about with such good humour) make me feel lucky; when I am down in the dumps, I think of you and the brave way you just get on with life. I'm not that brave; I keep retreating into my shell. Luckily I have a boss, a twin sister and older brother who care for me enough to make me "snap out of it", and pull myself together. I'll get there in the end! All the very best to you, Caro Love, May-Cee |
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| Caro | Nov 8 2017, 11:31 PM Post #5 |
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Thanks very much, May-Cee. I am not brave; I have often thought if I come back in another life (not a belief I have) I would want to have courage, not just physical courage but mental and moral courage. My sons keep telling me to take risks and be prepared to fall, but I don't want to risk falling at all, and think that would just set me back a lot and make me a further burden on my husband. Then when I went to rehab at the hospital for a while where they did things like play housie and 'socialise' and do things that bored me silly, every week they seemed to concentrate on something to worry about: one week how to avoid falling, the next why we need to drink lots of water, then the need for good food (not that hospitals know the meaning of that!), etc. I think I just don't have the capacity to care very much. Things shock me for a few minutes, even make me feel a bit faint, then I cheer up or they fade into the background. "Snapping out of it" isn't so much the most popular remedy these days, apparently, though I feel that sometimes it might be the best thing if you can manage it. Sometimes you might need to pamper yourself more. Just make use of the support you have. I am very lucky with my husband, but also the fact that people come in daily to care for me - and provide me with added company and support. I have someone paid (not by us) to come and dress and wash me in the mornings, and someone to do exercises with me later in the day (which I don't enjoy but she does give me some information of the world outside). Best luck to you to May-Cee, Love, Caro. |
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| waiting4atickle | Feb 20 2018, 05:18 PM Post #6 |
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So, how are we old crocks getting on? (I say 'old' although I have no reason to suppose that our senior members are in anything other than the finest of fettles - it seems to be us baby boomers who are most afflicted.) I know our ranks were recently swelled by the inclusion of Mobs, who had a bad fall and had to restrict her cinema-going activities - I trust you have recovered from that now, Mobs. Hopefully Rumbaba is now well on the road to recovery, or has even reached the end of it, following his fracture. How about you, Caro? Have you conquered your fear of falling yet? Rikii doesn't post here much. I know both he and his wife have health problems, but I don't know what shape they're in nowadays. My own mobility is still quite restricted, although less so than it was. I can totter around on the flat without sticks and even waddle as far as the local shops - a 5 minute walk that takes me a quarter of an hour. Just as well, really: Grace-3 wasn't averse to buying cigarettes for me, but she's gone now and it would be a waste of time to ask Mrs Tickle to do that - there's nothing worse than a reformed smoker. I can put my shoes on unaided now and get into the car without much trouble, things I used to struggle with. However, I do still struggle with steps and uneven ground and I don't hold out much hope of being able to walk properly again without a knee replacement op - or more probably two. Still, I did manage to get to a pub in Reading last night and have a few pints with a couple of old friends, so things could be worse. Edited by waiting4atickle, Feb 20 2018, 05:21 PM.
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| Caro | Feb 20 2018, 09:32 PM Post #7 |
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That's quite good news, Tickle. Though I sympathise with anyone needing limb replacements; you need to be in serious pain here before they put you on the waiting list. I don't know what the situation is in Britain. This week I have been very conscious of not falling: my husband has just this morning (at 5am!) driven to the plane to go to Australia for his brother's citizenship ceremony for Australian citizenship. (!!!) And I was afraid I might fall and he would feel unable to go, but now he is safely away, and I can fall as much as I like. (As long as nobody tells him.) No, when I think I should be braver and not worry about falling I then think "What if I bang my head on the table on the way down, and have to spend more time in hospital and cause Malcolm more problems?" But that reminds me that I will be away for the next few days, and not in internet contact, so no posts from me. I was interested in a comment by Anne Robinson in The Oldie this month where she says: "The only useful lesson I've learnt from this (falling) is to listen carefully to how the family descibe your tumble. If they say,'My mother fell over and hurt herself,' that is good. If they say,'My mother has had a fall,' beware. They are already using care home language." I hadn't thought of this, but she is probably right. My 94-year-old friend has had a series of falls recently and that is what people say: 'Bessie has had another fall.' She is still in her own home, but they have increased her home help. Edited by Caro, Feb 20 2018, 10:20 PM.
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| rumbaba | Feb 23 2018, 10:20 AM Post #8 |
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Thanks for the update folks. I am improving and, apart from a painless sensation in my ankle, which is hard to describe: a kind of numbness/stiffness, I am more or less ok. I have some bespoke arch supports for my shoes now that help (I have always had flat feet). Sorry to hear your are so restricted, Tick. Best regards to you and Caro. |
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| Mobson | Feb 23 2018, 06:05 PM Post #9 |
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Sorry to hear of everyone's health woes, its not easy to realise one's getting older!!! But my recent indisposition was entirely due to fall in January which was an unfortunate accident which happened as I was going out to meet friends and watch the Lumiere; unfortunate for me but also unfortunate for the landlord and managing agent of my building as it was due to their negligence in not informing residents that an industrial clean was taking place in the ground floor foyer/entrance hall on a Friday evening at 8pm. I'm hopeful of resolving the incident amicably, without the need for outside assistance, as apart from the extreme pain and discomfort, I was unable to visit my elderly parents until a brief visit last week, and as my nearly 93 year old mother cannot go out locally without me, that's been troublesome and caused inconvenience in having to reschedule hospital appointments, shopping etc. I also have a claim for damages to my property...outer clothes, an expensive handbag and boots, all severely damaged by whatever strong chemical solvent the cleaners were using...one so strong that it has eaten into the material of my coat and destroyed the nap on my suede boots! However, I really don't want to complain because apart from this incident, I keep active and well...and like my mother, take no medications for anything!!! She had her first ever x-ray recently @ 92 and that was just a precautionary measure by her GP to check her chest/heart was ok!
Edited by Mobson, Feb 23 2018, 07:10 PM.
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| rumbaba | Feb 24 2018, 08:34 PM Post #10 |
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Oh dear, that's sounds weird and avoidable, Mobs. Good luck. |
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| waiting4atickle | Jun 8 2018, 11:08 AM Post #11 |
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Hope you're fully mobile now, Rum - and that you've recovered from your fall, Mobs. How are you getting on, Caro? My own condition has improved somewhat over the past few months. The surgeons are keen to cut me up, and I even had a phone call from the orthopaedics dept this week to discuss a date for knee replacement surgery, but I'm not yet ready to commit to that. I still have limited flexion in my left leg and some soreness in my right knee - although much less after a steroid injection a couple of days ago - and am starting to make strides. I won't be fit for Wimbledon, but I am increasingly optimistic about my chances of avoiding surgery. |
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| Caro | Jun 10 2018, 04:50 AM Post #12 |
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That's good(ish) news, Tickle. Nearly every second person I know is having or has had knee or hip replacements, and it seems to help their mobility. My husband gets steroid injections sometimes for his arthritis and it does help, though not forever. I am fine, though I had a different splint put on my leg the other day and it has a hinge at the ankle which I need to get used to. I feel I am not walking any better than I was 18 months ago. But my general health is fine, and I don't seem to have any trouble with arthritis or rheumatics or any real pain. Just a twinge occasionally in my shoulder or knee that Voltaren or Deep Heat seems to make better fairly quickly. |
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