Pre-Covid and lockdown I don’t suppose it would have been a week of note at all but in this seriously diminished life we are leading it’s been........quite a week.
Firstly I broke a tooth. I was horrified because I knew it meant contacting the dentist. And of anywhere to go the dentist seems to me to be one of the most risky because the Dentist has to get so close to do what he needs to do. But it’s not causing me serious pain and it’s not affecting my sleep and my eating so it’s not considered an emergency and they can’t do anything until the 26th of April.
Then my dear friend started coughing up blood on Friday. She was worried enough to phone the doctor right away. The doctor wanted to send her to the hospital for an urgent chest x-ray but she’s only recently had a CT scan. So they told her they would phone her back. They asked to come into the surgery for an examination. I offered to walk down there with her and to my surprise she accepted. So I knew she was worried. We were a little early so we waited outside the surgery leaning against the railings. A lady came out of the surgery and started to talk to my friend. I thought that they knew each other but that was not the case. To my mind she was much too close. So I moved a little further away. Then I realised my friend was thinking exactly the same thing and she quite pointedly put a face mask on but the woman was undeterred. I could see my friend edging away. And then as the woman took her leave she actually touched my friend! She wasn’t a young woman, possibly older than either of us. And I suppose there’s a part of me that’s not surprised when I consider statistics and how ignorant and unaware people are of how this virus spreads.
My friend was in and out very quickly. And the diagnosis was an infection and she’s on antibiotics. My friend has been taking lateral flow tests twice a week. They’ve all come back as negative. But the doctor insisted she take a “proper” Covid test! That’s because the lateral flow tests aren’t always accurate! So what’s the point then? I found it doubly ironic as from Friday all households can have their own lateral flow Covid tests. I sent off for mine. They arrived on Saturday. My friend had her test and it’s come back negative. However they still are insisting she goes for a chest x-ray which she’s having tomorrow.
On the way back we went into a............. supermarket! My friend said she wanted some things. I wasn’t going to go in. I was going to wait outside. But then something in me said, give it a try. So I masked up, wiped down my wire basket with the wipes and sanitiser they had at the doorway and because the store has nice wide aisles it was relatively easy to social distance. It wasn’t a sensible shop. I didn’t know what I wanted but I grabbed a large pack of strawberries and some other random items. It reminded me of the last time I shopped in a supermarket before lockdown where I bought the most ridiculous things in a kind of weird panic.
I have used one of my home tests already. That’s because my tonsil has flared up again. I got scared it might be Covid. It’s quite alarming this time because not only is the tonsil all red and inflamed but there is a huge lump, all yellow and white on it. So I had to phone the surgery again. Another phone consultation with the nurse. No one actually looked at it. They’ve shoved me on antibiotics again. I was worried it would put my scan in jeopardy but the nurse said keep the appointment because they’re hard to come by. I’m not in a very good place, mentally. Some of the discomfort has eased today but I find I’m really croaky so maybe some of the gunk has run down my throat and is affecting my larynx.I hope it heals soon.
In other news Ryan the Window Cleaner came last week. I’ve given his number to a couple of my walking friends. One of them had got in touch with him and given him a gutter clearing job. He was very pleased and grateful to me for recommending him.
Shops, gyms, hairdressers, pubs, and other places as well I’m sure, all opening from Monday. I shan’t be going anywhere near. Despite having had the jab I’ve not a lot of confidence in other people.
I had an interesting conversation on Saturday morning. One of the regular walkers, who has an 18 month old sheep dog called Tex, stopped to chat as she often does. It turns out she’s a gardener by trade. I asked her if she was taking on new clients and her face kind of wrinkled up so I thought oh it’s no good. But she explained that she is and she isn’t. Since she’s had the dog she doesn’t like to leave him for more than a couple of hours at a stretch so she’s quite selective about who she works for. But what she likes to do is work and garden alongside people. She said particularly for older people who might be finding it hard to manage their gardens, she does the donkey work and they potter about doing what they like. It sounded very good to me. So we’ve exchanged numbers and if I find the garden hard going I know that there’s someone I can call on. She is called Amanda. I told her she could bring Tex. She can garden and I’ll play with him! I didn’t even ask how much she charges. Somehow it seems immaterial. I didn’t get the feeling that she is a sort of person that would fleece me.
My other walking friend, Sue, has gone down to Somerset for a week. She and her partner, Ian, have bubbled since people were allowed to bubble so it’s more or less within the guidelines. Together they’ve bought a lodge on a holiday let site and they’ve got to go and prepare it for people to come and stay in. They are going to use it themselves but they are hoping that they if let it out to renters that will pay for some of the costs. Interestingly enough it’s not far from the village of Netherstowe which is where my ancestors come from.
I had my scan yesterday. My friend gave me a lift for which I was very grateful as I wouldn’t have relished having to get a taxi. It was a health care centre the other side of town. I’ve never heard of it to be honest. I didn’t even know it was there. But I was quite happy to go somewhere other than the hospital. It’s a very modern building and it was beautifully airy and spacey so there was no social distancing problems at all. The receptionist was very welcoming and I was seen ahead of my appointment time which, given how full my bladder was after drinking a whole litre in one go, was good news indeed. In fact I was complimented on the fullness of my bladder! Apparently it makes it easier to see all the organs if they can do the scan over a full bladder. They couldn’t find any anomalies anywhere. So that’s an absolute relief. It doesn’t explain the problems I’m having but as it doesn’t seem to be cancer, from the scan, that has to be good news.
The knitting lady has been at it again with another lovely yarn bomb.
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