Dipping my toes back in the water

Well it turned out I was AWOL for a bit longer than I intended.

I was having (and might still be having for all I know) some serious concerns about life on the interwebs and privacy issues and putting too much out there cos you just never know who might find you. But, oh boy, I missed it. I would compose blogposts in my head as I went to sleep promising myself I would write something the next day but the next day would come and ... meh.

Anyway, here I am. Granted, I still have to hit that publish button but being here is a start.

So what has happened over the past few months?

I left you with the aunt going into care so I may as well start there. 

She was not long in there when she had (another) fall and fractured her hip which resulted in a transfer to a larger town for surgery then back to the smaller town for some rehab and then back to the care facility. Whilst all this was going I was talking to doctors about treatment and ongoing management. I understand that as Enduring Power of Attorney it was down to me to make decisions on her behalf but I was frustrated when certain doctors wouldn't actually give me advice. Them: "Do you want us to start her back on blood thinners?" Me: "What do you suggest?" Them: "We can't tell you - we can just give you the statistics for and against." That's no bloody help. Then one doctor would say yes, the next no and so it went. Pros and cons for both. I think we ended up with no blood thinners because of the risk of a bleed if she fell. So she developed a DVT which meant ... yup ... back on blood thinners to dissolve it. 

Tuesday of last week I got a call to say she had had another fall and they were transferring her to the local hospital for assessment. Local hospital rang to say fall was not an issue but her "chunky" cough was. Xrays identified a pneumonia so they started her on some IV antiobiotics. It appears that the DVT had flicked off a clot resulting in a pulmonary embolism leading to part of the lung infarcting (dying) which had caused the pneumonia. We discussed options and the doctor was lovely and said that the treatment they were pursuing was adequate and further invasive tests would only prove what they already suspected and cause her considerable distress as she was already very confused. On the Friday morning I received a call to say she wasn't responding to treatment, her lungs were filling with fluid and her heart was failing. We made the decision to move to end of life care. I told those who were local and able to visit her so they could go and say their goodbyes.

Four hours later one of her close friends rang me to say she had just died. She had two very dear friends with her holding her hands and she was laughing and joking with them 10 minutes before she died. What a way to go - faster than expected, pain free and surrounded by love. Everything she would have wished for.

Over the Easter school holidays we had One and his lot down AND Three and Alice (not at the same time - don't think I could quite handle that!). Mrs Three was with Sally in the US on some dance trip. Alice has been asking when it was going to be her turn to have a holiday in Lakes by herself so I went and picked her up so that on the morning her mum and big sister left, she got to wave goodbye from my car as she went on her own holiday. Not the same as LA but she had fun.

One and his lot enjoyed themselves and are coming down for the King's birthday long weekend. They bring their French bulldog who gets on so well with our two that Murphy pines for her when she goes home! I'll try and get a photo of the three of them together.

The wegovy has done what it was meant to do. I have lost over 20kgs (about 45lbs for non metric folk) and while I can't really see it (body dysmorphia related to a lifetime of eating disorder) I have had to buy a whole lot of new winter clothes and have dropped from a size 20 to a size 14 so I guess something has worked. The best bit? Being able to go out for a meal and not worry about what I am eating (see eating disorder!!) but just enjoy the experience and stop when I've had enough. Like this prawn and hot honey pizza - 

A few weeks ago this amazing cloud formation appeared around sunset. I have no idea what causes it but it looked like the antarctic had drifted north. It only lasted for a few minutes so I was thrilled to be able to see it and capture it.

I think another thing that has kept me away from blogging is the awful things that are happening in the world. When I get overwhelmed with things I can't control I tend to double down and just focus on my small corner of the world. Lots to keep me busy here and I don't have to think about politics, war, and all the other bullshit.

I just keep paddling along.

Think I might hit that publish button!