Not a good week this week.  It all kicked off on Tuesday night after the OT had been. They had been discussing Karen’s aims, and the fact that Karen’s right eye is damaged. One of Karen’s aims is to drive again. The OT seemed to have said that that isn’t possible because the optic nerve damage doesn’t improve with time. kp got very upset in the presence of the OT. When I came home, she was still upset and this continued all night. I tried to reassure her that the loss of her driving licence was nothing to do with her eyesight, but hearing something so final from the OT really hit her hard and by the end of the night, I felt she was at the start of a nervous breakdown.

She couldn’t make decisions, she was extremely irritable, all the signs were there.

One of the good things to come out of the OT’s session was that Karen is to keep a sleep diary. This is to help work out how / when she sleeps. And presumably then to work at improving it.

Wednesday saw kp and Adele go shopping, but Karen’s mood was still not right and she didn’t enjoy it. That night she had a particularly bad night’s sleep (probably only a couple of hours’ worth), and she woke up with bad cramp in her calf and hot sweats.

Thursday was uneventful.

Friday morning, I came into the front room to find Karen slumped over the settee. She was fast asleep with her head nearly level with the coffee table. How she didn’t fall over, I don’t know.

Worryingly, she had no recollection of how she got there.

Sleep is still the biggest issue at the moment.

Given the poor state of her mind, I took the morning off work at the last moment to meet up with the Case Manager (Syd) and Karen. We needed to raise how bad things were, which we did. He came with some good news. The neuropsychologist that karen had back in the hospital has agreed to take her case on a private basis. She is awesome and I really look forward to her getting involved with kp. I have no doubt it will bring improvements mentally.

The other bit of good news is that Syd is looking into a separate private Dorsal Column Stimulation appointment.

By Friday night, things were greatly improved as far as Karen’s state of mind. Yippee!

Saturday saw us walk the dogs – it was a glorious day. The usual afternoon snooze and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (PLUS Pizza) ended off a lovely day.

We have decided to try separate rooms for sleep. Karen finds it a lot easier to fall asleep with the TV on, but, of course, that disturbs my sleep, which she is reluctant to do. It helped a bit, but nothing too brilliant, but enough that I slept in a different room last night as well.

Today, we have been for Sunday lunch at the County Restaurant in the Royal County Hotel in Durham. It was diabolical. The Roast Beef was just like you got for school meals, wafer-thin and over cooked. Mental note – Avoid Marriott Royal County Durham for dining ! Lunch was complete in 45 minutes and then we went to BHS for some shopping.

This coming week, Karen is getting ready for her hols with the girls. Packing. Hair Doos etc…….Tomorrow, she has her yearly orthopedic appointment with the consultant who did her Pelvic op. Hopefully he will discharge her. And then in the afternoon, the solicitor is coming to see us, to give us an update.

On Friday, Karen is participating in the interviews for her Care Assistant.

So Busy Busy Busy !!!