The Weekend

Saturday was dominated by the transfer of Dad from home to the Helen Ley Centre at Leamington Spa. Firstly, Andy and I had to go and help manhandle him (on the stretcher) out of the bungalow because he was too much for the two female operatives of the (private) ambulance sent to collect him. Then I took mother down to the Helen Ley Centre so that she could check him in and make sure he was comfortable. It’s the best Care Centre I’ve seen, better than the Nuffield Hospital in Derby that I’ve attended in the past at BUPA’s expense. Spacious, plenty of cheerful staff, well planned and with all the facilities one would expect of a care centre that specialises in sufferers of MS. It came highly recommended and I can see why. He should be comfortable there for a week and mother should get that much needed rest she deserves. While mother did the booking in chores I stayed with him while the day staff unpacked his stuff, made him comfortable, found him some lunch and fed it to him -- he can’t even do that now, it’s pitiful watching him try and I find it all very upsetting! We got back home about 3pm.

Sunday I decided that as the weather was nice and bright and sunny and warm/hot to do a spot of gardening out the front of the house -- hedge trimming, grass cutting and picking up other people’s litter that had blown in on the recent winds. Though I say it myself it did look a lot better for it. Our friend Dave called in for elevenses (regular Sunday morning occurrence) on his way to see his parents for lunch in Nuneaton. We had mother up to join us for lunch after she’d returned from walking Sheba in a park on the other side of the city. As Mark had gone off for the day (ripping a Land Rover to pieces for restoration) and there were no girlfriends for us to feed it was Suzie, me, Andy & mother round the Sunday dinner table. Afterwards mother had to sleep off the glass of wine that she had with the meal -- still that didn’t do her any harm. Mum went home and I carried on out the front, mainly clearing up and putting the tools away. Mark returned home just in time to go off with his mother and play badminton at 8pm with Fred (just returned from a cruise) and Dave (freshly fed by his dear mum). Fred came in afterwards and we swapped holiday stories and he sat through Suzie’s holiday photos and together we sank some whiskey I brought back from Lanzarote. A nice way to end the day & the weekend.