Getting into the swing....or trying to!

I am still alive......just.Monday morning dawned with Will off to work and Dulcie and I facing her first full day at home in 8 weeks.We were expecting the TCP (The Transition Care Programme) to come and start the process of settling her back home but no one came. They rang later in the day to say that they would be coming tomorrow. Someone was coming to assess her showering at 9.30 and the case manager was coming at 11.00 am.Dave came early to finish the grouting in the shower room under the house, his final job and then he was gone. The light/fan in Dulcie's room is still not working but Barry, the electrician did not turn up.The rest of the day was pretty uneventful with Dulcie looking thoroughly bored sat in her chair.We watched "Days of our Lives" an American daily soap opera. I had never seen it before....it was fantastically dreadful acting and ended very dramatically with a character being shot......but by who? I really did not care.Then it was time for 'The Virginian'....her first one in a while and luckily it was a good one.Dulcie looked miserable all day. I think she was actually missing the hustle and bustle of the rehab ward. I think she had forgotten how quiet it is at home.We had fish and chips for tea and then I went off to Aldi to get a few things we needed. Dulcie wanted 'Lollies' (in the U.K we say sweets, 'you choose Nick,' she said. I chose some chewy jelly fruits....she liked them.)We have moved up out of the Man Cave for awhile to keep an eye on her at night when she gets out of bed to visit the loo.She was in bed by 8.00 pm and we had managed to remember all of the medications for the day. This process is made easier that we know have a 'Webster pack." The Pharmacist loads the pack with the correct medication for the week, for morning, lunchtime, dinnertime and bedtime and we just dispense it at the right time.Tuesday dawned with Will off to work again....I was up early too in readiness for the possible arrival of plumbers and electricians but no one arrived so I dusted the lounge as Dulcie had pointed it out the mess the day before.Barry arrived and wanted to go and sort out the fan but I said that Dulcie was still in bed. He had things to sort downstairs so went and did those first.She was still in bed at 8.45 so I went and woke her up. Straight away I noticed that her left cheek and all her lips were badly swollen. She looked like an ageing screen actress after some terrible plastic surgery.We sorted the morning medication and had breakfast and waited for the OT to come to help with the shower. At 9.30 am we got a phone call to say the O.T was on her way now.We waited.At 9.55 we got another phone call from the O.T."Am I in the right place?" She asked. She wasn't....she was at 7 Celtic St. I put her right but she said she would phone the Case Manager as she would probably make the same mistake as the address on Dulcie's details was wrong.Barry couldn't get the fan working. He said it was a fault with the fan itself and not the electricity supply to it. I had to ring Keith, the building manager. Barry left and Mal of 'Shithouse Plumbing' arrived.I was on the phone to Keith when the OT arrived.Keith wanted me to phone the fan manufacturer and sort out getting a replacement...I was thinking 'Great! Stick a brush up my bottom and I will sweep the floor too!"The OT was lovely. I showed her the new bathroom and straight away she had issues....I felt the day was on a downward slope.Dulcie went for her shower assessment with the OT and I rang the fan manufacturer. He was going to email me a Warranty Form to fill in.'Oh Goody!.........NOT!'The shower finished and the OT wanted to chat to me. Dulcie had done well but there was no way she could cope alone as yet and was very breathless. The OT had some recommendations which she was going to refer to Home Assist the TCP building service to fit some bars near the shower and a shower curtain (!) I could not believe that! The whole point of rearranging the bathroom was to do without shower screens and curtains but here she was recommending one.The OT recommended raising the sofa, a new dining chair and new handrails for the front and back steps.The Case manager arrived."Hello, I'm Gay."I nearly said, " Hello, so am I."Gay went through all the paperwork and the contract and asked lots of questions of Dulcie. We are getting daily shower help, a nurse to check wounds, a dietician, physiotherapy, a podiatrist and the building modifications to a value of $400. I asked about a wheel chair for day trips out. She said she would see what she could do.I became aware of a flustered Mal rooting around on the front verandah. I asked Gay to excuse me and went to see what the problem was. He was looking for a box that one of the upstairs shower attachments had come in and was on the phone to Keith, who was in Bunnings, trying to get another one. We couldn't find the box. Mal wanted to take a picture with his mobile and send it to Keith but his Iphone had no battery power and his phone was an antique. We hurried in past Gay and Dulcie and then found the box he was looking for in the spare room. I took a picture of the fitting and the box and sent them to Keith. Mal went back downstairs and I went back to Gay and Dulcie. I asked Gay about Dulcie's swollen lip and wondered if it might be some of her medication. Gay suggested we see her Dulcie's G.P.The TCP package was going to cost about $67 a week. I knew Dulcie was sat there thinking she didn't need any of it but I said 'Yes, we want it.' I new Will and his brothers and sisters would agree.Gay left and Dulcie and I had lunch. After lunch Shirley rang. Dulcie was telling her how easy she had managed the shower and I was texting Shirley saying 'don't believe it, the OT said she is nowhere near managing yet.'Wendi rang later. I told her about the swollen lips. Wendi said it would be because of something she had eaten. I could not think of anything she had eaten that she had not eaten before.Finally when all was quiet. We went into the kitchen and made some biscuits. Dulcie managed the mixing sat on her walker....they turned out much better than the ones I had made while she was in hospital....I don't know her secret. It must be in the mixing.When we had finished we went back to the lounge and Dulcie forgot all she had been told and flopped into her chair.I told her she was not supposed to do that and should lower herself down with her arms."I'll do what I want," she said."Well, you will just end up back in hospital," I said, "when your hip pops out.""They won't get me back there," she replied."You will have no choice" I said. "I know it is frustrating and you want to go back to how it was before but you have to listen to us, we are only trying to keep you out of hospital.""I can listen but I don't have to do as you say." I had never seen this side before.Oh, I was cross."O.K. Well you know where you will end up." I said and walked away.A delivery van arrived with the new dining chair and the wheel chair."What do I need that for?" She asked."Well, so we can go out and about instead of staying stuck in here." I said."And you can wheel me around like a baby," she said in a very snidey manner."You don't have to go in it. We'll just stay here all day then."I had to walk away again. I took Mal a can of PepsiMax and found him dramatically grinding a pipe.....it looked a mess to me but I walked away...I couldn't bear to think of anything else going wrong.I started to fill in the Warranty form for the fan and needed a copy of the purchase receipt from Keith and a copy of the electrician's safety certificate.....it wasn't getting any easier.Keith turned up and had the receipt but I asked him to scan it and send me a copy later. I emailed Barry about the safety certificate."Do you know what I fancy?" Said Dulcie."What?" I asked." A cigarette.""I don't think that is a good idea," I said."Just one." She said."The main reason you had to stay in hospital is because your breathing was so bad. A cigarette would not help. Let's see what Will says when he comes home."She scowled at me."Yes," I said, "You know what he is going to say don't you!"I was so relieved when Will came home it had been such a wearing day fielding all the visitors, calls and workmen and on top of all that having Dulcie testing me. It was hard, she is not my mother but I am having to be firm and dreading that she is going to end up hating me. Will will be home now until next week now which will be great.Later in the evening I had a text from Lewis to say that he had got the job at the University in Edinburgh. It was such good news and I was utterly delighted. I started to cry and thought it was because I was so happy but soon realised even though I was very happy I was crying because I had not thought about any of my boys that day....I had been so busy......and I just felt so guilty about that.