Went back to the hospital at 6.30pm to relieve Marie who had given kp a good wash and scrubdown.

A consultant had been in and told kp that it may take as long as Xmas to get kp walking properly again. I don’t think Karen was overly concerned at that, her main objective at the moment is to get out of this “godforsaken hellhole” (her words)

They have given her anti-depressants, which is definately a good move.

He is also arranging for a visit from an eye specialist who will try and assess why her right eyes isn’t working properly. Some suggestions he came up with are :-

• Eyes get lazy when people are sedated for long periods. Fixes itself
• Detached Retina. May be fixable
• Stroke related. Could fix itself.

Practical Measures
Today, we started to think of practical measures like money. Tony (Jane’s husband) is very kindly going to look into the compensation side of things. For now, we are ok, but in a few months, things will be tricky. Generally, I am a very material person, but I have learned a big lesson from this accident, and that is, the material things count for nothing. The ones you love come top of the list. I don’t really care if we have to liquidise assets to keep things going. The only thing that matters to me is Karen.

Getting Comfy
Karen has GREAT difficulty in getting into a comfy position. 8 out of 10 minutes are spent readjusting various limbs to try and get Karen comfortable. We are now dab hands at moving kp’s body parts without causing pain, but the trickier bit is finding the elusive comfy position. If you ask Karen, how do you want to be (position wise), her reply is ALWAYS “I don’t know !!!!” (various volume levels dependant on how many times you have asked the question).

dp:- Do you want to be on your left side or your right side ?
kp:- I don’t know.

dp:- Let’s do the left side
kp:- Fine !

dp:- Do you want your leg further up.
kp:- I DON’T KNOW !

You get the idea.

So as carers, we have to know what she doesn’t know herself. It’s like a puzzle with the answer sheet missing. So you try various combinations until you hear :-

kp:- I think that’s ok.

2 minutes later, she will be uncomfortable.

And the cycle continues……

Tonight Marie and I were sniggering to each other. After being particularly demanding, Karen came out with :-

kp:- “You’re lucky I am so patient”

Marie left the room where she could develop the snigger into something a bit more laughlike.

We take it on the chin. It’s not so bad when there’s 2 of you. It doesn’t feel as personal.

Mrs 26 beds
Last night, a nurse was very keen to point out how many beds were on the ward and she would get to us in turn. I had asked for Karen to be made comfy I expect. Now fair play to the nurses on the ward, there are only 2 on for 26 patients.

But tonight Mrs 26 beds was at it again. I asked the simple question :-

kp:- “Could you give us some idea what time the tablets were likely to come round, so Karen could know when she could go to sleep ?”
Unnamed Nurse :- “We have 26 beds and only 1 nurse who can give the tablets out”

Well, I had to bite my tongue. If she does it again, I am going to ask for a recount.

New Bed
Karen is on a better bed tonight. It’s a gel-based one that is better for her bruising and wounds.

Can you just….?
We were warned that kp would use emotional blackmail to get family members to do various things for her. Yvonne had a great approach today and she got away with it. She stood no nonsense and kp responded to it. But at the same time, kp needs to be able to vent her frustrations and I think it is going to be Marie and I who cop it.

Tonight I got a very small dose.

It was hometime for me (10.20pm). kp had been given her sleeping tablets. She was talking rubbish (a sure sign that she is knackered). When I told her I was leaving and would be back at 8am, she said “Can you just reposition my legs ?”, “Can you just fill my water up ?”, “Can you watch Big Brother with me ?”, “Can you…….”

I was firm, stood my ground and told her I needed to go home for the dogs and that I would be back first thing in the morning. I know for a fact that as long as I am there, she won’t go to sleep if she can help it. With no visitors, she will.

I left her calm, serene, tired and probably snoring by now !

Have a good sleep kp. See you soon…

dp
xxxxx