Chapter 44 - A Great Escape
The following notes were prepared on my lap top during a short caravan trip we made to a couple of nearby towns. I decided not to post in real time to economise on mobile phone calls. We left our village on Wednesday last week & arrived home yesterday Tuesday 11th July.
A trial run to test her van legs after not taking the van anywhere for a year. Since she had reduced her meds last year to avoid the complications of over medicating neither of us imagined she could cope with van travelling again. She has developed such an aversion for cramped conditions, complications showering & dressing herself, untold difficulties with bed comfort that we thought the effort not worth the stress. Wednesday morning did not begin well. She rose at 9am after no extra sleep following her early morning meds then needed help drying & dressing after showering she was unable to cope with until 10:30am. I haphazardly packed the van & truck. No domestics while packing & hitching the van; she was unable to help so sat quietly in the truck. We pulled away shortly after noon bound for that little town of B. that we visited across country for a counter lunch several weeks ago. Our plan was to spend at least a night there; if she coped then we may decide to stay up to a week. About 120kms away down the 4 lane then turn off north-west as she was not keen on the cross country route to B. Not a km from home her mobile rang. Our kids from the mountains had been about to rush across to the Crow Eating capital to collect their built-to-order off-road camper-trailer when they were advised it needed a couple of stub axles not in stock. JIT manufacturing gone wrong? Anyway, not to waste the opportunity of a few days away, they decided to go as far as the town of C, about 75kms north of our destination. After some consideration of potential problems, we decided to drive straight through B to meet the kids at the caravan park where we have stayed several times outside C. She was very happy about our doing this. We are nothing if not capable of a flexible itinerary. We arrived first, set up & relaxing when some cheery young voices appeared at the door of our van. That night she felt at a loss for space. She used the back rest in bed to read for awhile until her leg cramped, then removed it without my help - I was asleep. Although she was up 4 times during the night but said it was "not a bad night." When returning to bed at 6:15am (Thursday), reversing in, stooped, she asked "How do I get there?" After the 7am meds I turned her the other way but she was soon uncomfortable. She was not keen to use our van shower and was not capable of going to the amenities block. After breakfast I had to assist with dressing. By mid-morning she was mobile so we walked with the kids to the railway & WWII museum next door to the van park. She coped quite well walking about for an hour & a half, then a BBQ lunch, some more walking, then pumpkin soup in the evening. Thursday night she needed a softer bed surface, so we spread her sleeping bag over the mattress. This also provided a slippery surface to aid her movements in bed, & may be better than a piece of satin.
Friday morning she experienced pain down the length of whichever leg she lay on. She called me on the CB while I was in the park shower. A weird experience when she saw the van wardrobe between our beds as a distorted, warped shape. As far as I could tell, the wardrobe shelf was seen in an accentuated perspective, the nearer edge to her seeming much wider than she expected. Even so, she decided to use the park's disabled shower (she is afraid of the cramped shower in our van, its lack of firm hand holds). I waited outside until called on the CB to enter to help her dry & dress. We packed for our return trip to B, and the kids left for some site seeing before heading home. At B by lunch time, we delayed eating while I faced a plumbing challenge that required a visit to a plumbing/hardware shop (with everything one needs). She needs the mat at the doorway of the van to be kept back slightly from the step to reveal the white trim around the edge of the step; this provides a defined edge for her. Then we walked up the main street, a shared "fisherman's basket" at a cafe, bought a paper, then a pair of gloves for her, some groceries at a supermarket where we met the girl who manages the van park. The town of B is being re-furbished; there are many concrete walking paths about the town. She wished to walk them. We left the van park & an hour later shuffled back to the van. We only covered half the paths, although we are slow & I used the new camera, annoyingly stopping from time to time, bad for her balance problems. My back ached, she seemed no worse for ware. The park lady arrived but she decided not to collect our money until Sunday by which time we will have decided how long we will stay. We are bold with our plans! Friday evening was for reading as I failed to bring the remote control for the VCR to tune it to local channels. I expected the worst when she woke at 2:30am , uncomfortable & shaking uncontrollably, but back to sleep until the 7am alarm for meds, then more sleep until 9:15am. I am not sure whether her voice is becoming softer or that my hearing is failing. She says it's my hearing.
Saturday she was not up to showering either in the van or the disabled shower/toilet in the park. Antiseptic wipes instead. Yuk We walked the other half of the town paths around the town. By the time we returned she had little energy left, close to midday meds. Around 1pm up to the main street for a counter lunch at the Court House pub. Hardly a counter lunch, a pokey two-table room with a roaring open fire, just off the bar. She had eggs, bacon, sausages & chips, the excessive protein not having a bad effect on her meds for once. I chatted to a local recently returned from Queensland; we compared our limited tall tales about cane toads. Returning to the van we stocked up with meat pies & sundries for dinner and a newspaper. Remainder of afternoon & evening in the van.
She only needed to get up once, 5:45am, Sunday morning without any need to rise during the night for comfort reasons. Around 10am she decided to shower in the van, too claustrophobic a few days ago. She needed no assistance during or after showering. This is progress!
Over to the "Ram & Stallion" for lunch. This is the pub we called at a few weeks ago. She demolished a "Fisherman's Basket". I have photographic evidence. Then we walked the town again for an hour or so, stopping once on a park bench, once outside an ice cream shop, having been inside. All up, we were away from the van for 3 hours. She had a can of soup for dinner. Me? Baked beans on toast and nothing to report from me. A cold night. Our reverse cycle air conditioner froze attempting to add to the chill of frost so our night was not as cozy as previously. She had a very disturbed night, getting up about 4 times.
She rose shortly after 9am on Monday, had breakfast, then showered & dressed herself in the van. I have been wasting hot water in the amenities block. Our hoses were frozen this morning. The air conditioner is back in action again. A beautiful sunny blue sky morning.
We decided to make a trip across to the town of Y. Checked out the van park, had lunch in a local cafe (no multi-national junk food this trip!) then returned via town H. As we had walked little today, back in B we parked the truck at the van park then walked up to the supermarket for a chicken & vegetables. In case of a frost overnight I hitched the truck (we leave in the morning) & drained the water hose.
Tuesday morning I rose early at 6:15 to empty the dunny can. This disturbed her after a reasonably good night, only some discomfort at 1:30am. She now sleeps at 6am.
About 9am she rose, showered & dressed herself in the van. We left for home around 10am.
Wednesday. We have returned to the routine again. It depresses me. I placed her sleeping bag as an underlay on her bed in our house. Having her sleep on the slippery surface of her sleeping bag may have given her a better night's sleep in the van. Her mattress at home is softer than the one in the van so even on the sleeping bag at 2:30am this morning I was unable to roll her over, so she had to get out then back into bed to be able to lay on her left side, where she remained until 6:45am when she called for me to help her rise. At 9:15 I found her sitting on the side of the bed, unable to stand, saying "I'm in a hole. I can't get up from here." She is surprised that she was able to rise with little difficulty from her bed in the van but not the one at home. Perhaps we will look for a new mattress.
Always one to test an hypothesis, I have now placed the narrower mattress from the van, as well as the sleeping bag, on the base of her bed in the house. A night or two will tell whether she will benefit from a firmer mattress.
A trial run to test her van legs after not taking the van anywhere for a year. Since she had reduced her meds last year to avoid the complications of over medicating neither of us imagined she could cope with van travelling again. She has developed such an aversion for cramped conditions, complications showering & dressing herself, untold difficulties with bed comfort that we thought the effort not worth the stress. Wednesday morning did not begin well. She rose at 9am after no extra sleep following her early morning meds then needed help drying & dressing after showering she was unable to cope with until 10:30am. I haphazardly packed the van & truck. No domestics while packing & hitching the van; she was unable to help so sat quietly in the truck. We pulled away shortly after noon bound for that little town of B. that we visited across country for a counter lunch several weeks ago. Our plan was to spend at least a night there; if she coped then we may decide to stay up to a week. About 120kms away down the 4 lane then turn off north-west as she was not keen on the cross country route to B. Not a km from home her mobile rang. Our kids from the mountains had been about to rush across to the Crow Eating capital to collect their built-to-order off-road camper-trailer when they were advised it needed a couple of stub axles not in stock. JIT manufacturing gone wrong? Anyway, not to waste the opportunity of a few days away, they decided to go as far as the town of C, about 75kms north of our destination. After some consideration of potential problems, we decided to drive straight through B to meet the kids at the caravan park where we have stayed several times outside C. She was very happy about our doing this. We are nothing if not capable of a flexible itinerary. We arrived first, set up & relaxing when some cheery young voices appeared at the door of our van. That night she felt at a loss for space. She used the back rest in bed to read for awhile until her leg cramped, then removed it without my help - I was asleep. Although she was up 4 times during the night but said it was "not a bad night." When returning to bed at 6:15am (Thursday), reversing in, stooped, she asked "How do I get there?" After the 7am meds I turned her the other way but she was soon uncomfortable. She was not keen to use our van shower and was not capable of going to the amenities block. After breakfast I had to assist with dressing. By mid-morning she was mobile so we walked with the kids to the railway & WWII museum next door to the van park. She coped quite well walking about for an hour & a half, then a BBQ lunch, some more walking, then pumpkin soup in the evening. Thursday night she needed a softer bed surface, so we spread her sleeping bag over the mattress. This also provided a slippery surface to aid her movements in bed, & may be better than a piece of satin.
Friday morning she experienced pain down the length of whichever leg she lay on. She called me on the CB while I was in the park shower. A weird experience when she saw the van wardrobe between our beds as a distorted, warped shape. As far as I could tell, the wardrobe shelf was seen in an accentuated perspective, the nearer edge to her seeming much wider than she expected. Even so, she decided to use the park's disabled shower (she is afraid of the cramped shower in our van, its lack of firm hand holds). I waited outside until called on the CB to enter to help her dry & dress. We packed for our return trip to B, and the kids left for some site seeing before heading home. At B by lunch time, we delayed eating while I faced a plumbing challenge that required a visit to a plumbing/hardware shop (with everything one needs). She needs the mat at the doorway of the van to be kept back slightly from the step to reveal the white trim around the edge of the step; this provides a defined edge for her. Then we walked up the main street, a shared "fisherman's basket" at a cafe, bought a paper, then a pair of gloves for her, some groceries at a supermarket where we met the girl who manages the van park. The town of B is being re-furbished; there are many concrete walking paths about the town. She wished to walk them. We left the van park & an hour later shuffled back to the van. We only covered half the paths, although we are slow & I used the new camera, annoyingly stopping from time to time, bad for her balance problems. My back ached, she seemed no worse for ware. The park lady arrived but she decided not to collect our money until Sunday by which time we will have decided how long we will stay. We are bold with our plans! Friday evening was for reading as I failed to bring the remote control for the VCR to tune it to local channels. I expected the worst when she woke at 2:30am , uncomfortable & shaking uncontrollably, but back to sleep until the 7am alarm for meds, then more sleep until 9:15am. I am not sure whether her voice is becoming softer or that my hearing is failing. She says it's my hearing.
Saturday she was not up to showering either in the van or the disabled shower/toilet in the park. Antiseptic wipes instead. Yuk We walked the other half of the town paths around the town. By the time we returned she had little energy left, close to midday meds. Around 1pm up to the main street for a counter lunch at the Court House pub. Hardly a counter lunch, a pokey two-table room with a roaring open fire, just off the bar. She had eggs, bacon, sausages & chips, the excessive protein not having a bad effect on her meds for once. I chatted to a local recently returned from Queensland; we compared our limited tall tales about cane toads. Returning to the van we stocked up with meat pies & sundries for dinner and a newspaper. Remainder of afternoon & evening in the van.
She only needed to get up once, 5:45am, Sunday morning without any need to rise during the night for comfort reasons. Around 10am she decided to shower in the van, too claustrophobic a few days ago. She needed no assistance during or after showering. This is progress!
Over to the "Ram & Stallion" for lunch. This is the pub we called at a few weeks ago. She demolished a "Fisherman's Basket". I have photographic evidence. Then we walked the town again for an hour or so, stopping once on a park bench, once outside an ice cream shop, having been inside. All up, we were away from the van for 3 hours. She had a can of soup for dinner. Me? Baked beans on toast and nothing to report from me. A cold night. Our reverse cycle air conditioner froze attempting to add to the chill of frost so our night was not as cozy as previously. She had a very disturbed night, getting up about 4 times.
She rose shortly after 9am on Monday, had breakfast, then showered & dressed herself in the van. I have been wasting hot water in the amenities block. Our hoses were frozen this morning. The air conditioner is back in action again. A beautiful sunny blue sky morning.
We decided to make a trip across to the town of Y. Checked out the van park, had lunch in a local cafe (no multi-national junk food this trip!) then returned via town H. As we had walked little today, back in B we parked the truck at the van park then walked up to the supermarket for a chicken & vegetables. In case of a frost overnight I hitched the truck (we leave in the morning) & drained the water hose.
Tuesday morning I rose early at 6:15 to empty the dunny can. This disturbed her after a reasonably good night, only some discomfort at 1:30am. She now sleeps at 6am.
About 9am she rose, showered & dressed herself in the van. We left for home around 10am.
Wednesday. We have returned to the routine again. It depresses me. I placed her sleeping bag as an underlay on her bed in our house. Having her sleep on the slippery surface of her sleeping bag may have given her a better night's sleep in the van. Her mattress at home is softer than the one in the van so even on the sleeping bag at 2:30am this morning I was unable to roll her over, so she had to get out then back into bed to be able to lay on her left side, where she remained until 6:45am when she called for me to help her rise. At 9:15 I found her sitting on the side of the bed, unable to stand, saying "I'm in a hole. I can't get up from here." She is surprised that she was able to rise with little difficulty from her bed in the van but not the one at home. Perhaps we will look for a new mattress.
Always one to test an hypothesis, I have now placed the narrower mattress from the van, as well as the sleeping bag, on the base of her bed in the house. A night or two will tell whether she will benefit from a firmer mattress.
posted by Kilpike | 11:54 am
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