It’s been a
long time since I wrote a ‘reflection posts’… but I thought do so, just as
something of a diary note (because I end up forgetting key details of stuff!).
Moira’s
been struggling a little after going down with Covid.
I think she
first tested positive on 7 April and didn’t test negative for 13 days (20
April). Although her symptoms weren’t severe, it was something of a
debilitating experience – headaches, tiredness, aching limbs etc. She
self-isolated at home accordingly. Even after ‘recovering’ (over the next week
or so), she lacked energy and on the few occasions she ventured out (eg, the
pharmacy and Wilko’s), it left her exhausted… and would often ‘go for lie down’
to recover.
At various
stages recently, she’s been struggling with her sciatica, hip and knee pain and,
clearly, this hasn’t helped her recovery.
She’s never
been one for lots of exercise(?), but it’s a shame that she contracted Covid
after having enjoyed walking around the harbour (complete circuit) twice within
a couple of days… and felt ‘good’ about having done this.
Over recent
days, she and I have taken very short walks to the harbour (home-Capricorn Quay-Broken
Dock-cathedral-home)(the length of the walks being restricted at her request).
She’s never been a fast walker (slight understatement!) but, in recent days,
she’s been walking very slowly.
Her
situation hasn’t been helped by a slight delay in getting her medications from
the pharmacy (and she’s been somewhat anxious about relapsing back into
depression).
Moira is
convinced that she has the first signs of Parkinson’s Disease (and I agree with
her)… and so, quite naturally, is anxious to know the outcome of the
forthcoming hospital appointment… and, if confirmed, to know the implications
(medications, timescale, physical and mental implications, advice, exercise etc).
At the same time, there are moments when she’s convinced that the consultant
will want to continue monitoring before making any prognosis.
Given Moira’s
possible Parkinson’s condition, it’s made me re-think matters. I suddenly realise
that I NEED to be here to support Moira through what we anticipate as being a
pretty debilitating and difficult time. We don’t really know what these years
may bring and how quickly any deterioration might happen etc… but the idea of
Moira having to live through it all on her own (or even living with/supported
by daughters etc) is really, really hard to imagine.
Growing old
can be pretty rubbish!
In the
meantime, we need to appreciate very moment. x
Just a series of random reflections compiled during the coronavirus crisis. March 2020
Monday, May 2, 2022
Monday 2 May 2022:
Saturday, January 8, 2022
Saturday 8 January 2022:
This will
be a bit of a strange blogpost.
Yesterday,
walking to Welsh Back, I felt decidedly ‘weird’ (physically)… quite weak and
struggling to walk normally… walking slowly and gingerly… not exactly
breathless, but certainly not feeling ‘right’. I gradually improved and, by the
time I returned to the apartment, I felt ‘ok’ (not brilliant, but ok). It all
felt slightly scary.
Then, this
morning, I walked to the local Co-op to fetch the newspaper and, walking home, again
felt similarly ‘weird’… and slightly shaky and not exactly breathless, but with
a strange sensation high up, level with sternum (no actual pain)... maybe something like fluttering breaths? Took it easy
for the rest of the day and no further issues… but just thought I’d write down the experiences for possible future reference.
But the
experience has made me feel strangely vulnerable and that I’m not going to live
forever… and maybe not even to the end of 2022!
Saturday 1 January 2022:
It’s been
something like 10 weeks since I last wrote a reflection (and I’ve also just
decided to stop writing a daily diary). Now that the Christmas and New Year
festivities are over, I’ve been endeavouring to concentrate on the months
ahead. Most of the ‘jobs’ related to the house move have now really been sorted
and I’m conscious that it’s left something of a ‘void’. In the normal course of
things (and especially given our new home location), I would almost certainly have
been visiting the cinema (Watershed) on a weekly basis, but continuing Covid concerns have meant that I’m
still reluctant to return to watching films at this stage. The RWA is currently
closed for refurbishment, otherwise I feel sure I’d be there on a monthly basis
at least. The Museum+Art Gallery is currently incorporating the Grayson Art
Club (we’ve been once and will no doubt return a couple of times before the
exhibition closes in September. I’ll continue to sketch most days – although
doing so in the winter months is a little restrictive.
We would
normally have tried to book tickets for the theatre but, again, Covid concerns
still make us both feel uncomfortable at present. Similarly, I would usually
have booked concert tickets at St George’s, but still feel rather reluctant to
do so at present.
I’m less
involved or, frankly, interested in church matters these days (tending to avoid
services at HTH… but also not really switched on to or enthusiastic about Saint
Stephen’s services (I’m in something of a spiritual wilderness).
So, my only
real ‘outside contacts’ these days are bookgroup, urban sketching and
‘Blokes’-related stuff.
We probably
need to make arrangements to get people round to Deanery Road for coffee or
lunch or supper over the coming months (Covid permitting)… Dave+Sarah,
Janice+Nigel for instance.
I also need
to continue arranging zooming sessions (especially with Alan).
I’m also
very conscious that we’ll probably not see much of I+R unless we organise stuff
(their weekends seem sacrosanct and so we probably need to ensure that we get
together for chips(?) occasionally during the school holidays.
Thursday 21 October:
It’s been
two months since I wrote my last reflection. It’s been a busy time settling
into our new home (a constant matter of two steps forward and one back), but
we’re gradually ‘getting there’. We’re constantly aware that we haven’t
actually downsized enough to fit into number17! We probably still need to get
rid of some books; we have far too many empty plastic boxes left over; the
kitchen is too small (and not as well designed storage-wise; lots of framed
pictures and not enough wallspace to hang them…
We’re about
to have a few days away in Lancashire (2 days in Lytham, followed by 2 days
with Alice+Dave in Buckshaw). It’ll obviously involve several train journeys
and, given our recent experiences of high proportions of people on public
transport NOT wearing face masks, it’s something that really concerns us. Yes,
we’ve been double-vaccinated and boostered but, nevertheless, with weekly Covid
cases and deaths beginning to rise again in quite high numbers, it makes both
of us feel very uneasy (and vulnerable). In some ways, it would be easy to take
the cautious option and cancel our plans, but (significantly) we haven’t seen
our Lancashire grandchildren for TWO whole years and we haven’t had a holiday
since our time in Skipton – again, just over two years ago. So, we’ll go… and
just be as careful as possible.