You may wonder where I have been. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out as planned during the latter half of last year. In fact I was so glad to see the back of 2017 I’d have gifted first class tickets to tempt its early departure.
As I began to embrace the menopause and my eldest son hit puberty, my parents took the health toboggan downhill, the speed of which has been terrifying. They decided against a gentle boat ride to descend into fragility or even a nice slow walk, in typical ‘all or nothing’ Daniels fashion they took the fastest mode of transport and scared us all to death.
Following a stroke, numerous falls, a heart murmur, pelvic and spinal fractures, E. coli, terrifying reactions to medication, a broken wrist, 5 months stay in a rehabilitation unit, too many ambulance journeys to count and the cruellest blow of all, a diagnosis of dementia…we crawled into 2018. I almost set a place for Uncle Tom Cobley at the Christmas dinner table.
Having elderly parents become utterly reliant on you is all too common a story these days. Dementia is on the increase and it’s often down to families to cope with care. It’s incredibly challenging and if I am brutally honest, I am not very good at it. Life was put on the back burner for my sister and I, as we struggled through visiting times, hospital appointments, and medication lists. I have learned a lot in a short space of time about the provisions for the elderly in this country, and whilst I am not getting into a political debate, it is shocking how the older generation are treated. I have seen first hand the pressure on the NHS to provide adequate care, and the wasteful co-ordination of the whole system. It is bursting at the seams from under funding and over subscription.
The saving grace in all this is the rediscovery of how brilliant my big sister is.
If we ever go to war, my sister should be in charge.
I am not kidding.
We would have sunk without her.
Things have settled for now and my parents are still smiling. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, its a new life, and I’m feeling good.
All The World's A Glitterball 