Cath Sheard Art

Tag: Mum

  • Mum interlude – ouch!

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    Last weekend and all was quiet. All I heard was a giant crash – I knew straight away Mum had fallen. When I got into her room she was lying on her side on the floor, sort of laughing, and looking a bit guilty. It was almost her afternoon nap time, and I knew instantly what had happened, and why she looked guilty…

    Sure enough, she confirmed my suspicions. 85 years old, fragile and sometimes unsteady, and she’d been balancing on one leg, trying to take her trackpants off over her slippers. Good one Mum!

    Checked her over, nothing obvious, didn’t hurt to breath, so got her up and helped her into bed for her afternoon sleep. Kept checking her periodically and decided we didn’t need to go to A&E, so all good. We see them often enough as it is.

    She kept saying her side was uncomfortable but I couldn’t find anything, and her breathing stayed okay. Two days later I found this massive black and purple bruise on her, umm, chest. The photo is heavily cropped so we don’t get accused of porn, if you see what I mean LOL. It’s a cracker of a bruise that’s for sure – probably 6 or 7 inches square in all.

    And, for the record, she promises to always sit down to remove shoes, trackpants etc from now on. Time will tell…

  • Hospital not going so well

    This post was put on blogger on the 2nd – but I am just finishing making the final transfer over…
    We thought this would be a quick “in and out” hospital trip for Mum. Unfortunately things have not gone that well. Her kidneys are not playing the game and her blood pressure is so low she gets dizzy all the time. At 84, the risk of a nasty fall is high. That said, she fell last week and bounced no problem 😉
    To add to her woes,the hospital food has upset her gall bladder – something we have had under control with diet alone for 2 or 3 years now. Bummer!
    So, although she is not as sick as she has been in the past, she’s nonetheless quite sick; and of course older than last time she got really ill. So we watch and wait…

  • Mum’s in hospital again

    But I think this is only the second time this winter, so we’re doing well really. She had an infection, we got antibiotics, they didn’t work, so the infection kept on in a low-grade way. Mum’s diabetic, cardiac and renal patient, and it has put her heart and kidneys under considerable pressure.
    On Wednesday she had a fall so I made a doctor’s appointment for Thursday. Because her heart is so fragile they try to keep her pulse rate around 60. When they took it, it was 135. No wonder she felt sick. Her blood pressure was also very low, and her kidney function had deteriorated considerably.
    So, the doctor called the ambulance and my husband turned up and took her away. Nothing like having an ambulance officer for a son-in-law when you have chronic, and sometimes acute, health problems!
    Last night I went up after work and she was feeling a bit better. I had a chat with her nurse who said her vitals are better but there’s a way to go yet. So she’ll be there all weekend at the very least. Our wee dog clearly thinks I’ve misplaced Grandma and is not impressed. Oh dear 😦

  • I am inspired by…

    our pets. It sounds a bit daft perhaps, but I am.
    They’re so in touch with what they want. When they need a nap, they nap. When they need to eat, they eat. When they want to play, they play.
    We can all learn from that. When I want to make art, I should just find the time, and make art.
    This photo is our young cat, Goldie, asleep on the end of Grandma’s bed, with one of Faith’s squeaky toys for company.

  • How to really relax

    Check this out – total relaxation. Goldie gets up on Mum’s knee, drapes herself into the folds of the mohair rugs and settles down. Utter bliss out. Nice!