Maggot Apocalypse and other (real) Hallucinations!

It is the strangest thing being in this house without Dulcie.We were up about 8.00 am  ready to wait for news from Danny.Will was making his morning cup of tea and I noticed the floor was covered with rice...except as I stared...... the rice was moving!The kitchen floor was covered with maggots and they seemed to be coming from under the cooker.I looked down at the carpet and there were some wriggling across the carpet in the lounge and on further exploration they were heading down the hall towards the bedrooms.Will swept the ones on the kitchen floor up in the dustpan and put them in the bin.I was crawling around on my hands and knees picking up the ones that had reached the lounge and the hall. We found them under the table, the chairs, the sofa and they seemed to be trying to burrow into the carpet!The ones Will had put in the bin were crawling out again so we had to remove the bin bag and take it out.We pulled out the cooker to investigate but could see nothing and could not tell where they were coming from. We would clear an area but the next time we looked we would see more wriggling on their way. It took about an hour before we could not find any more. We don't know how many escaped but we will know soon enough when the flies hatch.It is a good job we do not believe in omens! It is not a good time to have a 'maggot omen' ,whatever it could mean!We heard from Danny 'mid-demaggotation', the Surgeon had been to see Dulcie, who had been all prepped and ready for the op, but he had gone away and consulted with a few people and had decided that he could not risk fixing the leg with a metal rod/plate for fear her bones would not be strong enough to take it. She is therefore going to have a 'half' (?) hip replacement...but not until tomorrow.Apparently there is some concern also about the anaesthetic. They have done tests and the anaesthetist was surprised to find that Dulcie's results were similar to those of the average 70 year old.We were not surprised.Anyway they have decided that she will have an epidural and be awake for the operation rather than being knocked out.Danny and Wendi went to visit her about lunchtime and then came over to Celtis St. They said she was fine and in good spirits. We chatted for awhile about the possible implications of all this and changes that may need to be made but nothing final was decided until we wait and see how tomorrow goes.Will and I went over to see her about 2.30.I think she was dozing and mumbling in her sleep but she opened her eyes when we went in.She said she could feel no pain at all and we could tell she was on some good 'stuff!'She was a bit breathless talking to us at first but she had pulled the oxygen tubes out of her nose. Will put them back in and after awhile she seemed to find it easier to talk.She pointed at the smoke detector on the ceiling and another circular contraption."In the night,' she said 'those things slide across the ceiling and then come back.'Will and I looked at them and then at each other and then back at the ceiling. There was no way they would move...ever.She pointed at the TV hanging from the ceiling."What's that bit of rag sticking out behind the television?"It was the electrical testing label, on the electric cable, to say that it was fit to use."In the dark it looks like a little magpie."O.....K.....we thought.A doctor came in and she removed the cannula that had stopped working and said that someone would be along soon to fit another. She was very nice and very gentle with Dulcie.When we were alone again Dulcie said"That radio comes on in the morning," we looked in the direction she was indicating but we could see no radio. There was the drip pump machine, but no radio."It says 'Horse!' 'Horse!'"We looked at each other."I think they want you to say the first thing that comes into your head," she went on, "So I say 'Ploughing!' 'Ploughing!'."At this point I had dissolved in to fits of giggles and put my head down to and tried to hide the fact that I was laughing uncontrollably. I don't know how Will managed to stay serious."Really?" He said, " like a word association game?"Another doctor arrived to fit the new cannula. She started looking for suitable veins. Dulcie's skin is paper thin but her veins are hard to find. She asked Dulcie a few questions."Are you on oxygen at home?"Dulcie said."No Dear! But it's a different lifestyle." Will was laughing with me this time."Well you may have lost your hip, but you haven't lost your sense of humour," said the doctor.The first attempt at fitting a cannula on Dulcie's arm failed and she had to try again on Dulcie's wrist. The second attempt worked. Will could not look. He hates needles!"You may feel a prick," said the doctor."I won't feel anything, Dear," said Dulcie, pulling a funny face at me.When she'd gone. Dulcie said she had not missed her cigarettes."It might be a good time to give them up then," said Will."I might," she said, then looking up at the ceiling added, "those things are moving now. Can you see them?"We looked. They weren't moving."It might be the drugs," I said."And I can see that little bird peeping," she said looking at the TV."It's a lovely colour of blue, that door, isn't it?"We decided to get going as she was getting a bit tired."Any jobs for me?" I asked before we went."No dear, as long as you did that watering yesterday."I had.We said we would see her again tomorrow after her operation.We left her looking at the ceiling."It must be the drugs," she was saying.