Crisis Update

So I am just going to fill you in on the last couple of days.  Blogging is difficult as I am currently staying at Mum's and the wifi doesn't reach to the bedroom.  I shall be here for sometime I think.

So I text mum after having eaten on Wednesday evening expecting her to say she had finished her meal and we would have a chat but in return I got a very garbled text from which I thought she indicated she had had a fall.  I rang straight away and all she could say was that it was really bad and could we come so we literally jumped in the car with what we had on and raced down to Emba.  I kept talking to her all the way but she was clearly distressed and in shock and was saying it was really bad.  We decided to call for an ambulance which we hoped we would beat to the house and which we did.

On our arrival it looked like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  In a nutshell Mum had tripped up some steps from the garden to the sunroom and in so doing had taken the skin off from her knee to her ankle in a bit old slice.  I have a photograph which is so awful it isn't for public consumption but I needed to be able to show my sister what we were dealing with.  

The paramedics arrived and were brilliant and they took her off to A&E.  John and I had a quick clean up of the house, rolled up two carpets which were beyond redemption and then set off for the hospital ourselves.  It is difficult with Covid and the language barrier to try and get much sense but Mum was checked in and seen, had her leg dressed and was apparently waiting to go for an X-Ray - her need for the toilet became her saving grace because they were too busy to take her so they let me in to do it and then I got a chance to speak to the very stressed doctor on duty who asked if we could take her for the X-Ray which we did - thank God John knows he way around this part of the hospital having been there on many occasions with Les.  Once we had the X-Ray secured (nothing broken) we managed to get her discharged and brought her back home.  I stayed, in the clothes I was wearing and nothing else, and John went home.  

The following day was spent quietly - all plans John and I had went out the window but John did manage to throw some of my stuff in a bag and bring it down.  Lilian kindly got me the hire of a wheelchair from the charity shop she works in as we felt it would be the best way to get Mum around the hospital for the dressing change on Thursday.

We worked out a menu for the next few days and I went and got some shopping so that I could make sure we had some food inside us.

I think it is fair to say that Mum was probably still a bit in shock on Wednesday as we found her trying to move furniture and sort the cat litter tray which we had to firmly put a stop to.  As I explained infection will be her greatest danger and at that point she had not be prescribed any drugs.  My sister suggested four hourly paracetemol and that did start to bring down the pain mum was experiencing so that by the afternoon she was able to touch her leg although it was clear that areas were still bleeding or seeping through.

This morning Mum did not look so good as she was clearly worried about having the leg redressed.  We managed to get to the hospital and find somewhere to park on the third circuit of the car park and we checked in and eventually got to the right door where two guys were busy discussing their various prostate issues and how that had affected their social life or not as the case might be.

Mum was seen pretty quickly but it was a very painful exercise even though the guy was trying to be as careful as possible.  Boy she screamed and gripped my hand.  I didn't think the wound looked as bad as I was expecting it to - the flap of skin looked to have settled down although I am no expert on these things and she has been prescribed antibiotics.  

She had been quiet cheerful yesterday but today she was low.  I busied myself by putting a chicken and bacon casserole in the slow cooker for tonight and tomorrow.  Her next visit to the hospital is Monday and then again on Wednesday so I do see that I will be going home anytime soon.  I shall take a trip back on Saturday to pick up some more things which I am going to need and have a cuddle with my cats.

I am really struggling with the temperature and humidity here and Mum's place is so hot and she doesn't really feel it.  To make things worse poor Freddo is desperate for some cuddles but he weighs a tonne.  Tonight it was 32 in the sunroom with all the windows open and fly screens across and I was melting.