Mum has a new morning "carer"( i use the title loosely ) Tracey has changed her hours to be able to take her children to school,and wouldnt be here til after 10.15,and thats plain too late.she will still however do the thursday mid-morning call back,so we will still see her. now Tracey dear,if you read this,because its not on the black journal but in the open so to speak,you had your faults,you were always in a rush,but you and mum got on so well.now,this new one is supposed to start at 8 until 8.30. she started monday with us,we have had her once before,and she frankly is NOT a carer,she arrives at 8.15,and is gone before 8.30.in fact today it was 8.18,and left at 8.27. 9minutes. NINE MINUTES.to give a 89 year old frail lady a wash,cream her back,put voltarol pain gel on her knees. she just stands the far side of mums bed and hands her the flannell. quick slap on with cream,through to me to sign and goes. she told me the first morning that Extra Hands,the company she "works"for does not give the girls any travel time. so she leaves Bale (a small village ,very bad roads)at 8,and has to be in Stiffkey at 8.(plainly impossible as i amaround 8 to 10 miles,from there). so she doesnt get here til 8.15.and we are getting 15 minutes of "care"instead of the 30 mum is supposed to have.she only puts 15 minutes down on the sheet i have in mums care plan. well,isn't THAT handy. i am giving her 2 weeks,and at the end of those 2 weeks i am emailing her firm, and sending copies to my social worker/assessor,AND my MP. tomorrow mum is supposed to have a shower.the care plan clearly says so. now,we are NOT going to ask her to shower mum,and will see if she does.i think i can safely make a bet she will not mention it to mum. this firm she works for,again loosely speaking,ALWAYS has adverts in the local Press,the free papers we get,various posters in shops.they cannot keep staff.if they do have good,decent,hard working,CARING staff,they work them to death by giving them more and more jobs,using staff to try and cover for staff who are ill,on holidays etc. THEY DO NOT HAVE RELIEF CARERS TO COVER. 1 lovely lady who used to come here went as "rapid response",her job was to be on call to cover for any unexpected problems,staff going off sick,etc. they got her doing so much she is now on extended sick leave. and this is a company who provides the majority of elderly and housebound peoples care needs.
Mum is lucky,she has me living with her,but how many lonely,confused,infirm elderly people are there in Norfolk,in East Anglia,in the UK in general,for who that morning carer is perhaps the only face he or she will see until some sullen,uncaring "carer" rushes in at lunch time,heats their food,and rushes off. chatting,laughing,CARING,is all part of the job.OR SHOULD BE.i was once told by the company that "their girls don't have time to chat,if the work is done its off to the next",my reply was,then they are NOT doing the job you are being paid a lot of money to provide.namely CARING.
Please remember it may be YOUR mother or father who needs care,it may be you.the care we provide for our elderly in this so called "caring"country is apalling. poorly paid,poorly trained staff,inept office "managers" all contribute to make care UNCARING. and i have had enough.As a MS sufferer there is always that chance I may need full time care one day,if i do i pray it will not be provided by the company that provides mums "care".take care all.
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Friday, 27 August 2010
7 years to thank you all for
Next month i shall have been on AOL for 7 years.this is to thank all the wonderful friends i have made over that period.
I had been wanting a computer for ages,i had a bush internet set top box that allowed me to browse the net using the TV but it wasn't a great success.so,i finally ordered one from my mail order club,along with a desk. now we had just had oil fired central heating installed,the old open fire ripped out,and i had decorated the lounge and hall,papered and painted,2 new chairs,new carpet as the old one now had a damn great hole where the hearth used to be.so i was busy.MS was still 2 initials for the future,although i did have health problems,and in a lot of pain.but i papered,painted,and the day the PC came me and a mate were laying the carpet.the man from the computer company was supposed to deliver it the next week,set it up and give me a demo.instead he unloaded all these boxes,said everything is colour coded just plug n play. quite.anyway,desk installed on new carpet,a mad dash to DIY store to buy a new swivel chair as the new ones i had ordered were far bigger than i thought,switch round of furniture,and i was ready to open the boxes. and it was easy to plug together.even found the on button.which i pressed,it loaded.and??now what. i knew NOTHING about PCs.no manual.no easy guide.nothing.just a box and a screen.what did it do..i had an AOL internet CD-ROM,from some shop.inserted into drive,downloaded,and................internet.signed up for AOL,and i was away. well,as far as the internet went in those first few weeks it was playing backgammon online,odd email from companies i dealt with,but i was a complete novice.very frustrating.and then i found AOLs games had..............texas holdem poker. in those days it was on pogo,and i still play sometimes on there,but it is not as good as in the early days.more like a chatroom with poker.at first i played on my own againt the computer.then one night on my table appeared AngelaB.and you could talk to each other by typing into the dialogue box.and we got chatting."i'm no good at poker" said ange.i was a pretty decent player,having played in the past for real.oh angie.you lying lickle devil,lol.lets just say ive heard her use that phrase many times.somehow after that we always seemed to play a lot together.and i found my first,my longest running friend.and ange,you made me laugh,we rowed,we swore at each other,but my god we had fun.daughters laura and rachel used to moan at her because she used to laugh so much.ada and cissy ange???happy days.then one night,after AOL changed from pogo to its own poker tables which were much more "serious" i was on my own.angela was away,and i was bored.so i went into a chatroom.i had tried them before.and couldn't get the hang of them.so fast,so many people all "talking"at once.bedlam.but that night 6 years ago i went into 50s romance,room1.an "overflow"room,when the main chatroom reached 48 or so,it opened.and that night there were 2 people in it,sue wicke and gem. 2 new friends.who explained about room1.and how there were some nice people used it,and to come back and visit.that was on news year eve.i went in the next night,met swaine,(sue) glen,alas now sadly dead,a nice man,jane,and so many more.over the coming weeks i got to know so many new people,still played poker,but often i was in chatroom.and i want to take this oppurtunity to thank some of you.sue garden,or sue g,any music you want sue could get.lol.sheena,the laughs we have had,been with ade now 3 years i suppose?? purplemist.Lyn,still a lovely friend. i cant play lady in red even now lyn.thanks for being there when i needed you.xxx.the lovely jaynee,bless you hun.so many to list,tanis,or sunbeam as she is known in chatroom,Nina,whose blog got me into the wonderful world of journals,so many more.some lovely.some not so,some down right nasty ones lol. many sadly now gone from AOL.lonewolf,kraftmad,i look at my buddy list and think,yeah,we had some good times.always quizzes,jokes,laughter.many of my best friends on the net came from that chat room.room1. and then one night,4 years ago a dolfin swam in,in those days we all had profiles,mine had 200 or so pictures on it,and this strange person popped in,made some jokes,and left.helen,you have been so much more than just a friend to me.you have been there when i have been at my lowest,when i was diagnosed with MS you helped me. and we still laugh on here nearly every night.thankyou dolfy.you are the best.xx.bernie,sadly we hardly ever talk now,where once we were so close.good friend,and a lovely person. wendy,whose daughter emma's tragic story you know,we have spent many hours chatting. so many names. all my friends. thank you all.
And then. JLAND.nina got me into blogging,she wrote a blog,and i thought i can try that.that story has been told,but........it brought YET MORE friends. yasmin,guido,jan,jeannette,my second mom lucy,herrad,jack,so many more. again,thank you all.
And now facebook has brought even more,yearbook,tagged. names,some faces,some i talk to often,some i hardly know.but i still thank you.you all help me keep going,keep sane.
Being a carer is NOT easy.being a carer with serious health problems much worse.but i manage.because when i log onto AOL,or blogspot,facebook,wherever,i know somewhere i will find one of you good people who will help take my mind off my worries.and i thank you ALL for that.
And now today,7 years down the line. i have someone in my life in the "real world".someone i care a lot for. thankyou for being you.xxxx
So,7 years of AOL.not all good,loss of profiles has meant the drastic decline of chatrooms,facebook etc has taken many more.the loss of Jland,so many people were hurt by that.the loss of our pictures.AOL has been my gateway to the internet for all those weeks,months,years.it brought me all you. my friends online. thankyou,and take care all.
PLEASE NOTE.THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY PEOPLE TO NAME INDIVIDUALLY,BUT YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE.thanks mort xxxx
I had been wanting a computer for ages,i had a bush internet set top box that allowed me to browse the net using the TV but it wasn't a great success.so,i finally ordered one from my mail order club,along with a desk. now we had just had oil fired central heating installed,the old open fire ripped out,and i had decorated the lounge and hall,papered and painted,2 new chairs,new carpet as the old one now had a damn great hole where the hearth used to be.so i was busy.MS was still 2 initials for the future,although i did have health problems,and in a lot of pain.but i papered,painted,and the day the PC came me and a mate were laying the carpet.the man from the computer company was supposed to deliver it the next week,set it up and give me a demo.instead he unloaded all these boxes,said everything is colour coded just plug n play. quite.anyway,desk installed on new carpet,a mad dash to DIY store to buy a new swivel chair as the new ones i had ordered were far bigger than i thought,switch round of furniture,and i was ready to open the boxes. and it was easy to plug together.even found the on button.which i pressed,it loaded.and??now what. i knew NOTHING about PCs.no manual.no easy guide.nothing.just a box and a screen.what did it do..i had an AOL internet CD-ROM,from some shop.inserted into drive,downloaded,and................internet.signed up for AOL,and i was away. well,as far as the internet went in those first few weeks it was playing backgammon online,odd email from companies i dealt with,but i was a complete novice.very frustrating.and then i found AOLs games had..............texas holdem poker. in those days it was on pogo,and i still play sometimes on there,but it is not as good as in the early days.more like a chatroom with poker.at first i played on my own againt the computer.then one night on my table appeared AngelaB.and you could talk to each other by typing into the dialogue box.and we got chatting."i'm no good at poker" said ange.i was a pretty decent player,having played in the past for real.oh angie.you lying lickle devil,lol.lets just say ive heard her use that phrase many times.somehow after that we always seemed to play a lot together.and i found my first,my longest running friend.and ange,you made me laugh,we rowed,we swore at each other,but my god we had fun.daughters laura and rachel used to moan at her because she used to laugh so much.ada and cissy ange???happy days.then one night,after AOL changed from pogo to its own poker tables which were much more "serious" i was on my own.angela was away,and i was bored.so i went into a chatroom.i had tried them before.and couldn't get the hang of them.so fast,so many people all "talking"at once.bedlam.but that night 6 years ago i went into 50s romance,room1.an "overflow"room,when the main chatroom reached 48 or so,it opened.and that night there were 2 people in it,sue wicke and gem. 2 new friends.who explained about room1.and how there were some nice people used it,and to come back and visit.that was on news year eve.i went in the next night,met swaine,(sue) glen,alas now sadly dead,a nice man,jane,and so many more.over the coming weeks i got to know so many new people,still played poker,but often i was in chatroom.and i want to take this oppurtunity to thank some of you.sue garden,or sue g,any music you want sue could get.lol.sheena,the laughs we have had,been with ade now 3 years i suppose?? purplemist.Lyn,still a lovely friend. i cant play lady in red even now lyn.thanks for being there when i needed you.xxx.the lovely jaynee,bless you hun.so many to list,tanis,or sunbeam as she is known in chatroom,Nina,whose blog got me into the wonderful world of journals,so many more.some lovely.some not so,some down right nasty ones lol. many sadly now gone from AOL.lonewolf,kraftmad,i look at my buddy list and think,yeah,we had some good times.always quizzes,jokes,laughter.many of my best friends on the net came from that chat room.room1. and then one night,4 years ago a dolfin swam in,in those days we all had profiles,mine had 200 or so pictures on it,and this strange person popped in,made some jokes,and left.helen,you have been so much more than just a friend to me.you have been there when i have been at my lowest,when i was diagnosed with MS you helped me. and we still laugh on here nearly every night.thankyou dolfy.you are the best.xx.bernie,sadly we hardly ever talk now,where once we were so close.good friend,and a lovely person. wendy,whose daughter emma's tragic story you know,we have spent many hours chatting. so many names. all my friends. thank you all.
And then. JLAND.nina got me into blogging,she wrote a blog,and i thought i can try that.that story has been told,but........it brought YET MORE friends. yasmin,guido,jan,jeannette,my second mom lucy,herrad,jack,so many more. again,thank you all.
And now facebook has brought even more,yearbook,tagged. names,some faces,some i talk to often,some i hardly know.but i still thank you.you all help me keep going,keep sane.
Being a carer is NOT easy.being a carer with serious health problems much worse.but i manage.because when i log onto AOL,or blogspot,facebook,wherever,i know somewhere i will find one of you good people who will help take my mind off my worries.and i thank you ALL for that.
And now today,7 years down the line. i have someone in my life in the "real world".someone i care a lot for. thankyou for being you.xxxx
So,7 years of AOL.not all good,loss of profiles has meant the drastic decline of chatrooms,facebook etc has taken many more.the loss of Jland,so many people were hurt by that.the loss of our pictures.AOL has been my gateway to the internet for all those weeks,months,years.it brought me all you. my friends online. thankyou,and take care all.
PLEASE NOTE.THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY PEOPLE TO NAME INDIVIDUALLY,BUT YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE.thanks mort xxxx
Sunday, 22 August 2010
MS and me.and maybe you.
MS has been in the news a lot lately,with new treatments being heralded as breakthroughs in the treatment of this evil disease,sativex is an oral spray made from cannabis extract,and is aimed at progressive sufferers like myself.also funding has been announced in the States and Canada in the research of CCSVI,( chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, dear god who thinks these names up.) a condition linked last year by an italian doctor dr.Paolo Zamboni who reported abnormalities in the veins draining the brain and spinal chord in MS sufferers,his ideas have caused widespread debate.also the furious debate about the threat of MS nurses under threat.my own dear lynda is now semi-retired and it looks as though there is a chance she will not be replaced.MS nurses are OUR first line of attack in out treatment of MS,they liaise directly between our consultants,and our GPs,physios,speech therapists,and other help we need.Lynda is much loved by north norfolk MS sufferers.she will be missed by many.
Now,WHY should YOU,dear reader care?yes its very interesting to those of us with MS,but you don't have it.or do you? many people who have MS just NEVER know they have it.some with very vague,faint,symptoms.others it never even causes any concern,and the only time it emerges they had MS is if an autopsy is performed after death. those are the lucky ones,but sometimes it strikes so rapidly. ask wendy,whose lovely daughter emma has been featured in this blog on a number of posts,ask my good friend Herrad,who suffers daily,or her husband and loving carer richie.or my second mom lucy,bless her,whose beloved son alan died.more and more new sufferers are diagnosed daily.100,000 is the new and revised,updated number for MS sufferers in the UK alone,that figure from the MS society,and it is steadily increasing.and every new sufferer needs help.here in north norfolk there is a group,LAMS,which is a lifeline for many.it has been mentioned on this blog,my lovely friend Myra is a volunteer there.it is based mainly in the east of our region,now there is talk of a west branch of LAMS being started up.maybe around Holt area? at the moment it is talk.a lot needs to be looked into.ideas for what people would like are welcomed by roger and his colleagues,so,if you have MS,or are a carer,or you know someone who has it,please.ASK THEM WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE IF IT WAS IN THEIR AREA. what help.amenities,information etc.THEY would like to see in a new MS support group. feel free to comment,or mail,or contact me on facebook,or leave ideas on LAMS facebook site. lastly,why should YOU CARE?? well,i was 55 when i was diagnosed,young children are being diagnosed weekly if not daily.it may be someone you know tomorrow who is diagnosed. it may even be you. and i pray to god it won't be. take care all.
Now,WHY should YOU,dear reader care?yes its very interesting to those of us with MS,but you don't have it.or do you? many people who have MS just NEVER know they have it.some with very vague,faint,symptoms.others it never even causes any concern,and the only time it emerges they had MS is if an autopsy is performed after death. those are the lucky ones,but sometimes it strikes so rapidly. ask wendy,whose lovely daughter emma has been featured in this blog on a number of posts,ask my good friend Herrad,who suffers daily,or her husband and loving carer richie.or my second mom lucy,bless her,whose beloved son alan died.more and more new sufferers are diagnosed daily.100,000 is the new and revised,updated number for MS sufferers in the UK alone,that figure from the MS society,and it is steadily increasing.and every new sufferer needs help.here in north norfolk there is a group,LAMS,which is a lifeline for many.it has been mentioned on this blog,my lovely friend Myra is a volunteer there.it is based mainly in the east of our region,now there is talk of a west branch of LAMS being started up.maybe around Holt area? at the moment it is talk.a lot needs to be looked into.ideas for what people would like are welcomed by roger and his colleagues,so,if you have MS,or are a carer,or you know someone who has it,please.ASK THEM WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE IF IT WAS IN THEIR AREA. what help.amenities,information etc.THEY would like to see in a new MS support group. feel free to comment,or mail,or contact me on facebook,or leave ideas on LAMS facebook site. lastly,why should YOU CARE?? well,i was 55 when i was diagnosed,young children are being diagnosed weekly if not daily.it may be someone you know tomorrow who is diagnosed. it may even be you. and i pray to god it won't be. take care all.
Friday, 20 August 2010
Dear Morton,Congratulations! Anne here, and your blog, Caring and Sharing, wasdetermined to be one of the top resources in the medical field. And so, ithas received our 2010 Top 50 Multiple Sclerosis Blogs award presented byMedical Assistant Schools!You can see your name amongst our winners here at:www.medicalassistantschools.org/top_multiple_sclerosis/#Caring_and_SharingWinners were chosen through a scoring system led by internet nominations,which came from your reader base!You can let your readers know you won by embedding the badge code to one ofthe different awards graphics found at:www.medicalassistantschools.org/top_multiple_sclerosis/badges/.If you choose to accept or decline the award, please let me know.Please do not hesitate to call or email if you have any questions. Manyquestions can be answered atwww.medicalassistantschools.org/top_multiple_sclerosis/about/.Again, Congratulations, and I hope to see your badge soon!Cheers,Anne Holt4252294915medicalassistantschools.org
This was the email i recived earlier today. now i am by nature suspicious,but it looks genuine,i shall accept and see what happens.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
STATUS CHANGED.
You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.Dr. Seuss American Writer and Cartoonist, b. 1904-1991.
Thanks to a good friend for sending me that. it's true. Now,many of you who are on Facebook,or My Yearbook,or indeed Tagged,and who are on my friends list,just may have noticed i have changed some of my personal information,mainly the fact i changed from being single,to "in a relationship".indeed bloody facebook faced meltdown when i did lol.over 40 comments.cor,you lot aren't half nosey.so,does this mean mort has a nice lady friend in his life? yes.it does. fairly obvious who it is,her dog featured on my last 2 posts.as did her name. Myra. early days,but we are close friends. thanks for all the kind comments about spice.
Being a carer puts a strain on any relationship,especially when both parties are ill themselves,but she understands how things are. we will see,nobody knows what the future holds for us. oh,yes mum has met her.ladies,PLEASE explain how women can have such long animated conversations about.........clothes?????? on second thoughts dont.lol.and,yes mum likes her. so,status changed. take care all.
"I DIDNT THINK IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN,I WAS TOO OLD,TOO SET IN MY WAYS, I WAS CONVINCED I WOULD ALWAYS BE LONELY,ALL OF THE REST OF MY DAYS" lyrics to "falling in love again" by the late,sadly missed JOHN DENVER.
Thanks to a good friend for sending me that. it's true. Now,many of you who are on Facebook,or My Yearbook,or indeed Tagged,and who are on my friends list,just may have noticed i have changed some of my personal information,mainly the fact i changed from being single,to "in a relationship".indeed bloody facebook faced meltdown when i did lol.over 40 comments.cor,you lot aren't half nosey.so,does this mean mort has a nice lady friend in his life? yes.it does. fairly obvious who it is,her dog featured on my last 2 posts.as did her name. Myra. early days,but we are close friends. thanks for all the kind comments about spice.
Being a carer puts a strain on any relationship,especially when both parties are ill themselves,but she understands how things are. we will see,nobody knows what the future holds for us. oh,yes mum has met her.ladies,PLEASE explain how women can have such long animated conversations about.........clothes?????? on second thoughts dont.lol.and,yes mum likes her. so,status changed. take care all.
"I DIDNT THINK IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN,I WAS TOO OLD,TOO SET IN MY WAYS, I WAS CONVINCED I WOULD ALWAYS BE LONELY,ALL OF THE REST OF MY DAYS" lyrics to "falling in love again" by the late,sadly missed JOHN DENVER.
Thursday, 15 July 2010
SPICE IS HOME
SHE IS BACK,!!!!! Myra has just rung me.A lady saw Myras poster in the garage near where she was seen,rang Myra at 7.30 to say,"i have just seen your dog.".as she was getting ready to go look for her,phone rang again,another lady,just seen your dog.so she went with a friend where spice had been seen,and some builders collared spice in a nearby field.lol. to say Myra is happy is an understatement.thanks for all your kind comments,both on here and facebook.Myra is deeply touched by all the concern shown. spice is just snoring blissfully at the moment.WOOF.take care all.Wednesday, 14 July 2010
SPICE
Nice dog isn't she??her name is SPICE.and she is a rescued greyhound. she belongs to Myra,a lovely lady i met on the MS course,and who volunteers at the LAMS group.i plucked up the courage to ask her to have coffee with me,and we are good friends now. all i am saying and i don't need comments please. she is a very special.caring lady.and i am proud to know her.
So,why feature her dog on here?well,saturday evening,after what was the hottest day of the year so far here,Myra took spice to felbrigg hall, National Trust Felbrigg Hall, Garden & Park as she does nearly every day.and as normal,she let her off her lead to have a run.just as she did so,some dear soul over the next field fired a 12bore shotgun at pigeons on the field,and spice took off like a bullet.dissapeared into the distance.Myra rang the police and reported her missing,there was a sighting at what is known as the roman camp about 2 or 3 miles away,that was around 8.30 saturday evening,but since then............nothing. Myra has left posters in every village near there,i have posted on facebook,yearbook,missing animal sites,the RSPCA,dog warden,police,everone we can think of has been told. still she is missing.and my friend is hurting.she loves that dog. so,if you who is reading this lives in north norfolk,OR you know of someone who does,or a fellow blog writer who lives here that i dont follow,PLEASE will you help in finding spice by reposting this entry,or sending them a link to it.I hate my friend being sad.like me she suffers from secondary progressive MS,and the stress makes things so much harder.
Also,can i take this oppurtunity to thank all those who have sent mails,messages,and comments on facebook,yearbook,and other sites i have posted spices picture on.so many kind people.lisa our friend from the states on jland offered to repost my status on her site this morning,in case anyone she knows lives in norfolk,or they know someone who lives near felbrigg,or...........and so it goes on. social networking is often villified in the press,facebook is the root of all evil on the net,but this past few days i,and Myra have come to realise just how many lovely caring people there still are on here.the spirit that our old jland was so loved for IS still alive. please will you pray that spice is soon reunited with her loving owner,and that my lovely friend is happy again.thankyou,and take care all.
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