Saturday, February 27, 2010

Mothers and meds dont mix!

OK so im sure we are all familiar with opening a packet of medication, be it asprin or prescription. Which ever end you open it from, the clever little leaflet inside somehow manages to be at the end you open it from, blocking your route from your awaiting pain relief, high, or treatment for that "itch"

So what do you do? Grab it, pull it out of the way, and munch your pills. (90% of the population will NEVER read one of these leaflets). But you are missing out, missing out on worry, wonder and concern about what those pills might just do to you. Have a quick scan over it and you will see words like "sores", "rashes", "tiredness" and so on spread throughout the page.

Side effects is what I am on about, if you had not already gathered. The expression "suck 'em and see" is quite apt when it comes to the average persons approach to medication. You are ill, you need help, the doctor says try these, so you give it a go. Personally I am one to give it a go, and see how things work out. Sadly my mother, due to her recent ill health and massive increase in drug intake has taken to reading EVERYTHING... The box, the leaflet and anything else she can get her hands on.

She has COPD, which for those not in the know is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, aka she cant breathe very well. This is actually an umbrella condition which covers a wide range of conditions causing respitory issues. However this mixed with an obsession of reading and worrying about side effects of meds is a leathal cocktail.

As with most medications, over the counter and prescription, a lot of hers highlight they can cause respitory issues, which of course is not helpful with COPD. The focus needs to be on "could" though, and not the WILL that she insists it means. Therefore ANY drug she is prescribed for anything that mentions breathing, is binned!

Currently as of today, she has decided that due to a bad night breathing last night, all 4 drugs she was recently prescribed are no good, and she will not be taking them any longer. Ignoring the fact that its taken 5 days of taking them to decide this. So due to this now, she will no longer be treating other conditions she has, and her health will again deteriorate.

As someone who has spent a good few years popping pills for all sorts of ailements, I can confirm that modern medicine is a bloody amazing thing, and deserves praise, not doubt. So it is very frustrating for me to see her shun all the help that is on offer, due to a simple obsession with POSSIBLE side effects. Will she return to the doctor and tell him the problems she has found.... Of course not, she will just plod on and get iller again.

Its a vicious circle, that is getting ever tighter.

A positive start to the weekend.

Well the post just arrived, and in it came 2 letters for me.
Both very small and simple documents, containing just a couple of pages, but hopefully both having a positive effect on my state of mind, and state of existance.

The first, was a the assignment of tenancy papers, for me to apply to have the house put into my name, which will hopefully secure me somewhere to live when the day arrives that mum is no longer with us. I hope thats a long way off, but its nice to put her mind at rest, while being able to concentrate on other things too.

The second was a partial settlement cheque from my employers insurers. Its not all done and dusted yet, there are still other things to be sorted out, such as loss of earnings and expenses. So I was suprised to receive a partial payment like this.

The upside of the partial payment is I can settle some long term debts now, and hopefully move on with my life in certain aspects. Looking fowards and no longer backwards, planning and plotting my future.

So all in all, this has been a game changing day for me. Now I just need to grasp the bull by both horns and do something positive about it all (which I actually already am if the truth be known.)

Friday, February 26, 2010

An update for the day.

Well, after the most irritating journey home I have had in a long time, made worse by having an right indicator that kept turning on (not good in rush-hour traffic) the day has taken a somewhat unexpected turn...... for the better!

On getting home I opened my email client, to check an email address I dont use on my Blackberry. I was hoping for a response from the physio re missing payments, and sure enough *BING* in it popped.
To my suprise we were all in agreement that the payments HAVE been made, and that there is no outstanding payment to be made. On replying to this email and thanking them for their time following it up, I received a call from my old physio to discuss it further.

So all is well that ends well, we are still friends, I am not in debt for a huge sum of money to them, and hopefully I can now follow this up with my solicitor and get reimbursed for the full out of pocket expenses incurred for physio to my shoulder.
Although something tells me that without an amended invoice, the solicitor will still only try and claim back the actual money spent, and not that showing as owed. I will have to follow this up tomorrow I guess.

*memo to self, email solicitor in the morning

So thank you to the physio for their honesty, my apologies for suggesting it was a scam of some sort, and heres to getting another step closer to getting this whole legal circus rounded up!

Have a good weekend.

Highs and lows.

Its always the way with life, a rollercoaster of emotions and luck, with lots of hidden twists, bends and drops along the way.
A few days of high spirits is sure to be followed by a big drop at some point. As they say what goes up must come down. About the only thing we can control in any sort of way is how fast and how far we drop.

Today for example, from flying high, feeling that things are going right, progress is being made, and im actually getting somewhere with all the trials and tribulations of life..... And a small blow.
First thing this morning I was told by my old physiotherapist that they feel I owe them over £400 for treatment I have not paid for. Unfortunatly our records disagree.

Rule #1, always get receipts for ANY paid service you take on. In this case I was stupid enough to build up a "friendship" with the place, and didnt get receipts for the cash I was handing over. With the whole legal matter with work, I am currently claiming for the physio I received, and on asking for a total invoice, was told of the outstanding sum.

This put a downer on the day to say the least, so I am currently trying to discuss the matter amicably. If the sum is really outstanding, I am left suprised that the matter was not chased up sooner, as the last treatment was almost 2 years ago now. I am however confident that I am up to date, and this is a mistake or a scam.

It also has a knock on effect to the amount of my cash I spent, that I can claim back through the legal process I am currently going through with my employer, which will leave me out of pocket by many hundreds of pounds... Not happy!

In other news....

The rest of the day has gone pretty well, and it is after all Friday, so 2 days to recharge the batteries and get ready for battle with the world for another week afterwards.
Being back blogging is a life saver for me, I feel better with each line I write, regardless of if anyone else is reading it or not.
So the weekend, lots of time with the dogs, trying to get my affairs in order, and allthe legal bits that need writing and actioning dealt with.
Hopefully I will find some time tomorrow for some swatting up and getting my mind back in gear to learn what I need to, and pass the required tests in time.

Right, enough waffling, im off. Have a great weekend.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Here we are again....

Day 2 of staying positive about things, and getting to grips with the challenges that lay ahead. So an update so far.

Today I heard from my solicitor regarding my case with my employer, to discuss figures, and get some further information to get the whole matter tied up and dealt with once and for all. Fingers crossed with the latest information, the whole matter will be closed and finished by the summer.

In other news....
I have today decided its time to rebuild bridges, and make new paths to follow, so have been reaching out in all directions to try and make amends for anything I know needs addressing. Debts, broken friendships, and other ignored or forgotten matters that really require some attention.
Part of the whole dealing with life thing I guess.

I have also started looking into funeral arrangements too. A little premature I know, but I want to make sure that all mums wishes are taken care of when the day arrives.

On a stranger note, just as a tag for the day, to remind me what was going on today. In world news a big story was that Shamu (one of the orca's at Seaworld) killed a trainer last night. 3rd person.

Right thats me for now, might be back later with a round-up of how the day ended.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

OK so here it is, Day 1

Not entirely sure where to start but let's give it a go.
Let's get up to speed first shall we... This could take a while.

So 2 years ago, almost to the day, mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. Due to her opinion of treatment for it the outlook was bleak. After a lot of pressure from me she decided to give chemo and radiotherapy a go. In fairness she went to hell and back with side effects from it, and I would not ask her to do that again.

Somewhere between then and no I dropped the ball a bit. Maybe it was stopping blogging? All the while I blogged I stayed on top of what I needed to be doing and kept it in mind what was happening, but for a while I seemed to have forgotton she was terminally ill.

Sadly in recent days she has admitted that the lumps are back and causing her pain. In typical fashion she left it almost 2 months before telling me about it, almost it try and let it take hold first.

So here we are today. Today I have spent the day speaking with the housing people on mums behalf to ensure I have somewhere to live when the day comes, on her request as its worrying her. So hopefully that is all sorted out now.
I have some other bleak things to do too, like planning for after she passes etc, but one step at a time. Dealing with this today was enough for now.

Right, I think that's enough for now, phew!

Where is this heading...

If you have not read a blog by me, here is my old blog and what to expect from this space.

http://michaelsnasdell.spaces.live.com/

My first blog (here anyway)

My my, its been a while since I last wrote any form of blog, and time has flown by. But as usual at times of great need, if in doubt......SHOUT.

So here I am.Its been a pretty smooth journey for the last year, a few surgeries, time off work, and the usual trials and tribulations of life, but nothing too drastic.Unfortunatly the whole cancer thing has taken hold again with mum, and I guess this will be the main focus of my blogging, so I apologise in advance if the entries are a little depressing to say the least.

I will try and keep things upbeat too.Right, thats me for the time being, just got to get this thing all set up now, and running from my Blackberry, and then I will be a happy man.
Thanks for reading, come back soon.