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A neurone short of a synapse
My mother has some odd ideas. She lives with my father in an old folks' home which cares mainly for people with dementia. My father has dementia; my mother does not. I visited them today. On weekdays they have 'activities'; different women turn up each day and encourage the old folk to paint, draw, cut out pictures, make collages etc. My mother suggested to one of these women last week that they organise a sports day for the residents. She said that the woman looked aghast. Hardly surprising. However, I think it has possibilities. It's the sort of thing that would feature in the local paper if it was held. Imagine a sports day for people who can hardly walk let alone run. If races can be held for snails, then races can be held for people with dementia.
Once a week pupils from a nearby school spend an afternoon in the home. Whether this is good for them or for the residents my mother has yet to discover. I think it could be a challenge for them to organise a sports day. It would look good on a CV; it would be a talking point. They would have to devise suitable races: walking unaided; walking with zimmer frame with wheels; walking with zimmer frame without wheels; cup and saucer race (in place of egg and spoon race), blowing up a balloon (though my mother thought few would have enough puff); putting balls into a bag; etc etc.
Thought for today
Making the beginning is one-third of the work.
Irish proverb
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1.9.07 19:59
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The way things were
Here is another extract from the book Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden published 1897. It is from a chapter entitled 'Health'.
How little can the young of the present day understand the complete revolution that has come over family life in the last half-century, and how changed are our relations towards the sick, though the invalid may be our nearest and dearest! Thirty years ago, even in the houses of the comparatively rich, it was exceedingly difficult to get help in illness; an old charwoman, a coachman's wife, or a servant out of place, was considered all that was necessary. Even a partially trained nurse was a very rare thing, and never sought for except in cases of severe operation or dangerous fevers. It seems almost impossible to believe that chloroform was not used till the middle of the 'Forties, and that Liston's first operation with the patient unconscious from ether was in 1848. Now, in spite of the many blessings nurses generally bring to the patients, I think the fact that they are usually good and very easily obtained is one cause of the deterioration in home-life clearly perceptible to all of us who are of a certain age. Sickness does not now strain every nerve, nor bring the same occupation, the same real work, mental and physical, that it used to do. The feeling of responsibility, of constant anxiety, is taken off our shoulders and laid on the nurse. Loving members of a family have just to continue their ordinary lives, for mere occupation's sake, and to avoid the reproach of giving way to useless grief, however anxious they may be. Ministering to those we love is too often denied us, and the patient's gentle gratitude, which used to tighten for life the bonds of affection, either does not now exist, or is given to a hard-worked, perhaps over-worked, woman who does not want it, and is here to-day and gone to-morrow. Her services, however excellent and efficient, are given for money, and are and ought to be perfectly different from the tender and devoted services prompted by love. All sensible doctors recognise this.
Thought for today
The past always looks better than it was; it's only pleasant because it isn't here.
Finley Peter Dunne
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2.9.07 20:20
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Early nursing
It's easy to take things for granted. 100 years ago I wouldn't have been allowed to vote. Women were put in prison for protesting about their disfranchisement. Attitudes to nurses were different too as shown by the following extract from the book Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden published in 1897.
... then surely life as it is now is in some respects a poorer, weaker thing in consequence of the modern idea which, under the power of the medical profession, sends our husbands to a private hospital for an operation, and hands over our sick in our own homes, let us say to the very best of women, but to women who never saw them before, and who, we hope, will never see them again. These excellent women, though paid by you, are virtually the servants of the doctor, to do his bidding, and even, if necessary, to cover and veil his mistakes or screen his faults. The professional reputation of the nurse is not in any way affected by the life of death of her patient; so long as she does her duty, death is an incident in the course of business. But her livelihood depends on her saying that the operation was well performed, and on pleasing the doctor who attends after the operation is over. I do not say this as a reproach to anyone, or even as a condemnation of a system which, if logically carried out, as fortunately it seldom is, comes very near to being the greatest of modern tyrannies.
Thought for today
The desire to take medicine is perhaps the greatest feature which distinguishes man from animals.
Sir William Osler
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3.9.07 19:13
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Summer again
Lovely sunny day today. Started off cool so I went for a two hours' walk at 8am before it became hot. Pheasants were out in force in the fields. I lost count of the number I saw. They are brainless birds. They lurked by the bushes at the edges of footpaths. As I approached they suddenly spotted me, gave a collective squawk (which often gave me a fright as I hadn't spotted them), and rushed off, some flying, others running, and regrouped further down the footpath. Of course I caught up so they moved on again until they ran out of footpath at a stile; then they flew into the middle of the field which is what they should have done in the first place thus saving themselves time and effort.
I ate the first of my sweetcorn for tea. It was delicious. I then spent the next five minutes picking bits out of my teeth with dental floss.
Thought for today
Thank heavens, the sun has gone in, and I don't have to go out and enjoy it.
Logan Pearsall Smith
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4.9.07 19:56
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Signs of the times
Took my car for its first service this morning. It's two years old. The chap at the desk, when I checked it in, said it needed a software update. How cars have changed.
The car would be ready at 11am so, as it was only half past eight and shops were unlikely to open for another half an hour, I had a cup of coffee from the free drinks machine in the showroom before walking into town. I managed to work the machine, which pleased me, except I had to make do with black tea because the coffee sachet drawer was empty. Having drunk my tea I looked for a litter bin in which to throw my cup. I spotted a thin rectangular covered container by the machine. Could I open the lid? No. Bins have been modernised. I pushed the lid; nothing happened. I pulled at the lid; nothing happened. Not wishing to be stumped by a litter bin I persevered and discovered, mainly by luck, that by giving the lid a quick push it opened upwards by itself. How was I supposed to know that? Gone are the days of making do with old cardboard boxes. It wouldn't surprise me if health and safety regulations prohibit such use.
Thought for today
Success is relative: it is what we can make of the mess we have made of things.
T S Elliot, The Family Reunion, 1939
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5.9.07 20:45
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More signs of the times
Autumn term has started at the local sixth form college. As I drove past it yesterday, on my way home from having my car serviced, there was a flow of students from it. Many of the female students wore such odd clothes that I wondered if they were in fancy dress. Some wore boots; the day was hot so their feet must have been hot as well. I suppose when you're young you don't let comfort get in the way of fashion.
Tomorrow I venture into the outside world again; this time it is another trip by train to the dentist. I shall be careful not to put my feet on the seats lest I end up in court. Actually, I wouldn't dream of putting my feet on the seats, but if I had a leg in plaster then I might. Legs in plaster swell and the plaster becomes painfully tight. I speak from experience. The only way to obtain relief is to lift the leg up and rest it on something.
My experience of trains recently is that they are so crowded that there are not enough seats for passengers to sit on let alone put their feet on.
Thoughts for today
Whatever begins, also ends.
Seneca
Counting time is not so important as making time count.
James J Walker
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6.9.07 20:26
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There and back again
My journey to and from London yesterday was uneventful. The trains were on time and were less full than usual so I had a seat both ways. I decided to be brave and use the loo before reaching London. The door was massive; if it locked itself shut there would be no opening it. Give me a door with bolt any day. I pressed a button and the door opened but then, when I entered and pressed the inside button to shut it, the door only half shut. That was no use. After my third attempt it shut fully and I hoped it would open again when I wanted to leave. A huge lever by the buttons inside the loo locked the door when pressed down; least that was what a notice by the lever said. Not trusting it, I peed as fast as I could lest I be caught with my pants down. It was a relief to get out of there.
As the train drew into the station at London, I noticed four eager-looking trains with pointy noses standing next to each other facing out of the station. They looked like large snakes waiting in a hole ready to glide out and grab some unsuspecting passing creature. One set off as I watched and I realised their identity; they were Eurostar trains.
Announcements were common. Those on the trains referred to travellers as passengers; at my station they were referred to as customers. Those who boarded trains without a valid ticket were liable to be 'penalty fared'.
While I waited for my car to be serviced on Wednesday I walked past a row of almshouses. A notice on one of them said: 'These Almshouses were erected in 1619 for the habitation and relief of eight poor honest old impotent persons.'. Notices wouldn't be worded like that nowadays.
Thought for today
Let the people think they govern and they will be governed.
William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693
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8.9.07 21:18
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