Friday and I am up early as I am going to London with my eldest daughter to oversee the locksmith putting new locks on my sisters house. I have a quick breakfast and we set off. Before hitting the M1 we stop off at a Sainsburys to get some food for lunch and some cash. The later was thwarted by a non working ATM. We head down the M1. We chat on the way, its a good journey and the roads are clear. Two hours later and we are unlocking my sisters front door.
Its not long before a neighbour arrives at the door and we introduce ourselves. She is under the impression that another neighbour thinks that my sister is being discharged from hospital. I am surprised and ring the hospital. The hospital are indeed intending to send my sister home. I talk to the nurse in charge of the ward and express my concerns, she listens and promises to get the person who carried out the assessment of need to ring me. My daughter and I continue to clean the kitchen and the fridge. We check the post and we sort out a hanging bathroom light and one or two other things. The care need assessor rings me and we have a long conversation the upshot of which is that as my sister is well again, has capacity and has made the decision to return home she will be discharged. There is an issue around access and keys and I agree to tell the ward if and when the locksmiths work is done.
The locksmith arrives and is able to fit a new lock that uses the exiting key, which solves an awful lot of problems. We go and shop to get food in and restock the fridge before I ring the hospital and tell them that the work is done. I have a conversation about timing but stress that I will not be there to receive my sister after 5 o’clock. I ask them to ring me when my sister has been picked up by the transport. They agree.
My daughter and I go to the corner shop for a sausage roll and a drink. As we sit outside I get a call saying my sister was on her way. We go back to the house to wait. We wait and wait. In theory its only a 20 minute drive. In the end there is time for my daughter to return to the cake shop and buy us a treat while we wait. Eventually an ambulance appears and my sister sets off to number 9 across the way as she thinks the house keys are there. My daughter intercepts her and we and the ambulance driver guide her into home.
My sister is looking much much better than she did. We make her a cup of tea and settle down on the sofa to chat. I tell her what we have done and where things are. We make a meal for her and sort out what she has brought back from the hospital. We continue to chat as she eats and has a second cup of tea, Its gone seven thirty by the time we say goodbye and leave to drive back to Leicester. I promise to ring the next day.
The drive home is slow as it gets dark and it starts to rain. As we approach the home junction there are lane closures and we crawl the last three miles. We get home just as the takeaway arrives. I unpack the car and go into eat the Indian. I am very tired and its been an unexpected day. My sister is home unexpectedly and hopefully is resting in comfort for the first time for a while. The account of my day is a short version as there are details that I have omitted, like the conversation with the neighbours.
Saturday and I am brought a coffee and toast in bed, so there is time to enjoy it before moving my car so that my partner can go out. I set about my washing and clearing the kitchen. I take time to feed the hedgehog and then I am of to the post office to send back some goods to Amazon. On the way a friend calls and we have a chance to catch up with how owe both are. It seems we ae both hoping for some time to rest and recover. I send my package and walk to another shop to buy a paper and some food to nibble. Back home my partner returns and after a light lunch and a bit of a ruby match we go off to the garden centre to buy fresh vegetables. Having achieved this we make haste to our favourite garden centre to but some new plants for the garden. We wander around selecting plants and thinking about where the gaps are in the garden beds and pots. With a trolley load of new plants we head home where I set about putting some of the new plants into the front garden pots. I try to ring my sister as promised but get no answer so I leave a message and send her an email as I know she reads my blog and then checks her emails. There is tea and rugby and football during which I start the blog. I am tired, I think am still tired but intend to start back in the gym tomorrow.
