Little Tweaks That Upset...

Little Tweaks That Upset...

1) Removing the keys from the Key Safe in the porch by the front door. With no carers having to let themselves in, there is no longer any need for the keys to be available.

2) When she was in hospital, we made a "hot box," cutting down a medium sized cardboard box to just the right size to take the plate for Mum's dinner. It worked a treat; her food stayed piping hot when I got it up to the ward. It was such a shame she wasn't able to eat properly anymore, and what she was eating, clearly wasn't getting through to do her much good, which is why we went on to Complan, and tried to persuade Mum to have some of that. Now we have no further need for a "hot box" -  home-made or not - I took out the newspapers lining it, and disposed of it.

3) Taking Mum's unused medicines back to the Pharmacy at Tesco: The Pharmacist asked who the pills had been prescribed for, and everyone in the Pharmacy was very upset to hear it was Mum who had died. After so many years of dispensing pills for her on a monthly basis, they had got to know and recognise Mum's name; everyone knew about her.

4) Not putting on the Thunderball numbers for Mum's lottery flutter every week. As each ticket was printed, I used to check every one for her, and then I'd say to the lady at the Customer Services counter at Tesco, "There! That's our good deed for the week!" Mum would only do Thunderball; she thought the lottery charging £2.00 a ticket was far too much, but Thunderball, at £1.00 a line, was fair enough.

5) Mum's glide-about commode: one of the lovely carers who used to look after Mum rang up, to say there was one client they were caring for, who had no commode, and would it be possible for them to have Mum's? It was lovely we could help and presently two carers came to collect it - a problem solved in double quick time, for someone in need. At least I feel Mum's equipment hasn't just been thrown away, but is being put to more good use.

6) Within a few days of Mum's passing, I also gave our carers the rest of Mum's pads. I had ordered so many of the large-sized "tabbed" pads, which Mum had needed when she was all swollen with the oedema, and we had a large stock of them; but when she came back home from hospital, all the swelling had gone, so they no longer fitted her. They were now miles too big, and she was back using the smallest size we had. I did not want to return the large pads to DriLine, (a wonderfully helpful company that has proved so efficient and helpful all these years in providing pads and inco sheets), especially as they had already kindly done one switch for us, swapping medium sized pads for the large ones!

7) It wasn't so long ago that Mum was still in the habit of tearing up catalogues, in-store magazines and holiday brochures; we could never work out why she was doing it! but it seemed to keep her happy and occupied, and she certainly filled up a few plastic bags with all the strips. We had a cardboard box to keep a supply of magazines for her, but in the three or four weeks before she died, she had lost interest in tearing up paper, and we had a lot left. It made me feel sad seeing all the magazines just sitting there on the table, and eventually I did dispose of them in an orange bag, but it brought home one more little "minus" of all the things we used to think about doing for Mum.

Although it still causes me sorrow to remember it was such a short time ago that Mum still needed all these things: the key safe, help with her Thunderball flutter, her medication, the glider, and the pads, I feel much happier donating practical things to benefit people who have nothing at all; there is a great comfort in that.