Friday, March 21, 2008

This and that

Mount Usher Gardens:
Anyone interested in seeing the Spring flowers as a follow on from my post on Tuesday will find them here on my other blog.
*************************************
My mother update:

I mentioned, on Tuesday, that I was taking my mother back for a check up on her skin graft. To cut a long story short we ended up being at the hospital rather longer than we anticipated (about three and a half hours in total). It took the nurse well over an hour to dress the donor site, remove the clips, then the sutures and clean up the actual wound. There were over 20 clips and about a dozen sutures to be removed. Some were very deeply embedded and the nurse was trying to be very gentle. My mother had to lie on her side, all this time, which was extremely painful for her due to her arthritis. The actual wound was a lot bigger and deeper than originally described and, according to the nurse the skin graft may not have been a total success. There were signs of a haematoma which they tried incising with no affect. Due to Easter it was then decided that the district nurse would have to be approached for home visits to replace the dressings on alternate days. We would then return to the clinic next Wednesday to see the consultant.
I did take my camera but I won't put you off by showing any pictures! I was fascinated, having been a nurse, I was also disgusted at the wastage. I could not believe that the bandage was cut off and not carefully removed, sterilized and reused. All the instruments were disposable (the nurse used, 4 pairs of scissors, clip removers and tweezers plus masses of dressings, saline, 3 pairs of gloves). Now I know why the National Health Service cost so much to run!!

*******************************************
Tortoise Trio Update:

Embee brought Topsy home yesterday evening and now the fun begins as I have to bath her daily and force feed her which is not exactly fun. By doing this we have cut down the vet fees quite considerably but it was still £182.12 ($364 approx) which is quite a lot.

Secret Squirrel wanted to get an idea of how big the tortoises are and she asked me to take a photo with a hand so here it is!

Archives:
2007: Sunny Spain

Labels: , ,

22 Comments:

At 21/3/08 09:10, Blogger Beccy said...

I hope the visit from the district nurse was more comfortable for granny.

It's good to see Topsy home with Tog and Tom.

 
At 21/3/08 09:53, Blogger katy said...

ouch ouch ouch for your poor Mum, so hope it was a success fingers crossed.
love Topsy Tog and Tom hope the recovery goes well

 
At 21/3/08 13:27, Blogger Happy Working Mom said...

Your poor mom!!! Your description sounded like she was in a good amount of pain...not good.

I hope the home visits go better and she heals up soon!

 
At 21/3/08 14:29, Blogger Sam said...

poor granny - i will call at the weekend - i only just realised i had a missed call from you yesterday. I HATE my iphone (or did you call me at the wrong time and I was at work - remember we out our clocks forward already)

 
At 21/3/08 14:30, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Virtual hugs for your mum. I hope all goes well with the visit to the Consultant.

 
At 21/3/08 15:51, Blogger kitten said...

Bless you and your mom's heart. I guess we both know what it's like being a nurse. My mom has a lot of arthritis also, so I understand. Hope things look up soon.

 
At 21/3/08 16:11, Blogger Unknown said...

Love to your Mum!

 
At 21/3/08 16:37, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, your poor mother.

I hate to tell you this - but my FIL had a wound on the bottom of his foot and it took a whole year to completely heal.

I hope she can heal quicker!!!!

 
At 21/3/08 18:01, Blogger Sandy said...

Maybe the home health nurse can force feed Topsy while she's looking after your mom.

Just kidding. Sorry it was such a pain, literally, at the hospital. Glad that Topsy is home and what a good heart you have to take such care of her.

Happy Easter.

 
At 21/3/08 18:13, Blogger ChrisB said...

Karmyn I won't tell her about your FIL, but the consultant did say before the op (mum didn't hear)that he was more concerned about the healing process. I know from experience that she takes a long time healing and I have tried to warn he that the skin will not be smooth. I'm hoping that because it's on the calf she won't be able to see it and fret about it!

 
At 21/3/08 18:15, Blogger ChrisB said...

Thank you all for your good wishes for my mum. She was in a lot of pain and squealing at times. Me being the sympathetic person I am asked her if it was worse than childbirth and we had a laugh!

 
At 21/3/08 19:55, Blogger Unknown said...

I hope your mother continues to heal. You two sure have been through it.

Glad Topsy is recouping too.

 
At 21/3/08 19:57, Blogger Alix said...

Hope your Mum is on the mend and not in too much pain.
The tortoises are so cute.

 
At 21/3/08 20:15, Blogger Sauntering Soul said...

Hope your Mom is much better soon!

I worked in a hospital here in Georgia and worked in the area where surgical instruments, etc. were sterilized. After I saw the poor job a lot of people did on them, I prayed I would never need surgery there. While it may be wasteful, I'd prefer disposable personally. Or I would at least hope other hospitals do a much better job at sterilization. :-)

 
At 21/3/08 20:17, Blogger Julie said...

Sorry to hear about your Mum. How nice though that the nurse will come to her home - that would never happen here. Hugs to you too - I'm sure watching your Mum in pain was no fun for you either.

 
At 21/3/08 20:41, Blogger Steffi said...

I hope your mum goes it better soon with the home visits of a nurse !
Nice to see Topsy home with Tog and Tom.

 
At 22/3/08 04:00, Blogger Alison said...

I was wondering how your mom was doing. I hope she continues healing. I am sure you are being a wonderful nurse for her!!

I am glad Topsy is home and doing better...now you have 2 people to take care of!! don't forget about yourself also!!

 
At 22/3/08 07:05, Blogger bichonpawz said...

It's very good to hear that Topsy has come home. Oh...your poor mum...that doesn't sound like a very pleasant visit to the doctor. I sure hope she is feeling better soon. Have a nice weekend!!

 
At 22/3/08 11:40, Blogger MarmiteToasty said...

cripes that sounds so painful for your mum..... lets hope the district nurse will have time to be gentle....

x

 
At 22/3/08 19:38, Blogger laurie said...

ah, your poor mother!

but even though it seems wasteful, they're careful, and she shouldn't get infection.

your header photo is beautiful. i wish it looked like that here.... we have six inches of new snow. everything is black and white.

 
At 22/3/08 23:13, Blogger willowtree said...

How the hell do you force feed a tortoise??

Hope you mum picks ups soon.

 
At 23/3/08 08:13, Blogger ChrisB said...

WT in answer to your question ~ sometimes with difficulty. Although I have to say these last two days Topsy has been quite cooperative and allowed me to shove peas down her throat while bathing in warm water!!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home