Tuesday 15th January 2008

Friday
I felt much better today, I’ve started to take some pills they gave me for acid indigestion and that seems to be helping and the coughing has more of less stopped. I am getting very antsy because the weather has been so bad that we haven’t been out for a walk for days but there really isn’t anything we can do about that.

Phil went over to pick up his Dad for a visit, I haven’t seen Dad for over a week because I haven’t been well so I was looking forward to it and so was he. While I waited I called my fried Meril and we had a good chat, she’s been ill (not the same thing as me) for several years now and she’s been a great support as she understands some of the stupid issues that you only recognise if you’ve been in a situation. I really and very lucky to have such a robust support system of family and friends and so many wonderful people around me; I must have done something good in a previous life!

Dad and I chatted and played cards (his favourite pastime) while Phil worked upstairs then Dad had a nap and decided it was time to go home so Phil took him. Phil wasn’t feeling very well (he’s coming down with the cold I had) so we decided not to go out shopping but to get a takeaway. We are lucky (sort of) in that there is an excellent Chinese and an equally good Indian just across the road from us so Phil consented to let me go out and fetch it (I was desperate to get out of the house by this time even if it was only for a couple of minutes).

Thursday
Phil went off to see his accountant (Arthur is a great guy and I was sorry I wasn’t feeling up to the journey so I could say hello to him and Margaret). Margaret sent me some homemade seville marmalade which is delicious (she labelled it as a taste of summer which is lovely).

While Phil was out I called my friend Pam and we had a long chat; she’s ill too at the moment and we had a moan to each other which does sometimes make you feel better.

I did some stuff on the computer until Phil got back and then my friend Julie came over for a visit, she’d just been for an interview so keep your fingers crossed for her. We just sat and chatted for a couple of hours; I love Phil dearly but I’m used to going out to work and meeting loads of people so sometimes it’s good just to see a different face. Julie is really nice, she’s very sensitive and she noticed as soon as I started to get tired and offered to go off home; this was great because I’m not so good at telling people to bugger off cos I’m tired, Phil is great at it but he was upstairs working.

Wednesday
The district nurse came but it was Phil who actually flushed my PICC lines and changed the dressing; the district nurse was very impressed with him. I do trust the nurses and I know they are well trained but it is so comforting to know that Phil is learning how to do it and soon he’ll be confident enough to do it without having the nurses supervise. It will give us much more flexibility but there is also the fact that I trust Phil completely so I feel very safe when it’s him doing it; I’m so lucky to have him!

After the nurse left we went out for a half hour walk in the local woods, it was still very damp and muddy underfoot but much less than Hylands and we have our “stout boots” which have become a sort of in joke for us.

We also managed a trip to the supermarket and I bought some cough medicine because the cough is getting really bothersome, it starts up if I go into a change of temperature and if I’m tired. I’ve been getting a lot of acid indigestion too and together they have nearly made me be sick a couple of times so I hope the cough mixture works.