Life can be a Pain

[Owlunar]

Hi @Former-Member

Wow - the package I am on now runs out in 2019 and that's just over a year ahead - though I don't know when my package will be redundant - I have been getting 5 hours but I doubt that will continue and it will cost a lot more - I have been able to figure that out - but I don't know yet if I will be subsidized and this is unsettling but I have read through all the documents they sent me and I haven't been able to find out much more that is there for a deep reader - time will tell I guess

Right now I think everything is harder because of my knee - I have been wondering when it will either freeze in one position or give way under me - today it froze straight with the phone ringing - and I couldn't get up to answer it - stuck half way out of my chair - egad - at least I had the time because the person left a message

But day after day the story goes on and it's tiring and other stuff happens - something that right now I have no control over and don't know if it will come to pass - just enough said to say - "Darn - what next?" - but it's hours now since I got that news and I am settling down - it helped to have dinner - I am harvesting the greens in my garden now and they taste fan-tast-ic

I doubt that your Mum can spend her whole 4 hours shopping though - it doesn't work that way - the people who take people out and do other personal care are higher qualified than domestic workers - your mum will find she has people who insist on cleaning and oh dear - I will be interested to hear

And of course - what will be will be - but that doesn't mean we will like it - and lately I have had a few too many moments  I don't like - and years - your son can call it complaining but we all need to voice our discontent and I think young people do a lot of that - and why not?

Life does get in the way of my plans though

Dec

Whooooooo

[Former-Member]

Hi @Owlunar, good to see you. I so get what you said:

"I have felt better - there are too many things happening right now that are unsettling and I don't want to talk about things right now - there are times when I am better just sitting with things until my spirits settle" 👍

You are doing so well @Owlunar, and I am proud of the example you set for people like me. In my nursing, and in community, i have seen it, and starting to feel it in myself - ageing is NOT easy, especially when it hurts, and limbs lock up, and people drift away. I'm glad we're here for each other Dec 💜

"Just do the best you can,
that's all we can do" 💐🌼

💜💜💜

[Owlunar]

Hi @Former-Member

For being there and understanding so much - we are very much in the same place in so many ways

Yes - you are right - getting older is no fun - and now when people tell me our age is just a number I tell them to wait until they get here - 

Yes - we do indeed learn as the years pass which is a good thing - and learning to sit with something is not easy but it is better than having it chew me up - I can do the thinking of the whole scenario and wake up in the morning and know - that was not so bad - 

I had a peaceful night - it took me a while to wake up to take some medication for my knee but I didn't go back to sleep this morning and so I am up earlier and I had my coffee and one of my home made cookies - one is enough - I would give you the recipe but there isn't one - I suppose my cookies would be called "Whatever comes out of the oven" and these are not quite sweet enough but so light - 

It's really wonderful to know I set a good example - for you - for anyone - I guess I had to go through all the curly, curvy parts of my life just like everyone else and learned - unlike everyone else - that just sitting and knowing that God is God is enough some days

Companion Cat is aging too - I did not think to write this yesterday but she is not well - she is very thin and I can feel her muscle bulk is less and she seems to need comforting - her weight loss has been an issue for a couple of years now and although she put on weight for a while she is losing it again and I will be taking her to the vet soon - horrible thought but I will not let my Companion Cat suffer if she is in pain and maybe her need for more cuddling lately is just her age or maybe she is sick.

So that is something else to leave with God too - beautiful little cat - I believe she was conceived especially for me and she is 14 now and if she is okay she can still go for years - let's hope so

We are here for each other Lapses - it has been a long time  and we do have a lot to share with each other

Dec

[Former-Member]

You're welcome @Owlunar, we do have much in common.

Glad you "had a peaceful night"

I would love to have one of your "Whatever comes out of the oven" cookies & cuppa with you. 'Light' sounds yum! 👍☺

Sorry Companion Cat is not well 🙀 - poor dear. Muscle mass loss & clingy is what my dog did before he took I'll & was put down a couple months ago, at 15,/sad, but at least it was 'in order of things' (expected) so a bit easier. I got birds as felt so alone that first week.

Like what you said "leave it with God - beautiful little cat - I believe she was conceived especially for me and she is 14 now and if she is okay she can still go for years - let's hope so" I'm hoping but doesn't sound good Dec 💜

I just got home from shop shift, first day back after a month. Was a good shift - boss was friendlier than usual, a bit, but still get nervous around her. Invited to DRI ks after but too tired. Strong pain meds seem to be working, back pain not so bad as expected today thank goodness 🙂

Hugzz

[Owlunar]

Hi @Former-Member

I have made an appointment with the vet for Companion Cat next week - rather than live on a tattered hope let's be definite - maybe she will need to have the blood and urine tests again and see what's happening - 

They - furkids hide their pain but they can be clingy - Companion Cat has been getting onto my lap and meows as if she is wanting something - gets down and runs to the bedroom and returns to my lap and waits with my stroking but gets down and runs to the bedroom - and - and when I finally decide to go to bed she can hardly restrain her delight - change of behaviour - when I talked to the vet's assistant she said maybe Companion Cat had been in a fight and got scared and that could have happenedd - she used to be very territorial and run after strange cats with her belly to the ground - spoiling to attack cats twice her size - no way could I tell her she was a small cat

Still - let God worry about it until next week - I will enjoy my little friend until then

I'm so glad you have stronger pain medication - you need it from what you are saying - and your boss asked you for drinks - wow - she seems friendlier - that's a pleasant surprise

I had my knee xrayed this afternoon - one more step dealt with - I was bulk-billed for the xray but the taxi cost me a bit - ah well - them's the breaks

I love the clip kitties

Dec

[outlander]

@Owlunar how did your appt go?

[Owlunar]

Hi @outlander

The xray went fine - it was a case of turn up and wait - not even long enougn to start a Sudoka Puzzle - and go in and change into my shorts and have the pics taken and change back into my trousers and come home - feeling pretty stiff and sore actually - I wonder how long this knee can last - but I was able to walk up to the shops to get some eggs for scambled eggs for tea - which was enough - I have making scrambled eggs down to a fine art

You did well last night - I read what was happening - it was pretty late - and everyone was so supportive I am still singing collective praises

After reading through tons of paperwork and pages of website information I have found how much the Federal Government charges are for an Aged Care Package - sufficient to say a lot - 

This is what I called changes for changes sake - I am still wondering what I will get out of it - I still don't know that and they certainly don't make it easy with the huge amount of info given and I am the kind of person who negotiates these things easily - it makes me wonder a whole lot about people who can't and that is true of many older people

@outlander@Former-Member@Bunniekins@Shaz51

[Former-Member]

Hugzz @Owlunar, 💜💜💜

Hiya @outlander 👍💜💜💜

[outlander]

Hiya @Former-Member 💞 how are you ?

@Owlunar im.glad your appt went well and wanst too much of a long wait. In and out is always good.
Scrambled eggs are aweome. French toast is my fave though.

And your care package im glad your finding out a few things which i hope is easing tour4 mind abit but i can still hear youve got some doubts or curiosities should i say

Hugs @Owlunar ❣

[Owlunar]

Hi @outlander@Former-Member@Bunniekins@Shaz51

I got the results of the xray yesterday and all they can see is a small narrowing of the space between the main bones in my knee and seems insignificant so this is a good thing - maybe all I need is an arthroscopy - it has been some week and I feel okay about mentioning all the stuff happening one after another this week

My knee - making an appointment with the surgeon and having xrays that feel hopeful - that is an on-going thing

The Age Care Package - I spoke to my worker yesterday and she wants me to ring up to see if I have to pay the full cost of the package - I am tired of all of this - there is a massive amount of contradicting reading matter in the paper I have here and then on-line - AND I am literate to a high degree and wonder a whole lot about many other people older people who are not so well in tune with on-line life to begin with - but still - at the end of another week I still have large areas of ignorance about how this new package will affect me

Companion Cat is still not well and I have an appointment with the vet next week and this is disturbing - Companion Cat - btw - not her real name either - has been my friend for a long time and I will not let her suffer either - so yes - this is a bother and I will be glad to know one way or the other - 

What I havn't mentioned - my pain specialist is not available and may be retiring and I have to make an appointment to see another doctor and I am not at all happy with this - and my GP thinks it's ridiculous that she should be on holidays without her patients being told if she is returning or not - and I agree with that and I do have a pain specialist in the private system I know so first - next week - I have to make an appointment with a doctor I don't know and I also know from what I have read here that many of you know seeing a new doctor can be a moveable feast and this is really hard for us all

And - one of the women who has been my domestic help once a fortnight has become so hard to cope with I have had to have her blocked from working here - she has a lot of problems which is okay but she talks at me and if I offer a solution or suggestion I get the "Yes but" thing where I know I am not being listened to - and yes - I have been listening to her for years now and often feeling ear-battered when she has left - on Wednesday I got a phonecall that she had decided - for whatever reason - not to come less than 15 minutes before I expected here and this was not good - I felt relieved she was not coming - and after I have had discussions with my case worker and the roster co-ordinator about there in the past few weeks and I really hate it that this happened - but as I often say - we need to care for ourselves first and as hard as this can be we do need to keep certain people out of our lives

And while I was writing the last paragraph I had a knock on my door - someone wanting to leave magazines - I know who they are and it is so hard for them to take the hint - ahhhhh - that is the least of my concerns

But what a week - I feel as if I have had stuff coming at me one thing after another and I am glad other people here have spoken of such weeks or the timing of events themselves and I know I am not alone - this has been what I might call a really tough week

Thanks for being there everyone - I am okay - I just feel kinda shell-shocked and the most concerning thing is Companion Cat and I love her so much - that has to be dealt with first

Dec