Maureen will complete the final part of her ‘once over’ this morning when she has her blood and water tested. Her GP checked her out yesterday finding her blood pressure was slightly elevated. He also organised a Practice Nurse to swab her troublesome mouth to establish the nature of her infection. She has now been advised to have monthly check ups on her physical health.
Within a week we will have an idea if an infection is behind the recent changes in her presentation. It could be a temporary dip or further deterioration in her condition. Once again I have nothing but praise for the way Clee Medical Centre supported us both yesterday.
We woke early this morning and Maureen decided to get out of bed at 4 am, to make sure she wasn’t late for her blood test. It ‘s difficult for her to grasp that it is a fasting test at 8.15 am as she wants her Tea Boy on duty but I have managed to persuade her that I have not withdrawn my labour and am merely following Doctors Orders.
At 6 am Maureen was livid as ‘thieves have stolen most of her clothes’. As this is ‘my house’ it seems I’m complicit in the felony and am under attack for my part in the crime. My efforts at calming her down failed, so all I left her to rant. I hope she manages to sleep off her diatribe and we make it to the doctors on time. It looks like it’s going to be one of those mornings and this afternoon might really put the cat amongst the pigeons.
At 1 pm Maureen’s Advocate will be here for the first time. She will represent Maureen at the forthcoming Best Interest Meeting where her future care and accommodation will be under the spotlight. It will be interesting to see if Maureen wants to stay in a place where thieves have open access to her belongings. I sincerely hope that she is not distressed even further by confusion about who her allies are in the forthcoming deliberations about her welfare!
I have decided to make a copy of my daily posts available to carers on their arrival. This will give them an inkling of how things have been in the last 24 hours. I will also suggest how they might approach their time with Maureen. In return, I’m also requesting that they provide a brief summary of how their three hours has gone.
I’m getting better at not responding to Maureen when she is being downright objectionable. Last night was a classic: I’d been doing my best to help calm her sore throat and mouth and she challenged me when I woke after a nap with ‘what are you creeping around for’. I wanted to say remember me I’m the guy who brought you ice cream a couple of hours ago to try to reduce the pain in your mouth but I decided to say little and let sleeping dogs lie. This meant leaving all our 
I feel better now I have raised my concerns about the way an assessment of Maureen’s capacity to consent to sex was being handled. It felt uncomfortable that I could be accused of rape if the interviewer established that she didn’t understand the implications of ‘having sex’. My concern was with both the language being used and the intrusion into our married life. Just to clear up any misunderstanding here, in my opinion, married couples don’t need to have sex – they make love. Thankfully, those concerned have belatedly accepted that we are in a loving relationship and feel no need to progress such investigations.
I made a silly mistake yesterday and paid a heavy price. Maureen’s presentation in the afternoon and early evening became as challenging as I have ever experienced. I should have spotted the signals early on when she just couldn’t settle down and said she didn’t know what to do. Unfortunately, I ignored her as I listened to Coventry City’s attempt to prevent the inevitable relegation to Division Two. Then once we were 3-1 down the battle here began to intensify until it became almost unplayable as the evening progressed.
Neuropathy Nightmare 