Week 10 - Birthday Week

This week, the focus has been on Chloe's birthday.  Obviously a party was out of the questions due to the social distancing and Covid-19.  However, this is how her day went.........WARNING - photo heavy post!!
Birthday breakfast at home with all the gifts from the family (except us).
Steve and I decorated the porch....

 

And then she visited to receive her presents.......

 

It seemed so very strange not being able to hug her or touch her....Ugh
The final thing we gave her was an invitation to afternoon tea on the porch at 3.00 pm

When she got home, she had no idea that at 10.30, there was going to be a drive by birthday parade!!!

Ir was such fun and of course she burst into tears when she saw her friends.



Bella had organized a Zoom online party for her after lunch and then at 3.00pm she arrived (in her third outfit!) for tea on the porch with us

 I made a 'mocktail' for her of course and then there were canapés  and our homemade meringues filled with cream and jam.
 
 

It must have been a unique birthday for an 11 year old I have to say, but despite it all, she said it was the best birthday ever!  Steve and I were completely knackered!!  We slept well Ha ha ha

WEEK 9 Friday

Walked 2.23 miles this morning to honor Ahmaud Arbery who was chased down and shot dead while he was out jogging in Georgia.  It happened on the 23rd Feb and today would have been his birthday.  It has taken 72 days for the two men who killed him to be arrested......why?  Because he is black.  Racism is alive and well in this country.

Also today, a child was mauled by a stray dog they had taken in .  So on our walk we saw all the emergency vehicles including the life flight helicopter.  The child is doing well.  The dog was caught by the dog catcher.

Very windy this afternoon.  Saw the girls on their bikes.  They are planning a 6' lemonade stand where they will serve the lemonade by letting it down in the wagon!  Great idea.  Will take photos for sure.

Week NINE

It seems impossible that we have been quarantined for almost nine weeks now.  Lots of my time has been taken up with surgery and recovery but there are some good things happening.

When we sit on the porch we see far more families out walking ,fishing, kite flying and skateboarding.  I really hiope that this continues.
People are mindful of each others needs in the little things.  We were blessed to have a meal train delivery for three days each week for four weeks which I was in recovery.  People are so very kind.
Little treats get left out on doorsteps for people to find.
It's all in the kindness of strangers.

It's Chloe's 11th birthday this week.  No sleepover, no party.  She is so sad.  However, people are planning a drive past for her (Emma had one on her birthday) and I will be thinking of ways to give her the presents we have for her.  I'll post in here because it will be different for sure.

This week I've finally tidied my office/study - including the cupboards.  I've made my first masks as Steve and I need to wear them still as we are in a high risk group.  I have read books (not Kindle) on the porch because the weather has been perfect really.

So now the country is opening.  I'm not sure we are at all ready but the president wants the economy to improve.  These are the Coronavirus figures to date....
3,891,846 people have had the virus
269,112 have died world wide
76,290 deaths in the USA with 1,491 more deaths today

It really is a unique time to be alive.  Quite astonishing.

Post surgery!

So pretty much 5 weeks after surgery I feel BETTER!!!  I cannot believe how suddenly that happened.  I was in a lot of pain a few days ago but now......none!  The best thing is that I can have a bath.  What bliss that is after all this time.  Goodness me.  So I have been feeling like I can do things.  It's strange how when you are ill, your concentration goes and the will to get up and do stuff vanishes too.  Maybe your body is telling you to rest.  So apart from not lifting things I'm up and running again.

This week, I have put bookshelves together, and filled them!  Funny how books have a way of creeping into the house.  We sold thousands before we emigrated in 2012 but have stacks more....in cupboards, under tables, in the music cupboard etc. etc.  So, book cases it is.













Also today, I made a mask - really to see if I could.  It's Christmassy material but hey, I have to start with what I have!

Then I found a pattern and material for Chloe to make the bearded dragon a jacket (never done that before) and loaded shelves.  Of course I then thought I'd sit on the porch but it's 93F and no wind so really too hot.  You would think I'd have learnt that it's really hot here by mid afternoon.












I've also had long conversations with a couple of people I haven't talked to for ages so that was nice  I think people are connecting with each other more somehow.
Online church this morning was good too.  They played a video of a group that is new to me, The Annie Moses Band.  I am smitten and totally would recommend a viewing.

Surgery and stuff (Part 2)

One week after surgery.  The smile is certainly forced!  Getting used to being unable to do things.  It's super frustrating though.  Things that my 'nurse' i.e. Steve is doing for me.....

1. Helping me to stand up
2. Handing me things I can't reach
3. Picking things up for me
4. Helping me lie down in bed

Good grief.....I had no idea it was going to be so painful.  So very, very glad that Emma organised a Meal Train for us which means we are getting meals delivered three times a week and as Steve usually cooks, this is a big help for him.  It's also a help as he is still having to wear his surgical boot because of his injured Achilles tendon.  We are a pair of old crocks for sure!

 

Two additions to my life.  One temporary for sure.  We managed to borrow a walker from a lady in the neighborfood which is brilliant and means I can get around on my own.  Not very far yet though.  The other 'thing' is a spirometer to help get lung capacity back after surgery.  When I was given it in hospital I thought it was broken because nothing happened when I blew into it.  Then I found out that you suck, not blow!  Ooops!  Anyway, both of us have one and actually as COVID-19 attacks the lungs it's a good thing to have I reckon.

Surgery and stuff (Part 1)

Well.......it's a while since I posted, but it's been weird, painful, amazing etc.

No visitors allowed at the hospital due to Covid-19 which meant Steve had to drop me off at the door.

I was taken to the elevator by a gowned and masked nurse after having sanitized my hands twice.
I waited here on my own for about 15 minutes.  It was eerie to say the least.

I was taken through to a cubicle where I got gowned up ready for surgery.  I was crying at this point because I was alone, but.......as soon as I started to cry, the chaplain entered to see if I needed prayer.  Talk about a God thing.  She was lovely and prayed with me for a while.

Felt super peaceful as I was wheeled to the waiting area for surgery.  The surgeon and the anesthetist both came to talk to me and there were a couple of other people who were chatting too.  I felt totally calm.  I was wheeled into the operating theatre and climbed onto the table.  It was amazingly soft!  I was told to sit on the edge of the table because I was to have an injection in my spine to numb my lower half and then a general anesthetic to knock me out.  The anesthetist was injecting something into a tube on my right and then..........well, basically nothing.  I have no idea what happened next at all.  I woke up in a room on the 15th floor with an IV and also a catheter (not that I noticed that straight away.  It was all done!

Throughout my hospital stay......4 days.....all staff wore masks, gowns and gloves.  It was slightly surreal but I was very, very grateful that the hospital was taking the precautions needed.
The food was good too - well, when I was allowed to eat again!

While in bed I had these kind of plastic gaiters on my legs.  They inflated and deflated regularly and were to prevent blood clots forming.  It was a bit like a massage at first, but I had to keep them on at night and that really was a bind.
The nurses in hospital were just wonderful.  So caring and kind and comforting which was lovely as no visitors were allowed.






The day I left hospital, Steve had to wait in the car outside.  The hospital staff were amazing and i was really ready to leave.  I was lucky enough to have a doctor who did his rounds first thing in the morning, so I was ready to go just after lunch.





Steve drove me home on roads that were very light in terms of traffic because of the lockdown and the virus.  When we reached home, this greeted me and made me cry!  My grandchildren are the BEST!!

Pay up!

So the first call this morning was from the hospital finance department telling me that my co-pay must be paid when I get to the hospital on Monday morning.  Good grief.  My surgery is urgent and not elective so despite feeling nervous about going to a hospital during this Coronavirus I haven't much choice.  Every time I hear from the hospital, I think it's to cancel it but not yet.  Mind you things are changing by the hour so I suppose it's still possible.  I'm just hoping it's before I have to take the ghastly bowel emptying meds!

Walked up to the mail box.  It was super hot!  But my contact lenses had arrived, along with bath bombs and a new bank card so it was a good job I went.

Heard that Juliette has the virus....the first of myt friends to get it.  Praying she survives it and recovers swiftly.  The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson also has it and the USA has the most cases of all apparently.

Steve and I spent some time disinfecting light switches, taps, door handles and the bits of the car that we touch.  Strange times indeed.

On a brighter note, the people in the UK all went outside last night at 8.00pm to clap and cheer for the NHS.  It was very moving to see the videos on FB.

I've been sending little bits and pieces to the grandchildren each day.  Today it's postcards with the continuation of stories we are writing between us, three tiny spoons and plates and some popping candy and pencils.  I hate that I can't touch them and hug them any more.  It's really hard.