Chapter 137 - A New Sunrise

Returning to the aftermath of the mental health survey, on the following day when I took her through the questions, her friend from around the corner called in the afternoon to talk about her need to leave our village and move into something cheaper and closer to family, since the friend is 70 and the husband about a decade older. They are cash-strapped, have placed a 14 week holding deposit on a place on the central coast, about two thirds the value of what they may expect from the current place. Of course that means they will have nothing left if the move is successful. They have been told that their present place must be vacant possession before it will be placed on the market. So the time frame, costs of bridging finance, etc. make it an impossible task.

So in our patch thoughts then turned to our own end days, if I go before her, far from family, reducing the quantity (I began to type "down-sizing" - yuk) of our possessions, she (the friend) "cries when she looks at her Royal Dalton collections, young people don't appreciate these things", all that computer stuff I have, all the books I have but don't read and so on. So that night she again slept badly, not calmed by the MP3. And came down with a disease in the head in partnership with mine in the chest.

And I only realised after those two nights of her horror that, due to my 'flu, I had not been down the street during the week prior to buy her puzzle magazines, and that meant she had not experienced her usual furious mental activity while completing the puzzles, which usually requires some web browsing or hounding me for a few answers. I will ensure she does not miss her weekly mental challenges in future.

Yet as the week progressed she came out of this black hole, she decided not to post the mental health questionnaire (I suspect she may have benefited in the long term by following through with it, but the process would be cruel). I'm not sure whether she stuck it in a drawer or shredded it.

While getting breakfast this morning we ticked off the beneficial things we have done to alleviate her PD problems:

1. Followed the advice of a doctor (not a neurologist) who told her to reduce the quantity of her PD medications as much as possible.
2. Installed a bidet & fire pole in "her" bathroom.
3. Bought a hand held TENS machine for pain (unused for many weeks)
4. A very good quality mattress for her bed, bed poles and a quilted satin strip to go across the mattress.
5. Attended a physio for 5 consultations, where she was advised how to overcome panic attacks and minimise incontinence problems, both without using medications.
6. We each carry a hand-held CB radio so that we can be apart without her being in fear of falls and the comfort of being able to call for help with trivial daily matters.
7. A great stack of pleasant music DVDs she can watch.
8. Two puzzle competition magazines each week.
9. An MP3 player and sleep inducing music files.

Maybe we should write a best selling book?

Spring is on the way.