This morning I fell.

Both my legs and arms were spasming. I managed to hold on to the support rail in the showers, but after l came out,I fell and that was it.

Our wonderful House Manager came to see if she could help, but no. So we called for the falls Response Service and they got me up with this wonderful machine.

Later I decided to do my washing and went down to the Laundry Room. Once my first wash was on its last spin, I felt somewhat tired and was delighted to accept the offer of one of the residents to take me up to bed and do my washings for me.

She has put the sweater in the tumble dryer, so the result will be interesting...
It looks as though, with a bit of luck, my new desk arrives on Monday, with the old one being removed on the same day. Hold your breath

Before I bring you Christmas Greetings....

Yesterday evening I went to the bridge club with my partner and before long started to feel cold and shivery and that my brain was not working properly. However I survived to the end and got home.

I am not quite clear what happened after that but at one point two nice paramedics came and got me up.

After some time I found myself on the floor again and no matter how I struggled I could not get up. Eventually the careline staff called my sister and she and her partner came at about 4am and picked me up and tucked me up in bed.

After a good sleep, I feel pretty well fine today and am now staying with TBSITW and Le Chef until Saturday when we go to visit best brother and extended family.

TBSITW and Falls Response

I may not have mentioned it, but recently "Mammouth" - the planter in the shape of a wooly mammoth looked very ill and had to go into 'hospital' with TBSITW; it turned out that the plant holder bit was lined with polythene and so it started to fill up with water causing the azaleas to rot.

She has now lined it with moss from a near by forest and filled it with pansies. It is good to see it looking in better health. Miss Pig - representing my sister - is very healthy; the fuschia is still flowering and the ivy for hair is getting longer.

We managed a good chat before she had to leave for a visit to the dentist.

Shortly after she left a lady from the County Falls Response Team came to assess me for a pendant alarm. We had a good chat and talked about all the aspects of my falls. She is going to report back and let me know what the decision is, but doesn't hold out much hope because of the level of pull cord alarms in the flat.

Alarums and Excursions

The house manager came to see me this morning to say that I do not qualify for the County Falls Service pendant alarm as there are already so many pull cords, one in every room (and a push button one in the bathroom). We both agree that it is a pity when it is a better use of resources than having an ambulance and 2 trained staff (so far it has always been a paramedic and an ambulance technician), but we have done our collective best, so that is that.

I am arranging to return the pendant alarm that I have been wearing (well, sometimes - it is sitting beside the monitor just now, and if I turn round I can reach the pull cord). As I think I have said, it was a big disappointment that it did not go through to the same call centre as the pull cords - the people there are very familiar with the way things operate here.

Other than that I have been struggling with a book that my daughter loaned me. It is called The Puppet Master by Ian Gosling.

It is his first novel, and the biographical bit at the beginning does not say by what route he came to writing this. It reminds me of more than one television series, and indeed, could have been written with the idea of a television series as his aim.

Still, I don't like giving up so I shall struggle on.