Peg's back

The good news is that Peg is out of hospital - I had a call this afternoon to say that she would be discharged around 3pm, but that it would depend on availability of an ambulance to transport her. Then just at tea-time I got a call from Good Shepherd to say that she's back.

She seemed quite bright when I saw her at St V's this afternoon, so much better than she was on Friday.

Had a nice lunch with LE today at Rosa's Kitchen (Journal Canteen). So I have come to the end of my lovely four-day weekend - back to work in the morning.

Back in hospital

This morning I had a call from Good Shepherd to say that Mum had been taken to hospital - she had been short of breath and they decided to call an ambulance. They rang a little later to let me know she was in St Vincent's so I went in to see her. 

She was still in emergency so I sat with her for a while. I spoke to a doctor who said he thought she had a chest infection which he was treating with antibiotics; they planned to admit her for two or three days.

I left mid-morning and went back early afternoon. She is fairly bright but understandably not happy to be in hospital. Later in the afternoon another doctor rang me to say that Mum had had a small heart attack (as happened while she was in St George's) and that they would be trying to control her blood pressure which is elevated while she is in hospital; he also thought she would only need to be in for a few days.

Unfortunately it means she'll be spending her 96th birthday in hospital - which is no fun. 

Happy birthday Peg.

Mum, at Christmas

News on Peg

Mum moved into the Good Shepherd nursing home yesterday. It's not a bad place and the staff I've met seem really nice.  Mum's not too happy about it at the moment, but I'm hoping that she will learn the layout and get used to the new routines before too long. 

The best thing is that it's so close and I'll be able to drop in very easily. I ran into B there this morning - he was dropping in to say hi to Mum and said he'll try to visit when he can, which is terrific.

New neighbour

Well, the news is good - Mum will be moving to the Good Shepherd nursing home next to the Convent, just a hop, skip and a jump away. Practically opposite B&P's in fact.

I'm still ploughing through all the paperwork for DVA and have to provide an abbreviated version for the Good Shepherd people; I'll be glad when all that's done and we can just settle down. It will be great to have her so close; so much easier to visit than at East Malvern.

Not much other news as I've been slightly understandably distracted.

A happy new year to everyone (you know who you are). Let's hope 2009 is a little better.

Bad news and good news

The bad news is that while eating lunch on Monday yet another one of my old teeth decided to fall apart leaving a quite sizable piece in my mouth. Of course it's the time of year when self-respecting dentists (including mine) are on holidays - luckily he's back next week (global downturn and all that) so I'm hoping to see him early next week. The last time this happened was during the first week of my last overseas trip - I seem cursed with bad timing.

The good news is that Mum is doing very well; she's still in St George's and is quite chirpy. We're looking for residential care for her and there is a chance of a place. I should know more soon.

Work is very quiet at the moment which is why I don't take leave at this time of year.

Peg report

Mum is still in St George's, Kew and it looks as if she'll be moving to residential care when she is discharged. Unfortunately she can't go home as not only is she still prone to falls, her memory problems mean she probably won't look after herself properly. We're hoping we may be able to get her somewhere near my sister in the country.

Hospital news

Mum is still in hospital but has brightened up considerably. According to the nurse I spoke to today the doctor is suggesting Mum spends some time in rehab (like last time). But after that, what? I suppose it's more "wait and see".

News of Peg

Mum has had a bad week and is currently in the Freemasons' Hospital. She's had some back pain caused by a crushed vertebrae and perhaps because of this had a fall on Friday morning. I got there just as the ambulance crew arrived. They got her up off the floor and after assessing her decided she was OK to stay at home. I stayed on for a while, giving her lunch before I left.

Just before midnight I had a call from her neighbour John saying that she'd had another fall; this time she had managed to remember to press her emergency button. When John called Mum was just being put into the ambulance - he told me that as Cabrini was closed they were taking her to the Epworth.

On Saturday I got up early and headed off to the Epworth. Mum was still in the emergency department, but after a quick visit to the X-ray department she was put into an ambulance and we drove to the Freemasons' where she was admitted.

I dropped in twice today and she's looking much brighter, though she has spent the last two days in bed. The doctor, who I saw yesterday and this morning, was talking about getting her to sit up for a few hours, but it doesn't seem that her passed this on to the nursing staff. Perhaps tomorrow. She's fairly bright, but cross with herself for having the falls and a bit anxious about what will happen to her - as are we.

More news as it happens.

Last night I met up with DG and we went to see Otello at the State Theatre. It's an interesting work and the performance seemed OK, but I don't really think my mind was on it. Although the Willow song was pretty amazing, though whether it was the performance or just because it's a terrific piece of writing I'm not sure.

Working and eating

I've been a bit busy over the past couple of weeks, mostly with work, but also with eating out.

On Wednesday I joined P&B for a wonderful meal at LE's: after an appetizer of white sardines with olives we were served a most delicious spinach cappuccino(!). This was followed by very tasty braised beef cheek and parsley salad and the whole evening was topped off with a spectacular orange mousse. Truly, she is amazing.

The night before LE and I had a quick meal at Birdman eating before heading off to the IMAX cinema to see Batman: The Dark Knight. It turned out to be a bit of fun, with the experience enhanced by the IMAX experience; the aerial shots were breathtaking.

I've also had some lovely meals at P&B's and out with AB and DL.

I took Mum to the doctor's last week and he seemed very happy with her progress. He's happy to go back to seeing her on a quarterly basis.

The end of the season

Last night was the last of a month long festival of opera that P&B and I have been lucky enough to enjoy. It began with the performance of Gagliano's Dafne at the Woodend Festival and included Through the Looking Glass, The Marriage of Figaro, The Children's Bach and finished last night with a concert performance of Beethoven's Fidelio at Melba Hall last night.

The hall was a bit small for the amount of noise produced but it was a real treat to hear this wonderful score again. Overall the performance was excellent; it wasn't without a few glitches in the orchestral playing but the singers, while sometimes swamped in the noise, acquitted themselves admirably.

Last night's performance was the climax of a great day for me as after shopping we'd had a very tasty brunch at The Commoner. In the afternoon Tat took me to Preston where I spent too much money on an HD TV that's probably too big but it does amply replace my poor old warhorse. Later I met P&B at an art gallery and the three of us had a delicous pre-opera meal at Birdman Eating before heading off to Melba Hall.

This morning I went to Mum's for lunch - she's keeping well. I cooked her lunch and did a bit of cleaning up around the place for her.

More on Mum

Mum was moved from Cabrini on Wednesday to the Elsternwick Private Hospital where she is receiving physiotherapy for rehabilitation. She's expected to be there for about a fortnight after which she may, if approved, finally go back to her cosy little home.

I visited her this afternoon with my sis and bro-in-law; she is so much better than she was a couple of weeks ago when she went to Cabrini. She greeted us with a lovely smile and seemed quite upbeat about everything - she'd been for a couple of walks already today and was sitting in her chair ready for her afternoon tea.

Other than Mum, everything is going well. Monday's rehearsal went off very well - the choir's second run through of Howell's Take him earth for cherishing went surprisingly well and the rest of the program was well covered, too.

This morning was a Children's Farm market after which, as usual, we visited Vic Gardens before adjourning to B&P's for a tasty lunch of yummy quiches from the market. This afternoon, inspired by Maggie B, I made a loaf of oat and walnut bread - it's delicious, and I suspect not long for this world.

Peg improves

I've visited Mum over the last few days and each time I see her she's noticeably brighter. I think the morphine she was given on Wednesday had an adverse affect on her as she was away with the fairies a bit on Thursday. She's been sitting on a chair beside the bed for a bit as a change from sitting in bed, but she's certainly still got a long way to go.

Things are up in the air at the moment (it's hard to find the right people to talk to) but she'll be assessed tomorrow and most likely moved to a rehabilitation place before spending some time in respite care. What happens after that still remains to be seen.

She's much brighter and more alert now and seemed glad to see us all yesterday, though she's looking forward to leaving hospital.

Yesterday P&B and I shopped in Fitzroy for a change after which I headed over to Cabrini. From there I took the Wattletree Road tram into the Arts Centre where I met up with DG at EQ. We had a delicious meal before heading off to the State Theatre to see Opera Australia's production of Strauss' Arabella. It was a very enjoyable night with Cheryl Barker in the title role and her husband, Peter Coleman-Wright, as Mandryka. The production was intelligent and the whole night very satisfying - I don't understand why this was the first production in Australia.

Another milestone

My mother turned 95 on Monday. She's spending a couple of weeks in the country with my sister as my bro has had to pop into hospital for a minor procedure and won't be able to do her shopping or otherwise help out for a little while. I called today (after missing his call) and, while he's still in a some discomfort, everything seems to be going as expected.

I spoke to Mum on Monday and she sounds as if she's enjoying her little holiday; though she will certainly be glad to get back to her unit before too long.

Sunday was a bit weird as I didn't go to visit her. As it was very hot I went for a walk in Studley Park early before retiring to my cave for most of the day. B came round for pizza in the evening and we drank a quite reasonable cleanskin sparkling shiraz I had found at Coles on Saturday.

Rehearsals continue for concert one; and tomorrow, for those readers who read this blog at strange hours, there is a free lunchtime concert at Scots church in the city. We start at 1pm - don't be late.