The Work Hospital Life Balance

 

Tuesday 5 August 

On Monday my mum was taken from her care home to King’s Mill Hospital. A few weeks previously she had an infection in her left foot, which had spread to just below her knee the next time I visited, which was around a week later, around a week before being taken to hospital. 

I had authorised the care home to mash the antibiotics into her food, as she wasn’t having them after accusing them of trying to drug her. This was around the time that I had visited at the first time mentioned. 

On Monday she was taken to the hospital, because it had spread so far that the blood had stopped flowing to both legs. 

On the Tuesday we watched epiaodes 2-6 of The Assassin. That was such a great limited series on Amazon Prime. 

When I called the hospital on Tuesday afternoon I found out that my mum had finally been given a bed at the hospital at around 3pm, which was at least 24 hours after the ambulance had taken her there. 

Mum had been to three or four departments prior to putting her into a room on ward 34 at King’s Mill Hospital, where they were still giving her the antibiotics, as well as having an IV with fluids, as she was seriously dehydrated.

They said that she was sleeping and very tired, so I could visit, but going the next day would be better. I arranged to go with my auntie Ann the next day. 

Wednesday 6 August 

I picked up my auntie Ann, and we then went to visit my mum at King’s Mill Hospital. She could barely open her eyes with how out of it she was, and as much as she tried, she couldn’t make any words come out of her mouth. She was forcing her throat to swallow, but her enjoyment at the ice cream we were helping her to eat did make me smile. She was responding with “mmm” sounds. 

Me and Louise watched The Good Life series 2 episodes 6 Home Sweet Home and 7 Gone To Pot. After that we then watched season 3 episodes 1 Early Birds and 2 The Happy Event.  

We watched Criminal Minds Evolution episode 3: Moose. 

Thursday 7 August 

At six minutes past ten in the morning I was contacted by the hospital. The doctor for my mum informed me that she was terminal, and they could do nothing for her, except to try and keep her comfortable. 

I posted up on social media that people needed to visit mum while they could. 

We watched The Good Life season 3 episode 3 A Tug of the Forelock and episode 4 I Talk To The Trees. 

As much as I wanted to keep checking on my mum, I went to work, and cried for most of the night. I could barely get out of the work van without floods of tears. 

I explained to Andy at work what was going on, and he was the only person at work that I was in contact with all night, because he thought it was better that way. 

At the end of the night shift, on the Friday morning, I was putting my stuff away at work, and was embarrassed to lose my composure in front of the operations manager, Wayne, and the tears flowed big time. 

I had contacted my brother James on the Thursday to see if he could make his way to Mansfield train station for one o’clock on Saturday, to which he said he could. 

My brother Richard had visited mum on the Thursday, and said that his youngest daughter Tegan wanted to visit on Sunday. 

Friday 8 August -

I think that I probably got less than four hours sleep, before getting up and ready to go into work again. 

When I arrived at work I found that Rachel, the cleaner, was the only person there, along with her daughter Ruby. I basically got on, but again it was a night shift of sobbing, and Andy ensuring that I wasn’t disturbed by anyone but him. 

I finished early, with Andy grabbing the keys to finish the work that I hadn’t completed, due to my teary outbursts during the night slowing me down. 

Andy took the keys from me at around 4am, and I left the office at around twenty past four instead of finishing at 5.

 Saturday 9 August - 

I got less than five hours sleep, so that I could get up and pick my brother James up at the train station, from which we made our way to the hospital. 

This time the only responses from mum were her pupils moving. We were both chatting about stuff in front of mum, to basically tell her what was happening in James’s life, and my own. 

When we left the hospital I left James at Smyth’s Toys, and I went home to get ready for work. 

Once again it was a night of tears, and Andy being my only port of call. I passed my work sheet to Andy at about five to four in the morning, with barely anything missed. I left work at twenty past four again, and made my way home.