26 April 2012
Another uncomfortable night. I was okay until about 3.00 am and then my heels began to get progressively more painful. I tried moving my feet but without success. So I could not relieve the pressure on the heels. Add to that painful knee joints and some of the time a hip or shoulder and I begin to wonder how efficacious is the pain patch which I have now had on for the last five days. I’m tempted to try one night without any of the pain pills , or the pain patch and see if it makes any difference
When I told my two early morning carers, Sarah and Louise, about my bad night, they both told me that heel pain through pressure was very common with many of their clients. I was actually quite pleased to learn that this was a common problem with patients who are immobile in bed and is nothing more sinister. They then told me about one lady who had successfully improved the situation by wearing sheepskin slippers specifically designed for the process. I then went onto eBay and found some which looked pretty good and so I bought them. According to the account information they should be delivered within 3 to 5 working days
This morning, my sister and brother-in-law, Victoria and Lawrence Grand, dropped in for coffee . They live in Cornwall, so we don’t see them very often. They had been up in this neck of the woods for the christening of their 11th grandchild, Arthur Mark Grand -third child of Leticia and Tom Grand – Lawrence and Victoria’s eldest second son. The last time I saw them was about this time last year when I was taken down to Cornwall for the wedding of Lawrence and Victoria’s daughter, Augusta. Regular readers may recall my driver Barry and his wife Denise, who doubled as carers on this three-day trip and it was only a week or so after our return that Barry was rushed to hospital and put into intensive care. All we knew at the time was that it was something to do with his back and I felt very guilty at the time thinking that perhaps I had been the cause, as Barry had been lifting me in and out of the car and every time I needed moving when we would normally now use a hoist. Fortunately, it turned out to be caused by a number of cysts under his spine
I’m glad to say that after five operations and one year later, Barry appears to have made a full recovery and is once more driving his taxi.
Readers who followed the London Marathon run last week will recall the 26-year-old woman who died of a heart attack 1 km short of the finish. Her objective has been to raise £500 for her favourite charity. Ironically, her death touched the hearts of a great number of people and now over £500,000 has been raised in her memory, no doubt all, or a great deal of it, we all go to her chosen charity.
As today’s entry is a mixture of topics I will continue this theme by challenging the readers to solve five riddles for people with a high IQ. Click here and see how clever you are.