A Debut Novel, and all about that forgetting illness

 This is a debut novel by the actor Richard Armitage and it was a good story. Like a lot of modern novels each chapter was written by a different person, Sarah and Daniel, the main protagonists and chapters which were a back ground to the story and a third person, who was a blogger. I was slightly confused at first before I sorted in my mind the thread of the story.

  Sarah, a Nobel prize winner's  father has Alzheimer's and sadly she, herself is beginning to show the same symptoms. Her  husband Daniel, also a neuroscientist persuades her to attend the launch of a new and world changing discovery, which they've asked  Sarah to endorse. It could be the answer to the awful illness of Alzheimer.

However she is really not well and is having blackouts as well as memory loss. But with her husband by her side she feels safe. However,  it's long not before things start to go horribly wrong and Sarah doesn't know who to trust, including her own self.

This is a fast paced novel, helped by the back ground story which adds credence to the characters individual circumstances. The topic is topical too, being about Alzheimer's and dementia and it was easy to read.. a number of twists and turns and a red herring to keep you interested! 

It certainly kept me interested, it was well written, but perhaps a touch too predicable. However this didn't spoil the story for me, as I thoroughly enjoyed it, a real page turner.

                            Chrisxx

Ps. A big thank you for your comments on my previous post, I think this is the first few days, where I've felt really well and that I can cope with this catheter, which I've had now for 9 weeks!

Have I got it??

 

The lovely Pauline Quirk MBE, has announced, that she is stepping away from  acting, because she has Alzheimer's. I've loved her in 'Birds of a Feather,' and then in some roles as a serious actor. In 'Missing' she was DS Mary Jane Croft, she was in 'Broadchurch,' 'Casualty,' 'Cold Blood,' and a lot more besides.  When this was announced in the news, I thought straight away of Prunella Scales,  who also has Alzheimer's. She became totally reliant on her husband Timothy West, but he died November 2024 after a fall.. So if  actors can get this, even though their lives were a constant stream of word learning, what chance have those of us, whose only requirement of word learning was some poetry in school, to avoid this cruel illness?

Each time I forget a word I think, am I in the beginnings of Alzheimer's or Dementia? But I usually remember it, later.. Once I couldn't remember the word 'sun dial' It worried me so much, I looked up on line 'garden ornament that can tell the time by the sun!'  I have never forgotten it since and that was years ago!

Friends my age admit to forgetting words sometimes, but we all laugh and believe, if you know you've forgotten a word, you haven't got Alzheimer's!

Do you think that's true?

..................Lisa Faulkner, avocado, moussaka... a name and two words I could not remember in the last few weeks! I forbid Dh to tell me or even hint. I sort of remembered Lisa because I thought it was' Louise'  

If you've had this and feel just a bit panicky, you'll know what I mean when I question.. Have I got Alzheimer's? 

Chrisxx

What a day!

 Even pancakes couldn't have tempted me yesterday, I felt that ill. It wasn't my cough even though I was still coughing and now had the symptoms of a cold, runny nose etc.

I felt there was something wrong with my catheter, the discomfort had become pain.. I phoned the District Nurse out of hours number and it was a real person who answered! She said some one would phone me back. It wasn't long to wait when a nurse phoned me. She listened to my weepy words and suggested I might have an infection and to phone 111 the NHS out of hours help line to speak to a Dr. I was informed there was a 15min wait!! And there was..eventually after being asked questions to rule out heart attacks or a stroke I was informed a Dr would phone me shortly.

Arg!! I waited and waited and was getting more and more distressed. When the Dr phoned, English wasn't his first language. I went through all the questions again that 111 had asked.. plus what I thought were stupid questions to ask someone with a catheter in place, eg, did it burn when I weed, was there frequency??? By this time 3 hours had past since my first phone call and I was losing the will to live!

He did say he thought it could be an infection and would arrange for a prescription for me at our local pharmacy, I had to stop him because it closed at 12 on a Saturday!

Dh went to Boots in town, after 2:00 pm because the pharmacist has a lunch break and they can't give out meds when he is not there. 

I didn't start to feel ok till nearly 6 and was worn out.. the antibiotics started to work right away. But I'd had a horrible day. But you should be pleased to know I can swallow, I knew it was Saturday and the month is January! 

But my faith in the NHS has been restored, because altho I was off and on the phone all morning,  I did get the treatment I needed.. Then just after 6 the District Nurse arrived to check how I was! They work all over weekends, night and day and will visit patients when ever needed. Wow, it was a relief to see her, I have learned over these months of having a catheter, they know what to do and have  'Mary Poppins' bags where they produce things you need and made me feel safe!

A Nurse is coming Tuesday to change the catheter which is needed it seems if you have antibiotics. I 'm going to ask can I have one with a flip switch so I can regulate the flow and start to train my bladder to work again! Frightens me a bit to be honest, but I have to try.

Chrisxx

From little acorns.

 

It seems Jeff Bezos is joining the space race to get a rocket into space. When I saw this on the TV news, I had to phone my eldest son to remind him of the time he thought he was on the way to becoming a multi-millionaire. He and a friend had clubbed together and bought a whole lot of Ski-beds made from reclaimed wood on the basis, they would sell and make a huge profit. When they had, he said he'd give me a hefty sum so I could give up work and live in style. It didn't happen, the beds were slow to sell and their supplier took their money and failed to deliver. My son and his friend were out of pocket and they parted company.

But always the entrepreneur he has in the last few years,   alongside his photography work set up his own ebay business.

His photography work is his first love. He photos racing cars and motor cycles, its a self employed job and there are no race tracks open in the winter months.  Also with lockdown he had to find another way to earn money. So he started to sell used cameras and other bits on ebay. It has grown and he now makes a good sum to pay his mortgage and bills. He buys job lots of cameras, watches and other bits from auctions, cleans them, fixes them, where he can, puts batteries in them and then sells them.

So when I saw Jeff Bezos was now into the space race, the owner of Amazon, who started off selling secondhand books from his garage. I had to phone my son to remind him of his promise to me all those years ago! 

We had a good laugh, but his ebay business is doing ok and he earns enough from it to include his earnings in his tax returns sorted by his accountant.

Chrisxx

Blue skies, sunshine, a cough and an appointment!

 

It was a beautiful morning yesterday and if I hadn't developed this awful cough and cold, I would have walked to look at the sea.. but the blue skies were so lovely and because I was feeling hot, I thought a walk around the bungalow was just what I needed. Its 178 or 200 steps all the way round on the path.. One way round is easier because there are 3 individual shallow steps to go up and then round the north side there are 2 deeper steps to go down and Dh has fixed some grab bars there, so I feel safe. I walked round twice and then because it was so pleasant I sat out on the patio and listened to the birds, no other sounds and the sky was blue and the sun was shining, it was very pleasant. 

I'd also had a phone call for the appointment with the urologist the week after next, so well pleased.. Its for 8:30 am, so we'll have to leave home before 8 to get there on time!

Dh went to the Book Group Meeting by himself, as I was coughing so much.. Afterwards he went to Boots to get some more cough medicine and I asked could he get some Dequindine throat tabs, but they have been removed from sale, as they found that they contained anti-biotics, no wonder they were so good!

So cough, cough, cough! Hope Dh doesn't get it, we've stopped kissing! 

Anyone got this awful cough? I think I caught it in SW, as that new member was talking right in front of me. I doubt I'll have lost any weight, as the medicine has sugar and the throat lozenges, but I'm keeping to the food plan, arrgg I can't win!

Chrisxx

Gardening.

 These are the  snowdrops I bought in the green last year and this is last years photo! Where are they? We look every day and so far none are showing!

But I'm not giving up, because they are in front of the hedge, so a north aspect, so I expect they are still there in the soil, all 100 of them! And when they do I'll be posting pics everywhere!

We did some tidying up out there on Sunday, there was no wind so although it was only 5.7C it didn't feel too cold. I was wearing my old fleece and a scarf.. we planted the white daffodils we bought from Homebase, all reduced because its closing down. I like them in the garden where I can see them from the French doors when they come up. There are a lot of daffodils already showing, we have planted 100s here as there was only tumpy grass when we came here, so I love to see them all flowering.

We pruned the clematis out the front, which was looking a bit scraggy and cut back the dried up stems of the perennial plants. We have a  lot of self seeded aquilegias which I might reduce this spring and thin out the grape hyacinths which have spread. So it looks a lot tidier and there were two grapes left on the grape vine which were really sweet. When I'm out in the garden, I forget the catheter and I'm happy altho' Dh did the lions share of the work. We've left a garden chair out on the patio, so I can sit out with a coffee if I feel like it. I've always sat out in the garden as long as it was dry, and I'm hoping to sit outside a lot more this summer.

I am waiting now and planning for the garden, I will be sowing lupin, antirrhinums and sweet peas next month. Although we don't have a green house we have south and west facing window sills, and I bought some seed starting covered trays a few years ago, so super for growing seeds seeds. 

The last few evenings its been light at 5 o'clock so spring is on the way. Are you wanting to get started too?

Chrisxx

Clinic Appointment??

This so joyful and uplifting I had to post it. Thank you for your commiserations re:- this new laptop, I shouldn't complain many people are not in the position to be able to buy a new one, but its so frustrating. I am still struggling and can't find an easy way to save pics, unlike my old laptop.

And pleased you liked the poem, by Gaby Compres, I loved it.

I'm still struggling with this catheter and was offered an Urologist Appointment to have it removed, then checks to see if I could pass urine, but I already had something booked for that day and so said I couldn't attend. They are supposed to be sending me a new appointment, but of course they haven't although I have phoned their clinic twice and left messages, to no avail. I cannot see the point of a phone that is only able to take messages and no one answers and then no response!

So I'm just carrying on but very unhappy and still uncomfortable at night, but at least I slept 7 hours the night before last, but then last night I couldn't get to sleep, so read till 1:30 am.. What was the book you could put down Jan? (Jabblog) reading to the early hours, please share.

At this moment in time I am ready to start screaming at Drs and the lack of understanding, that we the patients are at their mercy.. they hold all the cards and although we are willing to go with their rules and restrictions, we are suffering. Well I am, the tubes from the catheter rub and I am sore and find walking agony. Its like I have barbed wire between my legs.. TMI? Sorry but that's what its like.. the straps holding the collection bag on my leg are making my lower leg and foot swell, so that's worrying me too.  Can't have the straps too loose as then the bag ends up by my ankle!

So I'm going to phone the clinic every day!! I have always said. 'Its the squeaky wheel that gets oiled!' WTS

Chrisxx

New Laptop difficulties

 I've had to  buy a new laptop  and while it works perfectly well, it has given me a lot of stress! At one point I wanted to send it back. I know all these passwords and 'one time passwords' are to keep us safe from fraud and thieves, but really how many do we need. I thought I had them all written down and I do/did, but it seems I've changed them over time, more or less all of them!! And then forgotten them and with no cookies, this new laptop doesn't know the different sites I've visited. So its been a trial of nerves and stress.

 I've screamed and had tears because with some sites it was as though I was caught in an loop, going round and round and getting no where. How can you retrieve a site if the requirement is a OTP that is being sent to another site, which you can't get on to, because you don't have the password!!! Scream, scream, scream! Dh always keeps calm and it very tech savy, but even he was flummoxed at some. We were hours setting up different email accounts, what a faff!

He wanted to help and he did except he managed to wipe my saved Words Docs, but clever new laptop sent the whole lot to my gmail account? So I was able to restore the ones I wanted, I had saved a lot of dross over the years... anyway I'm gradually getting used to it and will be really getting back into blogging and visiting blogs, but at the moment I'm struggling. 

Chrisxx

The Words I want you to Know by Gaby Compés

a list of things my soul forgot

i am still brave

i am free

i am beautiful

i have hope

i am redeemed

I am alive

and my story is still being written

i am worth more than the words i write

and i have worth even when i can not write

and i am worth even more than the sun

and the moon

and the stars

i can dream

i am not perfect and its ok to struggle

because even though i don't deserve grace

it is mine

i am lovely

and i am loved

and even if i forget the truth

that doesn't change that

it is still true.

Gaby Comprés

 Chrisxx

Disturbed night again.

 Another very bad night awake for hours, although I was comfortable and warm, I was wide awake. Its so annoying and today I'll be tired and not want to do anything, It's so hard to go walking if you feel tired, I'm wobbly at the best of times so tired as well is a recipe for disaster!

When I met my old school friend yesterday she was complaining of insomnia too and the night time loo visits. She was telling me about her ex-husband as she saw him just before Christmas. He'd not been well with a horrible cold, man flu? And had phoned her to get him some cold treatment stuff from Boots, as where he lives there isn't one. She said he did look rough, and declined going in, because she didn't want to catch it as well. He was saying how tired he was, what with this cold and having to get up at night for the toilet.. She said he was absolutely amazed when she said so did she, because he didn't know women had that too! We both laughed out loud, didn't think women had that too, we're the most getting up to the toilet at night time breed that you could have!

All my friends my age get up at least once if not more. Although I've found this catheter uncomfortable, it has meant that most nights I've slept for 7 hours! But next week I have an appointment to see the Urologist and have the catheter out. I don't know if I'll be glad or what I've got used to having a cup of tea after 7:00 pm and also not have to worry if I need the toilet when we're out. But I expect I'll cope I have done in the past, so we'll see how things go.

                      Chrisxx