What are you all up to

People will be sick and tired of hearing about the saga of Margaret's hip. I mentioned in a previous post that she had been cleared by the cardiologist to have the operation and a letter confirming this was sent to the hip surgeon. So far so good! Therefore we were expecting a communication any day confirming a new date. Early on Wednesday morning we had a missed call, private number so no idea who had called. Later that morning we had another telephone call which I manage to answer. This is the hospital, is Margaret on the way to us for her operation! To say we were gob smacked is an understatement! We had, had no communication from them telling us the date. Even had we got the early morning call which I assume would have been on the same subject it wasn't possible for her to go as you have a 5 day period of cleansing with a special shower wash to help avoid infection. After about half a dozen phones calls we have managed to get a new date but we have to wait until the 23rd April, I think @InaD will have had her operation before that? Margaret has opted to take a cancellation and I did confirm they would give us sufficient warning in order to meet pre op preparations. I am calmer now but will admit to getting quite stressed over the whole issue, especially as no one at the hospital could explain how they booked an operation without telling us, it must have been a waste of time and money for them!

David

@nelliethehooker I am beginning to think that the NHS is far better organised and more efficient than private health care, just a shame about the length of waits.

On a lighter note I have finished another jigsaw. This one is of Grand Prix cars through the ages. I suppose the red ones are easy to identify but the others are a bit more difficult although I think you can guess at some? This one is curtesy of number 2 Son who works in F1.

David

I have news for you David, the NHS are definitely not more organised! We had a phone call last Monday telling us that my son,Brendan's appointment for that afternoon at Liverpool Royal was cancelled, but we knew nothing about the appointment, when you phone the hospital appointments department the phone is very rarely answered and if you leave a voice mail, no-one phones back!. I can't help thinking that dealing with much of the NHS, is like dealing with a cross between a Monty Python sketch and one of Basil Fawlty's failed attempts to fool Sybil!

@DavidKlyne Oh David, I'm so sorry to hear that. It beggars belief, no wonder you were stressed out with it all. I do think the hospital has some explaining to do, not only to Margaret as a self-funding patient, but they have also lost valuable theatre time that day. How could that even have happened anyway? In my case, I had a phonecall informing me of the date of my operation on the Friday, followed by a letter of confirmation which I received the day after, on the Saturday. Therefore, even if the letter had gone astray, I would still have known what the date of the operation was; I'd have thought all hospitals used a similar method.

Yes, I've also been given special shower wash and instructions etc for the 5 days prior to surgery. Can't tell you what it is at the moment, as we're away.

I sincerely hope that Margaret manages to get a cancellation and gets her hip done before the 23rd of April (BTW you're correct, my op is scheduled for the 3rd of that month, providing that doesn't get cancelled for whatever reason!)

Yes Nellie, it is concerning, despite what we have been told. I will see if I can investigate it further myself, see if there is anything I could do to improve the situation. We had not noticed anything being “loose” or any different, but we have not used the van since last October. Apparently this is normal, the customer not noticing anything, but I think with a 17 year old van they probably look more closely at the structure and will know what to look for.

We have been debating for several years now whether to invest in a new van, one that would be more suitable for DD and family, with single beds for the boys, but there are very few these days with fixed singles. We have narrowed it down to a Bailey Phoenix 642 or an Adria Altea Tyne as they can both get decent weight upgrades, but both have drawbacks. They both have the Truma Combi heating, and the Bailey has only a small fridge. The Adria is also BIG, and would be too heavy for DD’s Skoda Kodiaq to pull, IMO. And would she want to tow such a large van .

And of course there is the question of whether we want to continue caravanning for much longer anyway.

@Takethedogalong I am not so sure that travelling with F1 is all that glamourous, even for the drivers. OK they might get better accommodation than the team and many of the drivers travel by private jet. Just read an article about Oliver Bearman, he is still only 19 now but at the age of 16 he left home and moved to Italy to pursue his racing career. My youngest son has worked in F1 for the last 20 odd years and used to travel when it it was the Jaguar Team. One double header to China and Japan involved eight flights! Interesting on that occasion because China and Japan are relatively close together the did get a trip the see the Great Wall. But as he used to say you just live out of a suitcase all the time. Immediately the race is over everything needs to be packed up and either comes back to the UK or the next race depending on timing. He is now based in MK and probably quite pleased he no longer has to travel. Another thing to consider is there are more races now and most of the new ones are long haul.

David

Seems like you've had a reasonably good break @Francis. We like Lytham.

Both of the ladies are a bit out of sync today with the eye tests and drops that were applied yesterday. Very quiet day here. I'm thinking of asking the Optician if I could buy some of those drops for a quiet life.🤣

We're off next week for a trial 3 night stay, only to Wirral CP, to see how MiL gets on with a carer dropping in twice a day mainly to see if she needs anything. We suspect that it might take another visit before MiL gets her trained to the way she's accustomed to.😂 So we'll sort the groundwork out tomorrow and get the Van ready.

Not posted on here for a few days - due to one thing and another! Got back from Lincoln on Thursday afternoon after a lovely week away at Skybarn Farm. Quick turn around, however - car was due for MOT / service on Friday - so quickly unloaded it and took it to our local garage, 5 minutes away. MOT went OK - thank goodness - but another chunk out of the bank account! Yesterday spent giving the van a deep clean inside and I'm thinking - looking at the weather forecast - that it might even get a clean and polish outside this week.

Drs on Tuesday morning - to discuss my blood test results - and see what, if anything, can be done about my painful joints which are really causing me a lot of discomfort.

No news about my friend on Old Malton - he's still in hospital, unconscious, on oxygen and tubes in him all over the place. I did say he is a 'fighter', but I fear it's only a matter of time.

So sorry to hear about the debacle with Margaret's treatment @DavidKlyne - it must be so frustrating and worrying for you both. Hope it all gets sorted soon and the operation goes ahead.

Lovely photos @nelliethehooker - you certainly do get around, don't you!! It's almost a month until we go away again - by which time - no doubt - you'll have visited another half dozen places😀