caring and sharing: July 2011

As i wrote in my last post i had the camera up my nose to check vocal chords.and it bloody hurt.you talk about speedy gonzales,lol.it was shoved up before i could say,will it hu........yep.he looked,said oh. have you been on antibiotics lately??Yes says i.about 10 lots in the last year,keep getting chest infections,why?well,you have got mushrooms growing!!! hey??? thinking of pick your own,lol. apparently i have Thrush growing on my vocal chords.those damn antibiots kill all the good bacteria as well as the bad,result,fungal infection,AKA Thrush.so he said i will write a prescription,go to Pharmacy.now i know the pharmacy. you abandon all hope going there. sure enough it took 45 minutes before i had the tablets.guess?yep,more antibiotics to fight the infection caused by antibiotics. got to go back in 4 weeks time so he can check if it has cleared,and so he can see the vocal chords properly.i didnt get home til 6.my mate took me from his,but next time is later so i will drive myself.oh the joy.a sore nose and nothing to show for it.
Now,as well as MS many of you are aware i also suffer from back trouble,one disc was removed many years ago,and another has burst,thanks to the dear old lady on a mobility scooter who forced me to slip off the pavement kerb 2 years ago.now that disc is really giving me problems,so much so a few weeks ago i went and saw Dr.M,who took one look at me hobbling in with my walking stick,and said,back or MS?back i said.all i did was bend froward to get something out of a cupboard,didnt even go right down,just bent forward.and it went out.and for 3 weeks i was in agony,and nothing eases the pain.no ice,not heat,tablets,nothing helps.he examined me on the couch,said,mort,you really dont have reflexes.lol.i know thanks.and said he would order an MRI scan to be done.the last was 2 years ago.Then i was told i couldnt have an operation on the back due to heart,and being on blood thinners.those have now been finished with long ago,so he wants another scan done to see if an operation to fuse 5 vertebrae is possible,and if it is,will it help?also put me on some new tablets which i had to stop as they made me so sick.did warn me they may. he was right.big time.
So,last week i got a letter from Cromer Hospital,an MRI is being done this thursday evening at 5.50PM. strange time but they are so backlogged with scans they are scanning until 10 at night. Now,i used to go to Myras every week,so i know how long it takes to get there,and bearing in mind it is now holiday time and our roads are full,i knew it will take at least nearly 3 hours travel and scan time.a scan can take up to 45 minutes.so i rang Crossroads carers. carers for carers. Carol comes here every wednesday to allow me some time for myself,often i go to bed or go to mates.now,usually in the past,if i had hospital Sue would let me have my wednesday,by putting the appointment down as a "short break at short notice",ensuring i still got some time off.so,imagine my surprise when i rang them,i will ring you back the girl said,well we had to go out later that day,and we got home to find a message on the answer phone.hello morton,its crossroads,carol can do that thursday,BUT,i am afraid you cannot have the wednesday as well.sorry. best we can do.you are only allowed 3 hours a week now. i thought,well at least mum will have company at night while i am out,and i didnt mind too much.nothing planned for the wednesday.but i did feel a bit down,its nice to have that few hours "me"time.
Anyway,the next morning i rang them,and got Sue.i told her i was ringing to thank them for getting me cover at night,which i know is always difficult and that i was grateful carol was coming,mum likes her a lot.she said,mort,i so wanted to give you your wednesday as well.i just cant do it im sorry. there is no money available for short breaks at the moment.i asked well,what if i had 2 appointments in 1 week?as sue says,many carers can and do have just that problem. i am not the only carer in ill health.she said,if it is an emergency i will make sure you are looked after,but things are really bad.apparently the whole Swifts,night owls,and relief carer situation is under threat from under funding and the savage cuts that have been forced on the local council by the coalition government.and sue told me i may be better off seeing if i can switch to self funding.not going into all the ins and outs of that here.all i will say is that Sue was really upset she couldnt do more for me,but i was just grateful i had cover.she has always been so good to help in the past i am not complaining about her or her staff.they hate this situation.
BUT. as i said,i am not the only carer with ill health. there are many elderly carers,who are caring for middle aged handicapped children,or a senile partner,or even parents,as i care for mum.if the care provision is being cut,and we lose our relief carers,WHO WILL HELP US CARE??Daily it seems as though care home after care home is closing,respite care is being cut,funding is being lost every day. so,just WHO WILL CARE??? not this damn government,or councils.social services have lost huge ammounts off their budgets,money that should be there to help people who need 24 hour care is not available.some can call on other family members,i dont have that to fall back on,i cant rely,nor do i want to have to rely,on neighbours or friends to help me.so,if i did have to have an operation,let us say,on my back,just WHO is going to care for my mum??she gets confused and scared when she has strange carers as it is,if she does not know them she worries.what will happen to her if i cannot carry on??who will look after the many thousands of people just like her?WHO CARES???
THE CARE OF THE ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED IN THIS COUNTRY IS NOW A DISGRACE.and it is one that is only going to get worse. so ask yourself this,in maybe 5 years time,if YOU or your loved ones need care,either in their own homes,or in a care home,just WHO will care for them?? I and thousands more like me save this country millions in care costs.but at the end of the day...................JUST WHO CARES????? take care all.

FRONT BOARDER

FIRST YEAR FOR THESE CARNATIONS,GIVEN A LOVELY SHOW

BUSY LIZZIES AND PETUNIAS,WITH SOME TUBEROUS BGONIAS

AHEM. YES WELL,hangs head in shame,lol. it was cheap ok.very cheap.cost me £5,99,which is around 10 bucks for Lucy and jack,lol.its resin,sun dial as you can see,stands around 4 foot tall.the gnome is a solar light that comes on at night,£3 or 2 for a fiver.cant be bad.same with the ones you can see on the ground,theres 2 that look like rocks and 2 frogs,all 2 for £5.supermarkets are getting the place to go if you want cheap garden lighting.

i do have quite a nice show this year,the weather has been not too bad,dry,so i have had to water,a lot of wind,but not too vicious.

Tomorrow,wednesday i go to Norwich Hospital to Ear,Nose,and Throat for camera down throat.my MS consultant is not convinced my weak voice is all due to the MS so wants vocal chords checked to make sure there is nothing nasty on them.as the camera goes up nostril it is not a particularly pleasant procedure.my mate is going to take me from his,so i dont have to drive so far.I will let you all know the result as soon as i hear.in the meantime i hope summer finally makes its mind up and stays for us all.it is really cool tonight again,about time we got nice warm nights,not that many yet.take care all.