Tuesday, 10 August 2010

Hospital news

RED LETTER DAY................

My Darling Brother in Law has come home from hospital

Thanks to everyone in the great National Health service and all my dear friends for your prayers and encouragement..

Remember always to: Love one another...

more news later


Friday, 6 August 2010

Visits and visiting

Good Evening Friends,
Sorry for long silence however things have been fairly busy this end and really not that much news to report...First my darling Brother In Law is still in hospital after various ups and downs...He has been on a special antibiotic this week and thankfully it is working and today I have to say was the first day that he has been looking better and indeed was almost like his own self, laughing and teasing..Probably I know the results of the antibiotics working and the correct dose of painkillers....however it was just a delight to see him. We are hoping that he will be home by Tuesday. but will not get our hopes up to high as we have thought he might be home various days this week. everything is on hand and planned for his return home. A special hospital type bed was delivered this morning and our local Dr. and nurses are all primed to care for him and my dear Sister...So please just keep praying that we have the strength to keep going in the days to come. My niece Beth has come home to stay with her Mum, and Dad when he gets home. (She lives in Bristol and should be away to France on holiday with Max and Alex but has insisted that they go and of course they will be keeping in touch daily.) what a wonder to live in such an age that although many miles away we can be so close..
I have had visitors these last two weeks. Week one saw an old friend, the Father of one of the children I baby sat for some 48 years ago !! he is now very deaf and almost blind. He always tries to come down from Edinburgh once a year however the last time he was due to visit was the time that Jacqueline died (for new friends, Jacqueline was my Goddaughter Sarah and John's eldest daughter she died very suddenly and unexpectedly at age 47) then last year he discovered he was going blind but he did manage this years visit. He had only been gone over the weekend when another friend arrived from Edinburgh. Sheila and I have known each other for around 45 years. It has been lovely having her as she is a very easy visitor and just settles in so well. I have been visiting the hospital most days so we have not gone perhaps as far as we might have but she has just delighted in being in our lovely village.. I have also set her to work whilst she has been here !! she has re planted the window boxes as the dry weather has left the plants sadly dried up...also re did Mary's raised bed for her. Last night we three went out to dinner and as it was such a lovely evening we went for a little drive afterwords...Sheila has only visited here once before so the countryside around is all new to her. we went on roads that even I had never driven on before, taking little narrow lanes no wider than 8ft they were so little used that the grass was growing up the middle...I was praying that no car was coming the other way or someone.....who might it have been?? would have had to reverse a long long way !! thankfully all was well. Although a bit scary at times. when we were nearly home we passed a field full of rabbits and round a corner were delighted to see roe deer... Tomorrow I am having another visitor this time only for the day. It is the lady who lived here before Mum and I moved in 17 years ago..we have only met a couple of times since then as she now lives up in the Lake District, we will have so ouch to chat about and I will have so much to show her that has changed...Thankfully Sheila is still here so she will be helping me with the entertainment and getting the food ready. We went this morning to Chippenham and bought salad things also some strawberries that I will make into a pudding !!
Keep happy friends, and always remember to LOVE ONE ANOTHER,

Sunday, 25 July 2010

Chippenham market

AT LAST...

Click to play this Smilebox slideshowhttp://smilebox.com/snap/4d5467774f5445304f54633d0d0a.jpg


Enjoy.... I hope

Chppenham Market



Good Evening Friends, tonight I thought I would take you with Mary and I on a walk around our nearest Market town called Chippenham. It lies aprox 7 miles west of us here in Box and is where we mostly go to do local shopping as it is easier to park there than it is in Bath. About three weeks ago the usual Saturday market was moved from the very top of the town down into the centre and the main road through town pedestrianised. It gives the market much more space and seems to have much improved everyones view of it. I hope that gradually it will grow to include many more stalls. I don't think it will cause much hardship to the shops in fact it may even bring them more cutomers. So here we go....
Well sorry that was a failure !!
I was trying to put the pictures under the text but first one appeared above and the second one above that !! not what I wanted at all. I always seem to have had this problem....anyway I will perhaps do a smilebox and add that.
We are still enjoying some lovely summer weather and whenever I can I am sitting out on our deck just enjoying the feel of the sun on my face. I do hope that you have been able to do so as well.
Thank you all very much for all the kind words, prayers and e.mails regarding my dear Brother in law John. We did get news on Friday and although it was not all together unexpected it was still very hard when we heard the Dr. say that unforunately there were very few options available. The one that might have been was sessions of chemo. this was discussed however John and Sarah agreed that they would much rather live every day of the life they have left together in as good health as possible and if John had chosen Chemo it might have given him a couple of more months but at what cost... We now just want him home as soon as possible. He will have to have the external drain out and replace it with one internally and we hope that they will do that this week as soon as possible and then we can get him home.
As I write this I am looking out of the window and can see three hot air balloons slowly drifting overhead. They look so beautiful and colourful. There is a red one a black and white striped one and a blue one with white bands round it. Having been up in one of these beautiful balloons I can just imagine how exciting it will be for "them up there"...wish it were me !!
Goodnight God Bless. and always remember to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
(Sorry even my smilebox has let me down tonight so I will have to try another time)


Wednesday, 21 July 2010

News and non news !!

Good Morning Friends,
Another glorious morning here in Wiltshire. We have been so blessed with our Summer this year, after what seemed like a never ending winter and very short cold spring !!
There is not a lot of news from this end so this is really just a short update as all of you have been so kind in E mailing and phoning to ask for news of John and Sarah. I have not been giving updates as really we are in a kind of a void at the moment it is just a waiting game. Last Friday John had an external drain put in and that is still there. It has certainly helped to reduce both the itch and the jaundice so that alone is an improvement. He has had some trouble in so far as his blood count dropped just before they put in the drain so he had 3 units given overnight and then again on Sunday night.l Monday they did another 'scope and it showed he had a bleed in is lower intestine which they have managed to stop.. so fingers crossed that has sorted that out. When we saw him yesterday he was much brighter and had been out f bed all day so we felt happier ourselves. Our next news should come on Friday after a meeting of the senior Drs. Regionally which is held in Bristol. They hopefully will be able to tell us what will be able to be done next.
Other than visiting hospital almost every day I have not been doing very much at all.... Mary and I did do a wee visit to Chippenham our nearest Market Town. It was again a lovely day and it was nice just to wander around. Mary treated herself to a new mobile phone ( I had treated myself to one the week before) Good old Peter to the rescue as he set them up for us. Unfortunately since then neither of us have been able to get a signal. I have e mailed Vodaphone to ask for help but none has come so far....It works perfectly well anywhere else but here in Box ! Mary especially needs one to work here as if she has a fall when out and no one around she can always call for help...so we are not very happy with Vadaphone....at one time it was only that provider that we could get a signal from and we have been happy with them for a long time...
Today is Wednesday and we have a bible study this morning....not that it should be called that, as since our minister left us on our own, we continue to meet we should rename it the chat show !! with Christian content !!!! I seem to have been elected leader and it sure aint one my "forte" !! If the weather remains as it is at the moment I think I will "walk" up the village for a change, I always usually use the car !! I am having a day off visiting John, Sarah's friend is taking her this afternoon and my other sister Margaret and a friend are visiting this evening.
So that's it from this end for now. Take care everyone...Thank you all for prayers. It does help to feel everyone so near.
LOVE ONE ANOTHER....

Sunday, 11 July 2010

Good and not so good news

Well friends here I am for the second time. My last attempt this morning, after I had checked it etc., decided to fly away into thin air...so I am now hoping that this will go in the right direction.
We have been having such wonderful weather these last three weeks here in Box, it is amazing to think we have actually had summer time this year.......

Well at the end of my last posting I was saying that Mary had a birthday coming up the following week, and as usual birthdays won't wait...So on Monday June 28th my friend Pam came over from Bath and took us out for lunch. we went to a new place in Chippenham a very nice pub where we had good attention and an excellent meal. Tuesday her Official 64th.birthday we went out for another lunch to the Chinese, again we went to a new place to us, it was very good although we didn't think it had as much atmosphere as the one we usually go to. Wednesday we didn't actually go out, Mary brought down a lovely piece of quiche for us. We have a new shop in the village that is serving sandwiches, tea coffee etc. one can either eat in or take away. by the taste of the quiche she should do very well. Thursday once again she was out for a lunch this time with some friends that she meets at a coffee morning....well come Friday it just didn't seem right for me to start cooking !! so out we went once more...So you can imagine we have had a good week and probably put on a few pounds to boot !!!

After that great week I am afraid things went rather downhill. You will have remembered that in my last posting I said that my dear Brother in Law John had jaundice and it was suspected that he might have Hepatitis, well, he was taken into hospital on Tuesday after it was decided he did not have hepatitis and they needed to do further tests...Unfortunately on Thursday we were told that he had cancer of the pancreas it is one of the cancers that is very difficult to detect and equally difficult to treat. At the moment he is waiting to have an external drain put in that would relieve the itch and the jaundice and once that has remained in for a couple of days they may be able to replace it with one internally, then we would expect he can come home. Meanwhile I drive Sarah to hospital twice a day, it is funny that neither of my sisters have ever learnt to drive. I love driving so it is a pleasure for me to be able to go into Bath.....just stop me I say ....when she feels I should be getting tired !
So there we are friends a letter of good and bad news. It would be nice if those of you believe in prayer could keep us in mind...
Always remember to Love one Another..

Saturday, 3 July 2010

4th July



With love to you all for a happy peaceful perfect