Dr Hew and the Electrolytes!

Post Frogknot I am back at work.Shirley left Monday lunchtime. She was sad to go and we were sad to see her go.Things are better than last week, though our case manager......who is Gay....is suggesting that Transition Care ends at the end of June. She does  not feel it is the right programme for Dulcie. She reckons that showering help for Dulcie should continue and that can be provided by Blue Care who previously came to help with cleaning.She is putting forward an application for us for respite, particularly in case of emergencies should Will and I become ill and there is no one to turn too. There is also a chance of a few hours a week of someone covering for me to allow me sometime to myself."We recognise there is such a thing as carer burn out," she said.I can recognise it too.We await an 'interview' to determine success or not.Trace and Jen arrived yesterday for a few days. It is lovely to have them here and a distraction for Dulcie. On our own the day can be quite dull with only 3 possible places for us to move between....her dining chair, her reclining lounger and the verandah. Long silences are punctuated by Dulcie raising her head, as it rests on her arm at the table, and asking the same question she asked 10 minutes earlier. Each time I answer as if for the first time but my heart breaks a little more.She is down, but not out and definitely not resisting any help or reminders I give her. I am more relaxed and not as quick to pounce on her mistakes realising that it is now just forgetfulness.While we were away at Frogknot QML came and took more blood for testing as requested by Dr Hew. Today Marie rang and said that Dr Hew would be visiting at 1.00pm.Annette waas here at 10.00 for Dulcie's shower and she washed her hair and Dulcie put her rollers in.I sat on her walker in front of her lounger, just before 1.00 holding a mirror, while Dulcie pulled out her rollers and brushed her hair."I'm going grey" she moaned."It looks great," I said.Dr Hew arrived. He thought she looked much better. Her electrolytes were not affected by the Lasix and so was to remain on 2 tablets a day for the time being. They have certainly helped reduce the swelling in her feet and her breathing is better. The results of her blood tests showed an increase in white blood cells suggesting infection somewhere......bladder or chest. I had to take a urine sample to QML and he suggested a chest x-ray too and restarted her on antibiotics."Do I leave this urine sample with you? " I asked the Pharmacist down by Woolies.She looked aghast!"No we don't take urine samples here, " she said, "please leave it at the Doctors next door".It seems Dr Wang's surgery is a QML drop off point.There was no one at the reception desk and the bell you press for attention had been removed....just an empty plastic shell remained screwed to the desk top.Eventually the receptionist sauntered in from the back like a reluctant teenager full of the joys of a funeral."Can I leave this with you?" I asked."Not in that bag," she said. I had wrapped it in a grey plastic shopping bag.She held open a small clear bag and I put the sample bottle in."I'm not looking," said the receptionist, "I don't go near them. I once made the mistake of putting my hand in a bag with a sample in and they had not put the lid on properly. I ended up with someone else's pee all over my hand"That must have been the moment she lost her will to live!We left her sulking and collected the antibiotics." I'll just check if they will do the chest x-ray at the place I had my renal scan," I told Trace and wandered off to see them.I went in.Terry was lurking in the background....I didn't look but I could feel him lurking and sensed him peeping round the corner."We can do your x-ray now" said the receptionist....I bet Terry was already slipping his hands into tight rubber gloves....."Oh, it's not for me," I said, "It's someone else." I could sense Terry's disappointment and his shadow slipped away.We did not need to make an appointment just drop in tomorrow when we are ready.Something to look forward too.....and a change of scene from the dining chair, the reclining lounger and the verandah.