Down Memory Lane

 

Down Memory Lane

This Week's Blog Memory is based on a combination of my Ambulance Days when I met Mr Darcy at The Jane Austen centre in Bath and that glorious BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.

My original version was posted on 27 May 2009 entitled

Mr Darcy Found Alive and Well 

and this attracted some interesting comments. 

Click HERE

 I posted a revised version on 4 August 2010 still entitled

Mr Darcy Found Alive And Well

Click HERE

I had a lot of fun writing these. Please take a look and feel free to comment

Blogger's Grand National

Blogger's Grand National

In May 2009 
I wrote a post called

They're Off, Blogger's Grand National

It was about our annual best known Steeplechase at Aintree and featured my then Blogging friends, using blog names as horses and blog owners as riders.

It was a lot of fun and perhaps some of my newer readers might find it amusing. I can add you in as part of the field in due course.

Click HERE to see it and if you have any comments please comment there. Thank you.

I hope to return to Blogland soon but I am active on Instagram.

NUN JOKE

The Sunday Muse #86A

I could not resist using this great prompt as a vehicle for a Nun joke

Sister Marguerite was attending her duties when she noticed some of her sisters looking at her in a rather strange way, giggling and some making rather strange comments.

"Ah! sister Marguerite", said sister Cleo, "I can see you got out of bed the wrong side this morning!" and laughed and wandered off.

Sister Bernadette looked at her quizzically and said, "Did you get out of bed the wrong side today?"

"No, I'm ok, thanks, nothing wrong or unusual!"

"Sister Marguerite!!", said sister Theresa, "I can see you got out of bed the wrong side today!"

"No, I'm ok , , honestly!"

This went on all morning and she was beginning to get annoyed and made some curt comments herself as the morning wore on, 

Eventually she met Mother Superior who looked her up and down and was about to speak when Sister Marguerite cut her short by saying, "People have been asking me all morning if there is something wrong with me. Honestly, if anyone else asks me if I got out of bed the wrong side I shall explode, even if I have to say three Hail Marys as a penance."

"Well, my dear Sister Marguerite, I was not going to ask you that question but I do have another question I would like to ask.

"Why are you wearing the Bishop's shoes?"

lol

* * * * * * * * *

No offence meant, just good humour, if any Nun's are reading.

To reach The Sunday Muse please press, HERE

PLEASE CHOOSE ME

The Sunday Muse #85

My word, the weeks fly by, don't they?

Once again The Sunday Muse comes around.

I thought this prompt was very appealing so I just thought I would let the little kitten speak for itself

Thank you Carrie for this great prompt.

PLEASE CHOOSE ME

Photography by Guy Kawasaki

Please choose little me.

I hope you will agree.

I'm sort of cute and fluffy

Though I'm also rather scruffy.

Will you adopt me?

Other's have dropped me.

Can I share your home

Where I can freely roam?

You might well be smitten

With me now as a kitten.

I can't promise I will stay

In this form and in this way,

For one day I will grow.

Will you tell me then to go?

I'll still be the same me

Could I stay?  So please agree.

I'll sit there on your lap

And have a long, long nap.

While you gently stroke my fur

And I will gently purr.

If you don't show me rejection

I'll give you my affection

And bring to you a mouse

or a bird into your house.


Please choose little me
I hope you will agree.

Eddie Bluelights

7 December 2019

To reach The Sunday Muse please press HERE

CULINARY DISASTERS

The Sunday Muse #84

Image Source

Culinary Disasters On The Wall

The evidence in my kitchen is plain to see

My cooking is wanting to the nth degree.

Years of grime and greasy fat

Cling to walls of my one bed flat.

With huge high hopes I read each recipe

I read each twice with sheer necessity.

Ingredients prepared with loving hands

Made it safely to my pots and pans.

All went well until the cooking,

Was it something I'd been overlooking?

Because each heartbreaking burnt disaster,

Spattered walls and the ceiling plaster

My simple intentions to inspire

Ended in a raging chip pan fire.

It's a wonder I am alive to tell

Frequent disasters which did not go well.

That explains the wall erosion

Years and years of pan explosion.

Now I do not cook at all

It's ready meals from the local stall.

Eddie Bluelights

1 December 2019

* * * * * * * * * * 

To reach The Sunday Muse press HERE

WHY DO ZEBRAS HAVE STRIPES?

This week I am very pleased to participate again in Carrie Van Horn's weekly poetry circle,

The Sunday Muse #39

Image Source

Hey Mate! Why Have We Got Stripes?

One day Zebra A said to Zebra B,

"Let's conclude the debate which we could not agree,

On why we have stripes, and what does it mean?

And why they are there to be clearly seen?"

"The answer", said B, "is simple, of course,

For without them we would look just like a horse!"

Said A, "That is daft and your answer is silly,

Please think and give reasons, you illogical filly!"

"Hmm, maybe it's all about recognition,
Courting and selection and mating ambition,
Imagine a stallion approaching a mare,
Walking with a swagger and a lusty stare."

 'Hey, honey, you're it, I'm in romantic mode!
We have the same stripes and a matching bar code!'"
"At last you have noticed," she said with a stutter,
As she brushed his fetlock and her eyelids did flutter.'"

Said A, "That's just plain nonsense and you well know it!
If you have any brain cells, wise up now and show it,
Us zebras have stripes and they are all the same,
Unlike tigers in Asia, all unique, scientists claim."

"I don't agree and I read it somewhere,
That our stripes are all different, just see over there,
That's Charlie, I can pick him out from the rest
By one little stripe ~ look there on his crest!" 

"An interesting thought, you speak like a tutor,
But our brains are all finite, and not a computer,
There are too many bar codes by far to remember,
With all combinations of each herd and each member." 

"It could be to confuse all those hungry predators

Lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas,

"I don't think you're right and my reason for saying,

Is stripes make us stand out, thus assisting the slaying!"

"I think what you say is entirely absurd,
That's why we stay close in a very big herd,
Where we're often safe if we all stick together,
Lions often miss out, if we run hell for leather."

"So the reason I feel it is not camouflage,

For a lion will attack us with wild sabotage.

It is in their breeding and for each hungry pride

They want us for food to fill mouths open wide!"

"Oh don't frighten me with that horrible stuff!

I'm feeling scared and I've had just enough! 

So tell me the reason and just what it is?

I'm keen to get answers for this very old quiz!"

"Research has suggested the stripes may be for

Cooling us down in a high temperature,

Because we are grazing in that very hot sun

Unshaded for ages, while we eat a ton!"

"But non zebra grazers feed hour after hour,
All prey for lions, wanting them to devour.
Impala, Antelope, Springbok, Great Kudu.
With none having stripes ~ ask any Gnu!"

"And how do stripes work, why should they cool?
What is the reason? and what is the rule?"
'A' said to 'B' that he'd work hard and try,
 To answer that riddle, to explain how and why.

"Heat strikes the black in a different way,
To the white all day long on a very hot day.
Where white meets black it causes an eddy,
Resulting in cooling, making us feel less heady."

"That may be so but I really don't buy it!
I think my solution is better, just try it!
It's all about flies which suck blood when they bite us,
And not camouflage, or lions that fight us!" 

"It could be infections from blood sucking flies,
Biting us as we graze, wanting us as a prize.
They could spread disease which would make us quite ill,
With a very good chance they might even kill!"

"Experiments show that for black and white types,
The flies are attracted, but not when in stripes!
When striped there's confusion and flies will not settle
So to bite and drink blood will not test their mettle!"

"So that is the way us zebras evolved.
It may be the answer to that old problem, solved.
But does this really prove 'stripes evolution',
And is it accepted as the true solution." 

"Darwin was puzzled and had no idea

about this conundrum, he was very unclear.
The fact is that for the last two hundred years
There is no solution, or so it appears!"

"All this may be rubbish as ideas we plod,
It could be the creator, let's call him God.
He may like our stripes and made us this way,
For he's King after all, and has final say!"

* * * * * * * * * 

Eddie Bluelights

20 January 2019

Research to this problem is still on-going  and scientists are baffled.

To reach Carrie's website at the Sunday Muse please press HERE




I recently joined The Sunday Muse and just missed out on Muse #36 which I found interesting so I have written something HERE

A Delightful Spot On My Way Home

Something a little different from me today.

I am most fortunate and blessed to live close by to delightful scenery all around me. Sometimes we take it for granted when we have such beauty on our doorstep, yet sometimes it becomes breathtaking and hits us smack in the eye ~ like today on my way home from visiting my daughter and son in law in Bath. 

I had been helping decorate their baby's nursery ~ my second grandchild is due on 19th August.

I was thirsty and fancied a beer shandy so I decided to visit a pub called The Jolly Sailor,  just three miles from my house, and one of my favourite places on a fine day or summer evening.  It is situated near the River Avon and beside some lock gates and an interesting weir.

I neared the pub and was smitten by this view of the shimmering water with the backdrop of hills bathed in evening  sunshine and I just had to take a photo.

Last year I had walked up to the cluster of trees, known as Kelston View, shown on the top tight hand side of the photo, with wonderful views of Bath and Bristol.  I shall do another post on this sometime.  

I jumped back into the car and headed for the pub, just a few hundred yards further, but not before getting another shot showing more glorious countryside.

I parked the car and walked towards the river and I'd like you to share the beautiful weir awaiting my gaze ~ makes one glad to be alive.

. . . and then I panned a little further downstream to this delightful setting, with Kelston View just showing.

Behind me were busy working lock gates with traffic passing up and down stream all day long.

I saw something half way across the weir and I crossed over the bridge to the other side to investigate, taking another photo midway. 

I wondered what was in the water and so I zoomed on a was rewarded with this shot of a heron, standing in a million fragments of glistening water.  I managed to hold my hand steady.

I enjoyed my beer shandy beside the water and talked to a fisherman who said there was plenty of fish there to share with the heron . . and we shared the beauty of the evening for a while in conversation.

Just time for one last look at the backdrop of countryside before heading back home.

Just a quick resume about my leg.  I am pleased to report that it is healed completely and has taken just 2 months and not the year the medics thought it might take ~ I am so blessed to get that out of the way.

A VIEW WITH A MEMORY OF AMBULANCE DAYS

I was on Dial-a-Ride duty today and I drove one of my favourite passengers for his weekly hospital consultancy/appointment.  We arrived a little early to drop Don at the hospital and there was just time to show him one of my favourite views, overlooking the Avon Valley, just outside Bath. It was a lovely afternoon.  The River Avon runs along the valley, just out of site and so does a busy railway line and main road.

As we sat for a while talking and enjoying the view memories came flooding back into my mind of sharing this with someone else during my ambulance days.

I had just picked up an elderly lady from one of the hospitals in Bath to transfer her to another hospital in Bristol for treatment.  She was very distressed and not well at all but I could manage to transfer her from her wheelchair into a seat.  She was very anxious about her health and well-being and was very depressed and almost in tears.  

We got talking and I was able to make a connection and she told me the bottom had dropped out of her life, she had lost her husband a few years ago, her children saw her very infrequently and now her health was failing.  She had almost convinced herself that there was nothing left to live for.

She cheered up a little while we talked as I drove and I said because it was such a glorious day we would take the scenic route to Bristol.  I said I had time to show her a view which I liked very much and we pulled over and I lined the vehicle so she could see through the door. I remember it was a warm summer's day and I sat with her and said, "Just look at that! ~ you see, there are still a lot of good things left to enjoy!".

Her face lit up and she smiled and told me I was so kind and said she was so happy to share our conversation and the view.  We stayed there for a full 15 minutes and I said that the view is lovely all the way along the valley.

When we pulled into the Bristol hospital she seemed like a different person.  Her mind was taken off her troubles and at least she had found something to cheer her, albeit just for the afternoon.

This is why I loved the ambulance work so much, to touch someone, make a connection, and make them happier and how long did it take?  ~ just 15 minutes.

I don't know what happened to this lady, maybe she has moved on by now, but I often think about instances of magic like this, and many others.

The icing on the cake today for me was that while I was waiting for Don, I met some of my ex Ambulance Colleagues and it was great to chat with them over old times.  There may be a possibility of me working again in the service in a smaller capacity ~ I would love this.

PETER VISITS GRANDPA AGAIN

I am very pleased to report that my leg is light years better and healing fast.  From the initial verdict that it would probably take a year to heal the latest consensus of the lovely nurses treating me is that it looks like another 6 weeks or so.

I take no pain killers and attend the ulcer clinic once a week.  I can walk and drive as normal and therefore I am able to look after Peter again, with the nurse's blessing.

It has been a while since I posted about this little fellow:

Here he is, playing with his grandpa when he should be eating his breakfast.

Now don't you just love those big blonde curls and big blue eyes.  Boy he is going to break a lot of ladies' hearts later.

Eat your 'shreddies' and 'wheetabix' up, there's a good lad.

Earlier he found 'bobble hat' and put it on and was running all over the place squealing whenever he saw himself in the mirror . . . . he has a great sense of fun. Shame the photo is blurred. He moved so fast.

I took him into the garden and we had a lot of fun and I gave him a little dustpan and brush and he swept up the leaves . . . . he loved it.

He is very inquisitive too as can be seen when shining this torch onto the ceiling.

He did something which surprised me yesterday morning.  I was sitting in a chair and he got hold of my finger and led me out of the chair and into the next room, still holding my finger.  He got his changing mat and put it onto the table and then got a nappy and some baby wipes plus a bag of waste bags and gave them to me and then he put his hands out for me to lift him up and change him.  I thought how clever for 18 months and made a big fuss of him.  Next stop potty training.

All together . . . awww !

HEALING, AND FEELING BETTER

It has been a while since I posted.  Perhaps I have been suffering from a severe dose of:

Blogging Constipation 

However hard I tried I just could not write ~ I felt too low and too much in pain. It is only in the last two or three days I have started feeling a lot better and more like myself. It is so good to feel like that after these uncomfortable weeks.

This 'blogging constipation' reminds me of a most unpleasant side effect of some of my pain killers, containing Codeine Phosphate, the most effective pain killer I have found to date.  I love my kidneys too much to take too many Paracetamol based tablets but by carefully juggling various options including Ibuprofen, I have managed to get by, with one or two very painful exceptions, and suffering the unwelcome side effect, much reduced I am pleased to say.  What a relief !! . . .  lol

I am very pleased to say that there has been a noticeable and considerable improvement in my leg since I came home from hospital and the District Nurses took over. It is now normal size after being blown up to over twice the size and raging with infection whilst I was in hospital before the I/V treatment knocked the infection on the head. 

The District Nurses started dressing the wound three times a week and nurse Debbie, who used to nurse Maria when she was sick, has noticed a considerable improvement each and every time she comes and in fact she is quite amazed at how quickly the new growth of healthy tissue is forming and two of the smaller blisters have gone.  I am treated with a gel called Flaminal Forte, which cleans out the wound and promotes healing, then covered with dressings soaked in liquid paraffin, so I had better not walk too near bonfires ~ I am an ambulance man and not a fire fighter.  Over that they apply two layers of compression bandages, which force the blood back up my leg and not through the side of it. The large hole in my leg was 1/2 inch deep and some 5 inches by 2 inches and it closely resembled my feeble attempts at poaching an egg ~ just like a third degree burn. They have stopped Flaminal Forte because it has done its job and promoted bleeding to clean the wound, which is no longer required.  I am always somewhat apprehensive when they take off the dressing, and I always wonder whether progress has been reversed, which could happen, but to date I have been encouraged every time.

In spite of the improvement it still weeps quite a bit and there is quite a way to go yet before I am completely healed, but they reckon in terms of weeks and not months . . . or even a year, as they said it might take when they first saw it.  They think I am a strong, fit, 'young' and active chap and I am a good boy and eat all my greens and lots of fruit and put my feet up at rest and walk about a lot to keep the calf muscles going, which helps circulation ~ so I am doing a lot of the right things and avoiding standing which is very bad for it.

So perhaps it is somewhat of a miracle ~ even though I did pray for instant healing once or twice ~ I think God is doing his best through resources he has chosen to use.

One of my best lady friends, Pat, who runs a nursing home and was Maria's employer, would disagree with the treatment because 15 years ago she suffered a leg ulcer but treated hers successfully by applying Vitamin E squeezed from a capsule and covering it with a cabbage leaf before bandaging.  She did this every day for a month and it was completely healed and dare not come back.  But she is an angel and I think has a direct line to God on high, where she gets all her strength for the wonderful things she does with her life, always helping others.

Debbie now comes once a week on a Saturday and I visit the ulcer clinic on a Wednesday, so I am treated twice a week. I mentioned Pat's 'cure' to Debbie and she said I should pass it on to the nurses in the ulcer clinic, they will be interested, so I will next time, tomorrow. They are always looking for other ways and means ~ they say no two people are the same and they all respond differently to different things. The nurse at the clinic is a very nice lady whose name escapes me right now, and I told her she has a very nice smile.

I had some interesting experiences whilst in hospital and will try to pen a few in my next posts.

Meanwhile, Debbie has judged that I am almost able to resume my life as normal and do most of the things I like doing provided I am careful with the leg and I am sensible, which I intend to be.

She says when I am better I will be measured for a pair of 'kinky' black lower leg stockings to aid blood flow back up the legs.  I said I did not mind at all and would willingly wear suspenders if it helped, under my jeans . . . she laughed and laughed.

We have already agreed that when I am better all three nurses are coming round to celebrate with glass of champagne. We all go back a long way when they visited Maria when she was ill and I made them a cup of coffee. 

I hope to visit you all again and I am looking forward to reading your posts and commenting.




I love reading comments and it is fun to hear from you even if it is just a "Hi" . . . It is then great to visit you in return.

I'M HOME AND NOT LEGGLESS

Hi Friends, 

This afternoon I was discharged from hospital, albeit in my view a little early but they have stabilised my condition and the fever has subsided and I am back onto oral antibiotics.  The swelling has reduced greatly.   My left leg was three times the size of my right one and now it is just 1.5 times  . . .  and falling.

The ulcer, still nasty but much drier, can now be treated by District Nurses and I shall be visited by one tomorrow for a dressing and compression bandages . . and we can work out a plan of action to get rid of this nasty thing.  

They will probably be known to me from the days they visited Maria when she required their attention . . . They all like my cups of tea and coffee . . 

I have a few interesting posts about the hospital stay and how a number of nurses remembered me from my ambulance days . . .  

I came home by ambulance and one of the crew was a great chap I worked with . . . lots of co-incidences . . and some great fun . . plus some painful days . . 

HOSPITAL STAY

UPDATE  2 April

It has taken me ages to get into the hospital Wi-Fi.

Thank you for all your very kind comments.  This is my second day here and the swelling has not reduced yet, although the antibiotics seem to be taking the heat out of my leg, which is good.  Before I came in I had an ultrasound DVT scan, which proved negative, but a consultant has just seen me and says he wants another done because he wants to get to the bottom of why the swelling is there, which is causing all the problems.  He seemed quite impressed that I had suggested to my GP the problem might be a DVT and that I had reported that the arterial supply seemed ok.  Indeed this was confirmed a little later when a doctor did an in house arterial ultrasound on both legs and the blood supply to both feet is very good. We await the venial ultrasound and then they can start powerful compression bandaging to get rid of the fluid ~ and that will enable the ulcer to heal.

I have just seen some nurses who remember me from my ambulance days . . . . had a nice chat with them . . . :)

I'll do another post soon.

______________________________________

Hi friends,

Just a short note to say that today I shall be admitted to hospital in Bristol for about a week.

Some of you will know I have been experiencing problems with a leg nasty leg ulcer since December and have been fighting a gradual losing battle.

It has accelerated in sheer horridness and I have a very large swelling in my left calf ~ it is very painful.

The oral antibiotics are not touching it and I need some powerful intravenous antibiotics, which I am hoping and praying will work.

I am taking my laptop to hospital and will be writing some short stories and I shall let you know how I am getting on. 

It will seem rather strange for me to receive some care for a change.   

. . . . . :) 

BUSY DAY AT DIAL-A-RIDE

For those who do not know, I drive one day a week for our local Dial-a-Ride bus service.  We have 1200 members now and are getting busier ~ the service is a life line for local people unable to get to and from GPs, Dentists, Opticians, Shopping or even visiting friends  . . . plus many other reasons to use us.

As an ex-ambulance man I love the work because I see it as an extension to my previous job and the work is very similar at times.  I am always able to help a few folk during my day's work on Monday.

Today was a very busy day which I just loved and fortunately I had rather some challenging situations to deal with which made the day more interesting.

I was driving a vehicle, affectionately called Diana, a five seater plus wheelchair facility if required.

Here it is so you get some idea ~ a little like the pope mobile on my last post, only bigger.

 . . . and here is the rear view, showing the ramp and wheelchair fitting area, but no wheelchair was used today.  What you can see is a folded four wheel zimmer trolley, very useful to steady the wobbly.

During the morning I was scheduled to pick up two elderly ladies from a nearby town and take them to the bus stop at our Post Office, about 6 miles away. I picked them up, seated them in the vehicle and said I needed to pick up an elderly gentleman and his dog and take him to a park just before their bus stop. They said, ok, and we chatted on the way ~ I know them very well. We arrived at the gentleman's house and out he stepped, very wobbly, with a huge Golden Labrador dog, which made a beeline for me and almost knocked me off my feet, much to everyone's amusement, including mine.  Anyway, I got hold of the lead and walked the dog behind his master up the drive towards the vehicle. I could see that the gentleman was quite incapable of controlling such a powerful dog.  Previously I had taken him out a few times, minus dog, and had to help him in and out of the vehicle, so I was very surprised he had opted for such a solo adventure.  Anyway, the immediate idea was to get the Labrador into the back of the vehicle up the ramp so he could be seated or lie down just behind his master.

He would not go in, try as we would, in spite of all our encouragement and persuasion.  The owner said he would travel in the back with him and I said that was totally illegal because passengers have to be seated with a seat belt.  So for plan B.  I asked one of the ladies if she would kindly move along the bench seats so the owner and the dog could fit in. She was quite ok about it but even with him sitting in the middle the dog would not go in . . . 

With a lot of coaxing the dog did eventually climb into the vehicle but there was insufficient room for him and his tail was sticking out where I needed to shut the door and his 'derrier' was in the way too. Reluctantly I had to ask the lady to move again into the front between me and the other lady, which she did with considerable dexterity for one aged 83. Fortunately she saw the funny side of things, along with the other lady, but they were both looking at their watches and getting anxious about their timetable. The guy moved over and I pushed the dog in quickly.  We got to the park and I got the dog out first and held his lead and he pulled so hard I had to go with him a few steps.  Then I got the old boy out and gave him the dog who immediately pulled so hard he did a 360 degree spin and then just had to let go but fortunately the dog came back when he called him. Reluctantly I had to leave him because there were passengers to attend to.  I drove the ladies to the bus stop and dropped them off. They were quite amused by it all.  I did hear later than the old guy plus dog were successfully picked up from the park for the return journey by a larger bus, as scheduled, but the driver had to chase after the dog to retrieve it. Maybe it was a Golden Retriever. 

A little later I picked up a blind man I know who goes shopping on Monday afternoons.  I used to know Ray's blind wife as well and often saw them out walking in town together holding hands and using their white canes with their other hands. 

Unfortunately Ray lost his wife four years ago and now lives alone but does so remarkably well.  We have something in common since I lost my Maria two years ago next month.

I was talking with him and told him the story of the blind man guiding me on my journey when I was in the ambulance service, as told last week, HERE for those who missed it.  Ray said he can relate to that and does the same on the bus when he travels from Bristol but if he falls asleep he is lost and has to ask someone.  I said, "You know Keynsham well Ray, don't you?  Any idea where we are now?  He said yes and he told me and he was right on the button.

I dropped him off at the supermarket, got a trolley for him and helped him to the customer service desk and they arranged for a very nice lady to accompany and help him with his shopping.  I was able to stay with him until she came.  She looked at me and said she would look after him.  An hour later I picked him up and took him home and once he knew where he was in relation to the railings leading to his flat he was ok to pull his trolley after him, but using his stick to guide him home.  I find it all remarkable ~ I do admire that guy.

Next time, back to the ambulance stories I think.

AMBULANCE STORY ~ WHERE DO YOU LIVE, LOVE, I CANNOT FIND YOUR HOME?

During my ambulance days I often drove a 'Pope Mobile'. This vehicle was ideal for the job of ferrying patients to and from hospital for kidney dialysis, particularly if they were seated in a wheelchair.  All my patients got to know me well and some of them had a sharp sense of humour to match mine.  I used to take my bit of double glazing Georgian Bar with me, since I am an agent for a local window company.  I sometimes held it up to them as they were entering the Pope Mobile, saying "Bless you, my son/daughter".  It always got a laugh and brightened their day a little.  

It was a cold dark night in the middle of winter.  I was meeting an elderly lady patient for the first time so I was serious and I certainly did not use my little cross on that particular night.  She was frail and in a wheelchair and had just completed her dialysis ~ she had just started with dialysis and was nervous and had recently moved from her own home into a nursing home, always a sad occasion for them.  Sometimes a patient's blood pressure drops after dialysis and that causes them to feel unwell, so she was feeling a little like that and I was trying to get her home and into the warmth as quickly as possible.  I knew the nursing home was nearby but it was brand new and I did not know exactly where it was located, apart from the general area.  The whole complex was newly built and not on any map, and certainly not on my SatNav. 

We approached where I thought it might be and I asked her if she recognised where it was and which way to go.  She said, "We are going in the wrong direction I think, if we turn round and travel the other way I might recognise where we are".   I turned round and we journeyed the other way and she said, "It's too dark and I can't see properly."  Stress was beginning to rear its ugly head and I saw a group of youths by some shops so I parked the vehicle and asked them if they knew where it was, but got the response, "Don't know, gov, try the cop shop up the road!"  I was taking a bit of a chance walking over to them because this area is the roughest in Bristol and people are mugged there quite frequently.  There were six of them and I would not have stood a chance.

I reached the police station and explained the situation and the policeman was quite concerned I had ventured out alone to see that group of 'yobbos', as he described them, saying they had loads of problems with their behaviour. I guess I must have been lucky that night.  He said he knew exactly where the nursing home was and said, "I'll take you, I'll hop into the police car and follow me".  I did, we got there and I thanked him and shook his hand.  I thought that was very decent of him.  It was very near where we had been looking but was hidden behind some wrought iron gates.  I got the lady inside and out of the cold and handed her over to her carer, feeling very relieved she was home safely and without incident.

We have had several instances of not knowing where to deliver patients ~ perhaps I shall tell you some of those stories soon.

AMBULANCE STORY ~ LED BY A BLIND MAN

Most of my work within the ambulance service centred around ferrying renal patients to and from hospital for kidney dialysis. Without 4 hours on special kidney machines 3 times a week these patients would not live much longer than a week. So we are fortunate to live in modern times where this technology is available.

Wherever possible a kidney transplant may be available, the ultimate holy grail, donated by a very kind person wishing to enable someone to live a normal life by donating organs in the event of them having a fatal accident. I am so happy that two of my former patients are now able to live complete and normal lives after receiving these priceless gifts ~ a kidney donation for each of my friends ~ wonderful.   I have said the meds can have any part of my body when the time comes, provided it is functional of course.

My story this week centres around a 90 year old patient, John, who lived 30 miles away inland from a coastal hospital, where he attended dialysis 3 times a week.

John had lost the use of both legs and the nurses used a hoist to get him in and out of bed into his wheelchair, where I pushed him up a ramp into our Pope Mobile ambulance transport, idea for those journeys. 

Safely secured onto wheelchair mounting fixtures onto the floor of the vehicle I was able to ferry him back to a nursing home where he lived with his wife, also a resident. The first time I met John we immediately hit it off and he loved it when he heard I was playing classical music on the journey.  I was not entirely sure of the route, although I did have my SatNav with me.  He said he would guide me along the route so I listened to his directions with the music in the background.  I remember he was particularly taken with Mendelssohn's 3rd Symphony, also a favourite of mine. 

Little did I know it but he was completely blind, it was not visibly obvious he was, yet somehow he knew exactly where we were at every point of the journey.  It was truly astonishing because he made remarks like, "In 200 yards there is a turn to the right coming, give way to vehicles coming to your left once you have made the turn", and "The road veers sharply to the left soon and it is quite a tight bend and quite a steep hill follows." That sort of thing ~ all the way.

It was not long before I realised he was completely blind and I expressed my astonishment that he knew exactly where we were all the time.  He said he knew that area like the back of his hand and that he could tell by the bumps and camber of the road and the bends and hills and road speed and what gear I was in, even the cats eyes striking the tyres.  He had a mental road map of the journey as we progressed and yard by yard he knew where we were.

He said that we were approaching the nursing home and explained exactly where the entrance was and where to park.

I got him out of the wheelchair and he thanked me for the lovely music and I said I would play it for him every time.  We got quite friendly and each time I brought him home I wheeled him to his room and had a chat to him and his wife, who always greeted us with a cup of tea and a cake.  The nursing staff were very friendly too and I got to know them quite well.

I remember on warm summer evenings, after I had delivered John safely, the journey back was truly lovely, across country and through Wells, a small Cathedral city in Somerset, and the views across the valleys were truly breathtaking against a striking red sunset ~ glad to be alive indeed. 

John got transferred to another hospital so we lost touch ~ I suspect both he and his wife have passed now.

I often think about my former patients. I consider myself most fortunate to have that job, caring and being with people ~ beats the pants off office work any day of the week, in my book.

Next time ~ I could not find where a patient lived and they were unable to tell me . . . HELP

RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS ADVENTURE 2015 ~ Week 4

This Friday is the last Random Act Of Kindness week in the series of four for 2015, hosted by the lovely Betsy at My Five Men.

This week I have not been in the position to display a significant RAK because I have been quite busy with bus driving, helping a lady friend gardening on Wednesday and of course looking after baby Peter today and tomorrow.

However, there are three little ones which might add up to a whole. I hope.

One is almost a carbon copy of last week. On Monday whilst driving the bus I was scheduled to pick up a 90 year old lady from an opticians. When I arrived at 12 am at reception, asking for her the receptionist said she had already gone and was worried about how she was going to get home so they rang for a taxi.  She had forgotten she had booked Dial-a-Ride for the return journey and they said she was getting very absent minded.  They were most apologetic and asked me for some leaflets and application forms for our service, which was nice.  On my way home I called in to see if she had got home safely but this time there was no-one there, so I rang the office and they had not heard anything either so they rang her to see if she was ok and I am pleased to say she was. Naturally I was a bit concerned but there was nothing more I could do personally as she obviously did not hear the front door bell.

Also, whilst waiting for a passenger at a supermarket an elderly gentleman stopped me and asked me about our service and said he could do with us next week.  I said, "No problem, sit in the car out of the cold and I will explain everything to you - if you fill in this application form I will take it to the office and fast track it through for you and then as a member you can just ring the office and book the ride." Needless to say he was a happy bunny.

Today, a nice neighbour knocked on my door and I invited her in to see Peter.  She said she and her husband were going on holiday for three weeks, would I look after her house and make sure all the mail and newspapers are put out of sight.  I usually do this for them every year.  I have their key and they have mine just in case I lock myself out . . . 

Today a lovely act of kindness was shown by a good blogging pal, Penny at Alias Jinksy to grandson Peter.  She crocheted a beautiful blanket for him, shown here.  Thank you Penny, you are very kind.

And here is the proud owner, sitting in Grandpa's chair with his cuddle blanket.  I'll be posting about him again soon.


I enjoyed these RAK weeks and reading about kindnesses shown by my fellow blogging friends.


I am linking up with Betsy's RAK week 4 post HERE