A Hot Day

A woodland burial would cost £2500, which is too much for my budget, so i have to think of another way. They must make a lot of money for what they do.

I had a visit from Marita, Davie, Chris Cross, and little Charlie who is three and cute as can be. I think I caught the sun a bit cos I have hot spots all over me.We took lots of pictures today

Charlie, who spent a lot of time in hospital with a cleft palette problem, is looking good now. You would never know

Eating is a real problem for me now, only managing liquidized soups and such, so I’m scorchio and to cap it all someone pinched my Mars choc ices

Pneumonia

Had a bad turn the other morning. Most likely pneumonia. Whatever it was it knock my for six. The nurses were out in force trying to find a pain killer that would do the job. All my visitors were called and warned I was in a bad way.

Communications have been a bit of a problem.

It looks like the wifi is fixed now as well , so I can get add more post so If you want to post me any comments or visit me even I’m here. Old faces come crawling out the woodwork

A Will and Woodland Funeral

I’ve been putting off writing a will, because I don’t have much reason to. I do however have a few things in mind I’d like carried out when I gone. I Like a woodland funeral for one thing.

I am  told they bury you in a wicker basket. I like that. I don’t like wooden caskets. I can’t see how you are supposed to breath in one of those. In the woodland burial they plant you, then they plant a tree over you a year later, and instead of having graveyard what you get is a forest.

I’ll be giving things away rather than leaving them in my will. Who wants a guitar and amp?

More seriously, I’ll be leaving some items or money to the Macmillan Unit. I suppose I can do that without writing a will. I just don’t want the government to get hold of what little money I have.

Something for the weekend sir?

I am feeling ever so slightly light headed because I just had a puff on some weed. I didn’t ask permission as an apology is better than permission. I puts a better complexion on things one might rather not hear about. Like my mobility is likely to get worse as is everything else. I’m alright today though.

Keep it all in the now I say.

So I have to sit down more often now, or stay sitting down, I’m doing all the right things. I had a beer today as well. It’s got to be better than at home where I get no help

I could actually eat the lasagne for dinner today, very carefully. I had some second thoughts about having a stent put in. I asked how it stops the food coming back but they didn’t  answer that one, apart from saying it does cause other problems in patients. It’s bound to isn’t it? A big lump of spring steel stuck in your throat.

In the Mac Unit

Edward came in a couple of days ago. He’s effectively been paralyzed. He has cancer of the veins or something, and it’s spread to his skeleton. Edward doesn’t stay in bed all day though. He is quite energetic considering. He takes his dinner in the lounge in his wheel chair. I tried it but I got the wrong dinner today. Fish pie wasn’t soft enough.

The last of the tulips.

This is a sociable ward

 

Hospital studio

I have started to install a recording studio at the Mac Unit on my laptop. This is a major job.

I have installed the Digital Workstation REAPER, along with lot’s of effects. I have an album I was mixing for a friend that has been put on the back burner because of tiredness, but now I have a lot of free time I can do some more mixing. He has ten songs need doing.

I need to transfer the tracks from my home desktop studio pc to my laptop, or bring in the desktop pc complete. I’m not sure I can do everything with the laptop although I should be able to. It’s just a lot of work and not easy when the wifi keeps dropping out when I need to download plugins or other recording related files from the web.

I wonder if they would mind if I bring in my computer and more guitars and equipment?

As far as my health is concerned I’m struggling more with eating. I didn’t manage a meal today, but I did manage some soup and ice cream, which is something at least. If I can manage to keep up the blog and build the studio I should be fit enough to complete the album, or at least finish some more of it.

I don’t fancy any beer or cider.

Wheel Chair

I tried out a wheel chair today. I tried using one of those little two wheeled jobs with handles that you stand up with and walk too. Neither of them make life all that easy, but I need something to prevent me from having a bad fall because my legs go weak suddenly.

I find the wheel chair best all-rounder, but it tends to get in the way a lot and it would cause my legs to get weaker still if I depended on it and forgot to use my legs. Some people get used to using wheel chairs just because they are overweight. I always thought that was a a really silly thing to do.

Wifi connection

I was having a lot of trouble with the wifi here, but now I found the modem I can sit next to it and I got 5 bars up. It’s less trouble now. So I should be able to post more often without going bonkers.

It’s coming together nicely since I am getting used to using WordPress.

Apparently there’s a general election today, but I couldn’t give a toss quite frankly.

Summer bedding

The summer bedding has arrived. The gardeners were pulling out all the spring bedding yesterday ready for summer bedding at the Unit. It reminds me of when I was a gardener, but I can resist temptation to get involved with the planting.
I imagine I’ll miss them all in bloom if I’m moving on though. The daffodils were nice though, and all the winter bedding. Now it looks very bare.

I’m playing my guitar regular in the Mac Unit, where I have quite a fan club now, but I’m running out of tunes, meaning I have to learn some more using my new laptop, often interrupted by dropouts.

Dave my ward neighbour had a bit of a dodgy turn last night. He was complaining of freezing and the nurses gathered round professionally and drew the curtains closed. Dave eats like a horse and makes me jealous, but it’s probably because he has something serious wrong with him. They feed him all he wants though. They give you anything you want here, including booze from the Jolly Trolly. I had a lager this morning.

Grahame had a bit of a turn as well but he’s well again now

Nursing Home

The doctors came to talk about me moving to a nursing home yesterday. A week ago I would have been filled with dread, but given the alternatives it seems like a fine idea. For one thing I’m taking up a valued bed at the Mac Unit. The Mac Unit is not the ideal place. It’s geared more towards people that are more ill than I, or people that need to find a more suitable arrangement as I do. On the other hand a nursing home is geared exactly towards what I need. I suppose I don’t like to admit I’m not independent.

In a nursing home I can get on with making some music, and even recording. I can do some painting as well. I can do lots of things I can’t do at my flat or in the Mac Unit. I’ll have more private space wile having more social interaction. Most people have costs to consider. Nursing homes can cost a fortune, but it’s not an issue to me, so long as it doesn’t affect the quality of the service. I don’t like being surrounded by very ill people all the time either, whereas in a nursing home there will be a mix of ages and reasons for them being in care.

My main problems are lack of mobility and eating. We don’t really know why I have the problem with my legs. I can manage about 20 paces without having to stop for a rest, but after that it get’s a bit better. I can go out for a walk providing I stop for little rests.

They have just been talking to me about moving to a nursing home, so I am speaking to the physiotherapist and the psychologist about it. I am looking forward to playing my guitar and doing some arty work. I hope I can get a place with easy garden access, so I can laze about and be waited on hand and foot. It’s probably not good to be waited hand and foot. It might actually do some good having to put your washing in the washing machine, and relieve some of the boredom. Some people thrive on housework.