Nurse Mum

I’m relieved to report that Daughter is progressing as well as can be expected, considering the major surgery that she had. The specialist Endometriosis Unit at London’s UCH is, as I said in an earlier post, excellent. 

But to more mundane matters… how I coped as Nurse Mum for two whole weeks!

For the first two nights after the operation I stayed at the Premier Inn, within walking distance of the hospital. On the third night I made my way to Daughter’s house to prepare for her homecoming. It was a long, bag-laden walk to the station and an even longer walk along the platform looking for the second-class carriages. It took me five carriages to realize that the word ‘First’ referred to First Direct and not First Class.

My biggest test as Nurse Mum came when they discharged Daughter with a catheter fitted to ‘rest the traumatised bladder’. On her first day home she couldn’t even bend to reach the drainage tap, never mind tackle the night bag! Have you any idea how heavy a bag of wee can be? The post-hysterectomy inability to lift meant that the night bag was a ball and chain around her leg. I won’t go into the fear and panic when, on Sunday morning, the bag became blocked, I will merely thank the efficiency of the district nurse who arrived in time to save us a rush to A&E.

While I was staying at Daughter’s I was ‘sleeping’ on a blow-up bed in her living room. Strange how you can sleep anywhere when you’re exhausted! On the eighth night of blow-up-bed-habitation, Daughter’s cat brought me a present… a shrew… a live shrew. She placed it lovingly beside my head, which was mere inches from the floor. Needless to say my head didn’t stay there for long! I rescued the poor little shrew, set it free in the garden and spent the rest of the night on the settee. For my last two nights as Nurse Mum I checked into a nearby hotel. That, as it turned out, was a good plan because it gave Daughter a chance to see if she was ready to manage on her own.

I’m now back home and catching up on a little paper work and a lot of sleep. I hope to resume normal service as soon as possible, especially as I have a major book launch to attend next week for my Children’s Book of Richard III. Apparently I have to make a speech. I dare say I’ll blog about it and I’m quite sure there will be photos to post up so you can kind of join in too.

Thank you to everyone who sent get well wishes to my daughter. We both really appreciate all the messages.

The Tricks of Time

Time is a strange concept. We can't stop it and yet sometimes it seems to be hardly moving at all. We can't stretch it and yet sometimes it feels as if that would be the only way to get things done.

An excellent example is the Cemetery Research Project. The Heritage Lottery have allowed one year to complete it. A year is a long time, right? Wrong! There's so much work still to do and it must be done by October. Not that I'm complaining too much because the work is fascinating. I've just finished documenting the travels of a Jewish gentleman who, during the late 1890s to the 1920s, moved with his family from Turkey to Egypt to Germany. With the rise of Nazi Germany, they moved on to Paris, then to Clacton-on-Sea, London, Littlethorpe and finally Leicester. It was a privilege to record this story and it's one of many. You'll be able to read them in full when the Website is completed which can't be long because, as I said, I'm running out of time.

Time is playing its tricks with my Children's Book of Richard III. I couldn't believe the day would arrive when I would hold the pages, with their beautiful full-colour illustrations, in my hands but yesterday I did just that. We're now working on last minute corrections, tweaks and alterations - we being myself (the author) Alice Povey (illustrator and book designer) and Lynn Moore (editor and publisher). We'll soon be ready to go to print BUT why is it taking so much time for the High Court Judges to make their decision over where Richard III will be reinterred? We may have to publish without waiting for their decision, which is fine because my book tells a satisfying story even without the reinterment, and there's always the 2nd edition!

If these were the only demands on my time, then time would be almost manageable, but there have been hospital appointments too and it's common knowledge that waiting around in hospitals can make time grind to an almost halt. Mr A has just completed his regular two days of tests at the National Amyloidosis Centre in London's Royal Free Hospital. They're so pleased with his progress that they don't want to see him for a whole year. You see! Suddenly a year feels like a good and long time. But my daughter is waiting for an operation. Because of her severe endometriosis, she's going to have to have a hysterectomy. There are just over four more weeks to wait and the time is going slower than a snail.

Do you see what I mean about time being a strange concept? If we knew the true meaning of time, I suspect we'd have discovered the true meaning of life, but I don't have the time to think about it right now. Maybe later, when I've time to spare... or maybe not!

What are your thoughts about time?

A Pink Pants Challenge

This week is Endometriosis Awareness Week

I am very aware of Endometriosis. I suffered from it myself but nowhere near as badly as my daughter is suffering right now. As this is Endometriosis Awareness Week I thought I'd do a bit of awareness raising myself so here goes:

A Pink Pants Challenge:  If I was fitter and maybe a few years younger I would join these brave ladies. From 3rd to 5th May they are going to be climbing Wales' highest and most spectacular mountain, Snowdon, in the Snowdon Horseshoe Challenge. They're hoping to raise money for research into finding a cure for this painful and debilitating condition.You can read more about them here. I may not be fit enough to take part but I can and will be donating.

Endometriosis: If you are one of the lucky people who have never suffered from this condition then I'll explain. Endometriosis is when the lining of the womb spreads to other organs of the body. It creates sticky deposits causing pain and sticking organs together. The bowel is one of the common organs to be affected. We're not just talking about painful periods. This is an all month round, 24/7 kind of pain.

My Daughter: Last year my daughter was referred to the specialist Endometriosis Unit at London's University College Hospital. She has just had an exploratory laparoscopy to inform the surgeons in preparation for more major surgery sometime soon. We haven't got the date yet. Time feels as if it's standing still. She's been in pain for such a long time now.

Research: One of the problems for sufferers is the difficulty in successfully diagnosing the condition. While my daughter was in the hospital last week she agreed to donate tissues for research. They're hoping to develop a blood test to diagnose Endometriosis so that future sufferers won't have to wait until the Endometriosis is severe before a correct diagnosis can be made. They might even, one day, be able to dissolve it without painful and intrusive treatments. If you want to find out more about Endometriosis then please go and visit The Endometriosis UK site.

If you weren't aware before, then hopefully you're a bit more aware of Endometriosis now. Who'd be a woman!