New challenges

 Can't believe this is my first on 2021, and it's March already. 

This time last year I was in Glasgow for a meeting which was disrupted by an urgent HIS  staff meet in Edinburgh to announce home working and the release of clinical support to the coal face. And we're in lockdown a year later, all be it, with a slight respite at the end of the summer to allow us to move the COVID (or covis) around the country/world. Second COVID jab later this week, so should be well protected fairly soon. Unfortunately we won't be binning the face masks quite yet.....need more data. 

So far this year, Nicky Gumbel has been getting me through each day with BIOY app playing in my ears on the evening Bracken walk. Bracken is on daily omeprazole, but still sometimes doesn't want his breakfast or dinner. No idea what's going on with him but he's been well checked out and isn't losing weight, so I think he's just being a bracken.

Mother is also on a similar drug regime and doesn't want to eat her dinner, but she just picks it up and puts it down the toilet! She probably is losing weight, almost as fast as her memory. Things are pretty grim these days, and she has started to worry about not being able to do routine things such as switching off the TV or the kitchen heater (and in fairness she sometimes leaves it on overnight). At least she seems to have accepted some care in the mornings which gives us an extra pair of eyes on potential problems, and takes Elspeth out of the bath schedule. "What day is it?" has become the standard mantra, repeated at least 3 times during a visit, and mixed with "Can ....... take me out?" (fill in a random name of your choice). It must be tough being in the house all day, but then it's been tough for everyone this past 12 months. I guess being able to go to work has never been so stressful, and I've never been more thankful of having work to go to. "Give us this day our daily bread" has become so real in my appreciation of being able to go to work and earn our keep, whatever the challenges. Mum hasn't fallen for a couple of weeks so that's a good thing, although she was a bit knocked off by her first COVID jab, so I'm not looking forward to her second one (next week). 

More soon. I'm tired.