It”s been a long time since I last posted, sorry. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather and I’ve had another spell in hospital. I’ve been feeling short of breath and generally weak and fatigued. Last Monday 18th it was bad enough that I had to call the ambulance again, around midday.

This time, not being a cardiac case, I had to join the queue in the entry. I had to wait three hours on the stretcher and having only had a banana for brekky, it was a bit uncomfortable. About 7pm (?) they took me for a chest X-ray and the diagnosis was CCF, Congestive Cardiac Failure. It’s the buildup of fluid in the lungs, hence the shortness of breath, and around the heart, hence the weakness since the heart can’t pump as well. No cure, only diuretic medication to make me piss the fluid out. It’s Frusemide, pretty common I think. I’ve been on it before, about ten years ago, but I had to stop due to too much dizziness and another effect. I’ll just have to try it and see this time. OK so far.

I was in the hospital for five days and I confess I found it comfortable enough that I didn’t want to leave. I enjoyed interacting with the nurses and doctors and having three meals a day served up, with a free glass of wine if you ask nicely. The only drawback is carrots! Bloody hell, I reckon they’ve got a pipeline to a carrot farm. Everything comes with carrots. There are no potatoes or onions, just carrots. They must think I’m Bugs Bunny.

I had a good chat about another thing that’s been bothering me, and had an ulcer on my right heel looked at and dressed. Then I got a taxi home on Friday. Actually, I was going to use an Uber, and was quoted $30.70 on the phone when I rang to book, sitting in a wheelchair at the main exit, but the woman was in the Philipines or somewhere and when I looked up, I saw taxis waiting at a rank only 15m away, so I cancelled the Uber. But the taxi ride cost me $45! Crumbs, it’ll be Uber next time.

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I’m feeling very weak and wobbly these days. My legs have lost all their strength, so much that I have trouble standing at the kitchen bench and in the shower. I can do it, but my knees sometimes buckle. I haven’t fallen, thank goodness, but only because I’m very careful.

It’s making me have second thoughts about the possibility of needing to go into a nursisng home. I don’t know much about it but I’ll know more next Tuesday when a lady from Amana Living is coming to talk to me about “respite care”. My impression, and I might have a completely wrong idea, is that I might be going to stay in an Amana Living village for a month to see how I like it. That would be nice, I think, but who pays for it? I’ll know more next Tuesday.