Driving Miss Dulcie VIII

No 'Driving Miss Dulcie' for ages and then 2 come along at once!So.......Dulcie mentioned on Sunday bedtime that she had some itchy spots on her left hip so on Monday I rang Marie at Dr Hew's Surgery to make an appointment to see Dr Hew. There were no appointments left on Monday as I had to wait to ring until after Blue Care had been but Marie gave us an appointment at 2.30pm for today.It was a good job that the episode of 'The Virginian' was one that had been on before.....in fact I think I have seen it 3 times already!.....it made it easier to switch off. We started getting ready about 1.30 pm."I better go to the 'tut', " she said and off she went."Do you think you should change your blouse?" I asked, pointing out the pie remains from lunch she had spilled on it, when she came back."No, I'll just give it a wipe."She came back again with a huge wet patch all over the front of her blouse....but I said nothing.It was 1.45 pm when we set off."There are a lot of cars aren't there Nick?""Yes," I said."That's a nice yard.""It is," I said."That's a big car. I've never seen such a big car.""Look at that long grass in that garden! The buggers want to be shot! There's no excuse."Perhaps they had already been shot and that was why they were unable to cut their grass...if so it sounded like a good excuse to me.We arrived at Eight Mile Plains shopping precinct at 2.05pm."What time is it now, Nick?""It's five past two," I said."This sun is bloody fierce, let's wait in the shade over there."We got out and walked under the precinct canopy."Oh, we can sit here," she said, making to sit down at a table outside a bakery."Well, we could," I said "but I think they would expect you to buy something first.""Do we need bread?" She asked."No, we don't really," I said, so we carried on.At the Surgery I was expecting Marie but it was an unfamiliar face....and yet she knew Dulcie."Sorry, we are a bit early," I said.We checked in and took a seat."Are you Dulcie's son?" asked the receptionist."No, I am her son's partner, " I said."Oh, yes," she said, "I think I have talked to you a few times on the phone before. Dulcie used to bring us cakes and we have a tin here for her."She went and got it."Actually, I think we have another tin.....do you want to leave it until next time?""No," I said, " we can take it with us."The receptionist went and got it."That's not my tin, dear," said Dulcie.The receptionist disappeared with it again, saying "I think it's full of Marie's goodies anyway."She came back,"Dr Hew will see you now. Do you need your walker?""No dear, I can manage"....but the receptionist took her arm and guided her down the corridor.The waiting room was empty and there were no interesting magazines on the table.The receptionist came back."Do you want to go in?"I didn't normally..."No," I said, " I know if Dr Hew asks her how she is she will say 'Fine', but I told Marie she has a bit of a cough and some itchy spots on her left side.""It will be on the slip then," said the receptionist. "She was a bit wobbly and kept falling over to the left " said the receptionist."Yes, I know, " I said, "She should use her walker but she is 91 and it's hard treading the fine line between allowing her independence and  interfering."" She is amazing though isn't she? She used to always come with cakes and biscuits.""Well, she still makes them," I said, " but we tend to make them together these days. If I make them on my own they are never as good as the ones she mixes though.""We have a few that come here that are in their 90's.....they are all women."As a man, it was a slap in the face by mortality."They all turn up in their Sunday best," smiled the receptionist."Well, she was in shorts but she changed into her long slacks," I said, "I wanted her to change her blouse because she had spilled some lunch on it but she wouldn't.""Do you know what is good for that?"........ I didn't....... " make -up remover wipes! You can just wipe stains away with them.""Well, I have learned about the cleaning properties of Bicarb," I said."Yes, and if you have a pan with a burnt bottom, just cover the bottom with bicarb and leave it overnight and in the morning you can just wipe it clean."What a very informative trip to the doctor's it was turning out to be!The phone rang."Excuse me, " said the receptionist and she answered it............she put the phone down."Dr Hew would like you to go in now."She escorted me down the corridor. I don't know why....I was not wobbly."Hello, Nick," said Dr Hew, " well, it seems that Dulcie has a mild attack of Shingles."I was gobsmacked."There is nothing much we can do now as they are on the mend but we could have done something a few days after they initially appeared.""Well, she only mentioned them to us on Sunday," I said, feeling guilty. " Crikey! Shingles can be nasty," I said."Yes, there can be pain with it," said Dr Hew."I've had no pain," said Dulcie, "they have just been itchy.""How can she have caught Shingles?" I asked."It is related to the chicken pox virus," said Dr Hew, " and if you had chicken pox as a child chances are it can flair up again as shingles in later life. Just keep using that paw paw ointment. Her blood pressure is good and her lungs are clear.""That's good then, I'm not dead yet." said Dulcie." Have a good Christmas," said Dr Hew."And you too," we said.Dulcie walked out of the Surgery with my trying to catch her up with her walker.We called at Aldi on the way home."Get me some biscuits Nick, I want some with my cup of tea when we get back.""Yes, we'll have to make some tomorrow," I said."And get me some of that paw paw ointment." She added.When we were nearly home she said,"We haven't had any lunch or anything, have we?""Yes we did. We had a pie remember?""Oh yes," she said. "Look at that dirty truck. It's a long time since I've seen a dirty truck like that!