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2008 - February 1st - Friday

JH received a newspaper cutting from Kathy about a lady receiving a kidney from her sister, and then several years later from her brother – who had been too young to make the first donation.  JH also filed a report from the Herald (23rd January) about a record number – 57 – transplants being done at Derriford in the past year.


 

2008 - February 2nd - Saturday

JH went to a Family History Event at Plymouth Central Library.  Although JH’s ancestry goes back to the Dutch Huguenots, who sailed across to East Anglia in the 18th Century, JH thought she would attend one of the talks on the subject – down in her present place of residence since 1965!  

A gentleman from the British Library talked about the India Office Records which had been inputted into an electronic database; when the audience was asked for a name to search for, JH put forward the surname ‘Harkwick’, because she owns a traveller’s chest with that name engraved on a plaque on the top, but there were no Harkwicks to be found; another gentleman asked about the surname ‘Gillespie’, and his relative – on the records for the 1940s, before Indian Independence – was easily found.  In the evening on her own computer, JH found three Hipseys in the India Office Records – Alfred, Lucelia, and Sylvia Hipsey!  On examining the Family Tree, JH discovered that Sylvia Tewes had been at two of the Hipsey Millennium Reunions which JH had also attended.  JH left a couple of messages on Kathy’s Call Minder.  Note: JH subsequently read a snippet in The Essex Family Historian Number 126, December 2007, about the British Library’s Database.

2008 - February 5th - Tuesday

JH and Kathy had long chat on phone about, JH’s FU at RLH, Ann and Walter staying in London, meeting everyone in the Good Samaritan, and then JH visiting the Skinners.  JH initially phoned Kathy on her mobile in the middle of the morning.  Kathy sounded exhausted and said that she was going to leave her lesson (query IT, at her Leisure Centre) early as she thought she would not keep going.  Kathy finally spoke to JH, after she had had 3 hours sleep and so felt much better.  

Kathy carefully wrote down all the dates of Ann and Walter’s visit to stay in a holiday flat near Lancaster Gate: Friday 25 April until Friday 2 May 2008 {JH had an exchange of emails with the Elfleins about all these arrangements}.  JH will contact Ray and ask if JH could have the FU appointment with the Surgeons at RLH a few weeks early, ie, on Thursday 1st May;  and JH will book one night’s stay at JHH on the day before, April 30th; Kathy, Ralph, Ann and Walter, would all meet with JH at the Good Samaritan for lunch.

Kathy told JH that both her mother, and maternal aunt, had dreadful osteoporosis – the latter had been ‘doubled over’ – which JH sincerely hopes doesn’t happen to Kathy.  Kathy said that she does 4 lengths in the swim pool (no longer PC to call it a swimming pool) at her Leisure Centre.  Although JH recollected being told by Kathy and Ralph that they had been on antidepressants, they had stopped taking them some time peri-operatively; however Kathy said that, now, she had been put back on a small dose – so this was probably adding to her feeling of being tired all the time; JH is not sure if Ralph is back on an antidepressant as well.  There was also some concern about Kathy’s blood pressure going up, and so she was on the appropriate medication; perhaps the affects of this medication was adding to her tiredness as well.

Kathy appeared to be getting a bit ‘fed up’ with going hither and thither to see clinicians: she has been seeing Dr Moro-Azuela at Southend Hospital, but had also seen Dr Rafterty at the RLH yesterday, 5th February; she was given another appointment for the 20th February but, today, she had received a phone call requesting her to attend for an appointment earlier than 20th - to have her blood tests checked.

JH and Kathy told each other what was going on with their lives: Kathy is going to Pat and Ed’s (ie, brother Edwin, not someone called ‘Edward’ as JH thought) to celebrate their daughter Debbie’s 40th birthday (which was actually on 23rd January); JH explained that she was reading Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion so that she could loan it to Siân at Recorders that evening – Siân being a committed Christian [with no implication that JH’s other ‘musical’ friends are unpleasant Heathens].  Action: JH said that she would be back in touch with Kathy after JH had arranged the rendezvous in London with everyone .


 
 
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