Sunday, October 27, 2019

It was a bit of strange week I dare say!

Goodafternoon everybody!

Our weather is still not really bad, although now it is changing and probably getting a bit colder later this week. There was some rain, but most annoying was the wind, which was at times stormy.
However it stills seems nice enough for some blooms to persevere, LOL.

The week started kind of well, Jan was doing fine, and I was happy about it, of course.
He even felt so well that he even tried a little outing to the market(he went there by tram) and had a nice stroll there. I think he did a bit too much, because he still has to be careful because of the wound(more the inside than outside, because that looks good).
That was on Wednesday, and at the same time i went to city centre to do some almost last Christmas shopping, which was rather succesfull. I was back home late afternoon and I felt my legs, pfffff!!
That evening I already saw that there was something not fine with Jan, nothing to really worry about, but he wasn;t feeling 100%.
I thought may be that it was because of his walk, that was a bit too long and straining perhaps.
Next morning he felt worse, he thought he might have strained a muscle the other day that caused the pain he felt.
Well, I went for a quick grocery shopping and coming home asked how Jan was. But I already saw it wasn;t very good and he told me the pain he had was more in the area of the kidney. Okay, I didn;t want to wait longer and because our doctor was mjust that week on holiday, I straight away called emergency from the hospital and asked what to do. I explained about Jan, that he he this surgery not long ago and with his medical background I worried too much to wait for a doctor. They said we could come over right away.
So we took a taxi and there the whole circus of tests and waiting started again.
After several hours also a number one doctor came by to examen Jan and wanted some more photo's and an echo too.
By that time jan had a painkiller, because he really had severe pains. That helped a bit. But it seemed Jan's pain and cause of it was a great mystery to the doctors, yes really!.
They didn;t know what to do, so at the end(we were there from 02.00 p.m. to 11.30 p.m., can you believe it?) they said there was no direct cause of medical urgence to keep him there, so we could go home. The pain was a bit less by the time, but still Jan wasn;t feeling really great.
Good we went home and hoped for the best. (they gave us however the advice, that if it came back or got worse or whatever we could come straight away to the emergency again).
Finally Jan did get some sleep during the night and next morning the pain was about 90% less and during the Friday vanished as in a miracle!
And nothing more during the weekend. so we were as much puzzled by it as the doctors!!! Perhaps all together Jan was perhaps right that it was a strained muscle or perhaps a nerve and by the painkiller he got it got "unlocked " again.
who knows????
We just hope this was the last of it and that we dont have to go back to emergency for a very long time!

I probably was so full of adreanaline from that long day in the hospital and all, that I got a burst of energy on Friday and did a lot of housekeeping jobs LOL!
I did a laundry, I made a soup for the evening, I cleaned the floor of the kitchen, cleaned the toilet, oh, vacuumed cleaned the house, and then I though it was enough and I sat down and almost didn;t move anymore the rest of the afternoon and evening, hahaha.

And so I ordered myself to keep it very easy on Saturday and also today, to reload myself again to have a good start on Monday again.
Yesterday evening I enjoyed watching the Strictly come Dancing on the BBC again. The couples that remain now are really getting fantastic and the show of yesterday was wonderful, it was the Halloween-special. Oh, I aways love the costumes and decors, the people responsible for that are real artists!

I am also looking around for a new laptop, I hope to find one next month without too much trouble. It will cost me a bit more money, but i decided I better buy a complete new one this time.  A new one will hopefully last a bit longer than a second hand one. And of course Jan also needs one with with the Windows 10. I still don;t know if we will buy the official windows 10 program and put it over the windows 7 on his laptop, or just buy a new one too. Or may be we can find a good second hand with windows 10 for a nice price.
That will be the project for next month, among other things.

I also made a very quick visit to heidi and her hubby Danny this week, just to see how he was doing after his operation. Happy to say, that went well and he just has to recover now. It will not take all too long.

Good, I don;t think  have more to ramble about today, so I better finish this post.
Time to have a cup of tea and sit down some more(LOL), and later I will have to hang out the food for our birds, some apple pieces for the parakeets and also some small portions of peanuts in a little net, and of course some seed for the sparrows and tits(but also the parakeets like it, the raskals!).
And sometimes, when I look out of the window,  suddenly see a little mouse, enjoying some of the seed the birds spread around. He is so cute. And he stays cute as long as he stays outside!

I wish you all a wonderful week to come, to you who celebrate Halloween: stay calm and have lots of fun, and to all of you, stay safe and healthy, please.
Till next week!

Sunday, October 20, 2019

All is going well till now!

Goodafternoon everybody!

We´ve had some colder weather, quite some rain, still all together not so bad for the time of year. And I saw on the weather report that next week we might even reach temperatures around 17C, with almost no wind and quite some periods with sunshine! That would be good, because then it would be much more agreable for Jan to go out.
And he has to, to gain some condition and to get his muscles working again, and it also is good for the bloodcirculation. specially in his underleg and feet.

Last Tuesday Jan's brother Rob, came by to do some little jobs in the house.
He would come around 1 o'clock p.m., because first he had to buy a ramp for the shower in a shop not far from our house.
I had the idea, that when Rob would be busy, I could go out to do some shopping or whatever. The day before Jan and I already prepaired as much as possible the tools and such so Rob (or Jan ) could start working without loosing much time searching for things.
But..... it ended in me helping Rob with some of the jobs LOL!
Well, obvious Jan couldnl't do that(he isn;t yet allowed to lift things or sit on his knees, bending too much etc).
So I helped Rob in holding things in it's place, getting the right screws, and more. But.... lots of the things needed, were done. Most important was the ramp in the showerIspecially for Jan at the moment). Then there was needed a kiind of shelf in the kitchen on the place where we had the dishwasher. Now we just need to find a small cupboard, that will fit there.
And there was needed a new piece of wood on the kitchen door outside. Actually we should replace that door, but for the moment this is good enough( a new door could be rather expensive!). Now it needs a coat of paint and it will do fine for the winter.
well, it sounds all not much but it takes all time to do. I am glad Rob could help us with the jobs.
After my not intended help in carpenting and so, hahahaha, I was happy to sit down in the evening on the couch and I went to bed earlier than usual!

This week Heidi's husband had to go to hospital for an operation on Thursday, not all too serious, he only had to stay over for one night and came home again Friday afternoon.
The Friday morning Jan and I went to hospital in the morning to have his staples removed. Well, that went sooooo quick, all the visit and removing didn;t last more than about 15 minutes! Gosh, never thought it would go that quick, because normally there always is a waiting time for the appointment. Not this time.
The cicatrice looked well, and has no need of an adhesive plaster anymore.
The nurse only put on some small pieces of plaster, just to kind of strengthen the adhesion.
Jan still will have to carry cummerbund(is this the right word) for about 4 more weeks. At least during the day, he can remove it in the evening when he doesn;t move too much anymore and during the night.
And then we'll have to wait for about 3 months, when he will have his next appointment with an echo.

This week Jan planted even some more bulbs in containers. He did sit down on a little stool, and the containmers where at about the same hight, so it was something he could do, although slowly and careful.
Now hoping we will have three of four containers next spring with a selection of tulips and one container has daffodils. 

So all together with some grocerie shopping and a market visit for some fruit and cheese and veggies, it was a filled week. And yesterday I finally made us again a Boeuf Parmentier(kind of Sheperds Pie), because now I could prepare it and heat it up in the oven, yeah!!!
we had it yesterday evening for dinner with a bit of salad and for desert I made us the first stew pears of the year again. It all tasted really good and I have an easy task today for dinner. Yes, you might have guessed, we have the Boeuf Parmentier again and the stew pears. Wonderful, LOL.

Hmmmm, I think it is time I get myself a cup of tea(or may be a coffee. I don;t know yet), I am getting thirsty a bit.
I hope you all will have a wonderful week to come, with not too bad weather and lots of moments you can smile about.
stay safe and healthy!

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Slowly coming into sort of normal rythm again

Good afternoon everybody!

So far, so good. as you know Jan came home Saturday a week ago and till now, it seems to go rather well.
Of course he cannot do much, has to be careful not to put much strain or strength on his belly.
But he seems not to have lot of pain of the wound, only if he has to sit down or come up, that sort of thing, or reach for a mug on the table, he has to do that carefully and slow and then he feels it.
He has an elastic bandage around the waist and belly, to give more support there and he still have to use that for some more time. Only in the evening he takes it off, when it really starts to bother.
Last wednesday we both went to out doctor across the street and Jan could walk that distance without much trouble. We went there to get our flu shot.
Gosh, I think the doctor hit perhaps a muscle in the arm or so, because the place where i had the injection, still is hurting when I touch it or lie on it.
I will tell him to do better next time LOL!

Then Thursday morning we had to go to hospital for a control appointment for Jan with the surgeon. Oh my, we pensionados aren+t used anymore to get up very early, you know and we hadn to be there at 8.30 p.m. so get our of bed at about 07.00 p.m. to be able to get dressed and have a cup of tea and such not in a hurry. We went with the tram, yes, lucky Jan could sit sduring the ride, and then he walked all the way from the tramstop to the hospital and the the department. Quite a distance for him now, but it went well.
Wound looked good, we only have to put on an adhesive plaster every two days, as long as there is some wound fluid. Today it already was almost dry, so to be sure, I put on another adhesive plaster.
Coming Friday we will have to go to hospital again, to have the staples removed)yes, first time they closed the wound with thread, second time with staples too). Hope that goes without too much problems, and then, when all goes well, Jan has to return after 3 months for a control. Then they will make again an echo to see if all hold well and works okay.

It is a pity, that the weatherr isn;t really good now, it isn't really cold, but we have wind and lots of rainshowers, so not the best condition for Jan to go out and try to have a little walk. It would be good for him to do it, and build up again some condition. It doesn;t matter if it is colder, but at least it should be dry, if possible with a bit of sunshine and not so much wind.
However today, the temperatures were realy nice, around 19-20C so Jan did a little of work in the garden(with my supervising eye and help for lifting things!!!).
He placed some flower bulbs in two different containers, cleaned out a few smaller pots with plants that were finished, and after half an hour he he enough of it. He was a bit tired and I understood him completely.
Still it was a start and he has to build up from this to more.

This week his brother came for a visit and Jan asked him if he could help with some smal jobs in the house, that at the moment Jan cannot do(and me neither). That was no problem. so he will come on Tuesday to do it.
Most important thing is a handrail in our shower! It is a lot safer, when you can hold yourself and also for stepping in and out.
Specially now for Jan, but also in future. And there is some carpenter work to do also for Rob(Jan's brother).
And I want to ask him to come by another time, perhaps next week, to do some jobs in the garden. There is a bush, that has to go, but for me it is far to heavy to dig it out, here is needed some manpower, really.
And there are some smaller jobs to do in the garden that are also for me at the moment too straining and difficult. So I would be happy with the help of Rob.

That;s about it for this week, we both slowly come to a sort of relaxing and catching up some sleep. And I am happy with that.
Thanks all for your thoughts and prayers lately!
stay safe and healthy as much as possible, and till next week!

Sunday, October 06, 2019

Another hectic week!

Good afternoon everybody!

Weather here at the moment, rainy, windy and not very warm.
during next week temperatures could rise again a little bit up to 14-15 C, and with a bit more sunshine. It definately is getting into Autumn weather.

Well, you know about Jan having to go to hospital. (thanks to everyone with good well wishes!).A little as a surprise he could go home again last Wednesday. The wound looked good, almost dry, so medical wise it was okay to go home the doctor said. I wasn;t all too happy about it, though it might be just a wee buit too soon, but nothing to do about it.
It went rather well Wednesday evening, next day too. of course Jan feels the wound when moving, and he is very tired, but he had something to eat several times(little portions to start with), he has to regain strength again.
Thursday evening we had small dinner, and then when just finished around 18.00 a.m. Jan looked at his dressing gown and it had at several places a very strange color and it felt wet.
So we looked further and at the wound with adhesive plaster and that was all red and tearing it off at the bottom of it blood. Oh dear, the wound was leaking!
First I dried it as much as I could but it kept leaking. I could the hospital first, and they said well, come over to us. But How? I have no car and I wasn't sure if a taxi driver would take us, but they wouldn;t send an ambulance.
All stressed up I called my friend Heidi and asked if her husband Danny could bring us to hospital. In 15 minutes they were there and off to hospital ER.
(I had a sheet of plastic I layed over the seats in the car).
To make it short, Heidi stayed with me till about 19.45, then she had to go, because she had to go somewhere with her daughter.
It all took till 1.30 at night till Jan finally was brought to a ward! He was completely worn out, but I was too!
Next morning they operated him again, and it seemed that in "stitching him together, they missed a little part, that opened again caused a hematome and that started leaking. How nice!
After operation I went to hospital at about 1.30 a.m., and Jan was already awake(well, more or less LOL). We wanted to know if he had to stay for another night, of course, it took till 7.20 a.m. that a doctor decided it was better he stayed another night.
Yesterday he could come home, after still long waiting for the decision! we were home at about 18.00 a.m.
Hopefully now it will all go well and heal as it should do etc.
The worst of all is the endless waiting you have to do before you get any results or answers. I know, it is very busy in a hospital, and the doctors have many patients, but there must be a possibility to cut the waiting times? I think it does no good to the patient as well as relatives. Very stressing.

But okay, we are home again. Jan cannot move around a lot, of course and has to be careful not to put too much pressure on his belly.
So this morning I helped him to take a shower, I felt better to be next to him, to avoid any problems.
He tries to do as much as possible himself, but I don;t want him to move around too much yet( he has to move every now and then, but by little bits), so I am very busy with all those little things, like bringing him something to drink, helping him to put his socks on,making him a sandwich, and lots more things you normally don;t do. Rather time consuming, but it will only be for some days and then he already will be able to do a bit more himself.
As long as he heals well, it is all okay for me!

You can imagine I didn't have much time to do anything else this week, than gooing to and from hospital, and actually running around like a headless chicken ROFL!. It wasn;t one of the best weeks of the year, I can tell you that.

Now I will finish the post, hopefully next week there will be some lighter news to tell. I have a luandry turning in the washing machine, that is almost ready. I will hang that out, then I will have a little time to sit down to watch some tv or do a little game on the computer and then I will have to make us some dinner. Time is running out very fast today.
Have a wonderful week to come, stay safe and healthy.