Black Out

My mother went into hospital yesterday morning after blacking out in the bathroom. She went through a battery of tests and it turns out she's in wonderful shape physically- except that she's got an abscess in her lower jaw.

She was perfectly happy when I left her on the ward last night. She had long since forgotten the black out. She lives in the moment. Nothing fazes her.

Adjusting To Change

I slept an extra hour this morning because why not?

It feels odd being in this big house without my mother because-after all- she's the reason we're here. If we hadn't received the call in 2013 we'd still be living in OLdham.

Ailz and I spent most of our married life as just the two of us but for the past five years there's been a third party round whom life- of necessity- revolved. During those five years the only time we had to ourselves was when we booked to go out- and had my sister or paid carers in to mind my mother. It's now eleven o'clock in the morning and normally my mother would be sitting across the table from me, nodding over her tea cup- and today she ain't.

Alice rang to ask after Granny. She was pushing Clover down the street in a push chair and Clover was cheerfully singing, "Not fair, not fair, not fair" I asked Alice to ask her what wasn't fair and she replied, "Nothing." She sounded surprised.

The hospital is in the next village over- so we can pop in and out without it being a big deal. My mother has a room to herself on the geriatric ward- and was sitting out of bed in her paper nightdress, dozing. She has no idea why she's there, but no questions about it either. The insertions in her arms puzzle her. There's a TV on the wall showing loud, colourful American shows. The nurse warned us yesterday evening that all the controls were busted or stolen and so my mother is stuck with Channel 4- not that it makes any difference to her.

Parking at the hospital is inadequate- and expensive. I remember it being just the same at The Royal Oldham. If they're going to make money out of visitors they should make it so you don't have to crawl round the parking area- in a queue- looking for spaces.

No complaints about the hospital itself though. Rather the contrary. Long live the Natonal Health Service and confusion to the privatisers!

And That's The End Of That

The hospital discharged my mother this evening- and my sister and brother-in-law brought her home. She has anti-biotics in her system and is back to where she was before the episode. The notes that came home with her attribute the black-out to a combination of dehydration and sepsis. We now need to get her booked in to see a dentist...