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2006 - July 18th - Tuesday

JH phoned Dr Denton’s Secretary and actually spoke to Linda, Dr Denton’s Nephrology Secretary: in any event, Linda was most helpful and said that she would ask Dr Denton to give me a ring – as she knew he was around the Unit.  Subsequently, Dr Denton did phone: JH explained the upshot of her visit to see Dr Thuraisingham in the RLH; she said that, in particular, her B/P had been raised, and that Kathy had asked JH (when on the phone) about whether JH had started taking her blood pressure tablets: Dr Denton’s reply was, of course, that JH should get her B/P checked BEFORE starting tablets!  Dr Denton could not quite recollect JH [and didn’t have the notes] but he asked for reminders about whom Kathy was, and did remember that JH was expected to lose weight; JH said that she had lost a stone since the appointment with Dr Denton in April.


 

JH also asked about us both having the operations performed at Derriford: Dr Denton confirmed that he would expect Kathy to stay a month in the West Country – should surgery be performed in Plymouth.  JH undertook to dash off to get B/P checked at the GP Surgery.

JH had her B/P checked by Practice Nurse in the afternoon: 135/80 – perfectly normal.  JH also picked up some leaflets about heat exhaustion and heat stroke as JH had observed that the advice being put out in the media about surviving in the present heatwave did not include the advice to also eat something with a few ‘electrolytes’ in - such as a packet of crisps.  [JH also bought two ‘partying’ hippos from the Woodside Charity Shop close to her Dr’s Surgery, and two plastic containers with lids from the Ford hardware shop to put in the attic.]

At some point, JH had a conversation with Anne Dunk on the phone:  Anne said that, when her husband, Bill, had gone abroad to a conference in USA, at one point everyone began to feel ill.  Bill was of the opinion that this was because they were being given deionised water to drink (I suppose this Physicist would say that, wouldn’t he) and suggested mixing rehydration fluid to the following recipe: one tablespoonful of glucose and one teaspoonful of salt to a litre of water.  JH updated Donation Document and took a copy, and the booklet, to Su’s.  JH phoned North Devon District Hospital and, subsequently, the Renal Unit at South Moulton - where Kathy has her dialysis when she and Ralph are staying in their time-share accommodation in Croyde Bay - and made a note of the address, etc.

JH phoned Kathy about having our operations done in Plymouth and Kathy did initially say her hopes were raised, but Ralph would not like her to be away in Devon for a month, and where would she stay; the time-share accommodation which they have in North Devon would require another large payment over and above their arrangement to stay there in September.  [Kathy had said to JH, when we met, that she was rather concerned about Ralph ‘always feeling ill’: no doubt this is a sequel of the accident, and Ralph’s diabetes.]

Kathy asked JH if the latter needed her house decorating as Ralph would need to have some work to do – having been unemployed from before Christmas until May and living off Kathy’s pension - they needed some income; JH mentioned that she had just arranged for her maintenance man to come and give an estimate for decorating the outside of the house but, of course, as Ralph’s accident was a fall from a ladder, he would not undertake this work; JH said that she really could not canvas for work for Ralph; JH realised that Kathy had not seen JH’s house and so did not realise that it would be impractical for anyone to try to be doing decorating when two invalids were staying in the house – assuming that JH would offer the Skinners accommodation.  So, although Dr Denton had said that we could have had our operations quicker in Plymouth, this idea was rapidly dropped.  Kathy commented that she had not heard from Edwin in Canada with regards to telling him that JH would not be going to Althorne.


 
 
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