Thursday 27th March 2008

This week was a rather busy week being mainly taken up with visits to Tarragal House, as Mum has not been too well; and tidying up the gardens at home.

I did fit in a game of golf on Sunday - playing with Ray & Norma Presdee. They were good company & we had fun with some good highlights throughout the day including a 'nearly hole in one' by Norma. Other than that the Easter weekend was rather quite & being nice weather for the most of it I found it very relaxing out in the garden which is much happier for the attention it has got over the last week. The rain has been fantastic for all the plants but has also created a minefield of weeds that have had to be removed and hedges to be trimmed.

I made it to golf presentation on Tuesday & caught up with everyone there & updated the golfers blog. Our September Tasmania golf trip is well on the way with deposits starting to come in & the itinerary locked in. The October China trip is going well also with only a few more places to fill.

Today was a highlight of the week with Mum getting fitted with her new hearing aids.
I have attached a photo of Mum and Louise from the Telex Hearing Centre. Louise fitted the aids for Mum today & it was such a thrill to see Mum's eyes light up when she could hear us speaking through the microphone directly into her earphones.

It has been such a long time since Mum has been able to hear much at all. The old hearing aids were not much use to her so this new system will be such a huge help for us to communicate with her. Now she will be able to hear what the nurses and doctors are saying to her & I am sure she will be much happier for being able to understand what is going on around her. It has been worth missing a few games of golf to see the results.

I am going out to Tarragal House tomorrow morning to make sure the staff know how to use the new microphone system & also to check that Mum is comfortable with it as well. Another technology marvel to the rescue.

Images attached: With Norma & Ray Presdee at golf on Sunday; Mum & Louise testing the new hearing aids.

Thursday 20th March 2008

This week was filled with mainly visits with Mum at Tarragal House. Sunday morning Mum was much better and was able to have good conversation. By the afternoon when Graham & Anne visited her she was starting to fade & was very tired. Monday Mum was back in bed & not feeling all that well.

Tuesday after golf presentation I went out to Tarragal House to meet the hearing specialist so that she could test Mum's hearing. She was a lovely girl & was more than helpful in assisting us get Mum some new hearing aids which she needs so much. The test revealed that Mum's hearing was much worse than her previous test & proved her old hearing aids were not of any use to her.

Peter was playing golf in the Super Seniors Pennant side for Gosford & came home victorious although overall the Gosford side got beaten.

Tuesday evening Lyn & Richard arrived & we also had a surprise visit from Andrew who has returned from visiting friends & family in Sydney & Newcastle. We all went to the Golf Club on Tuesday night as we had a Members information meeting to attend.
Andrew stayed the night as he wanted to see Mum again in the morning.

Wednesday Lyn, Andrew & I went to Tarragal House to see Mum & they had her isolated in her room as it appeared that she may have the gastro bug back again. That meant that we had to wear gowns & masks when we entered her room. Mum was very tired and could only manage a small amount of conversation before going back to sleep.

Peter played golf again today so Richard, Lyn & I walked Andrew to the railway to see him onto the train home to Armidale where he is currently living.

The Hearing specialist rang to say that Mum's new hearing device will be ready to be fitted next Thursday. I was very happy to learn that they were able to get it through the system so quickly.

Lyn & I went back to Tarragal House in the afternoon, Richard went to Erina Shopping centre to get a new camera. We were back home in time to cook up the good old baked dinner. Shane & Sam and Rod & Anne joined us for a family night. They are all going camping together for the Easter weekend at Anna Bay.

This morning Lyn & I went to visit Mum at Tarragal House & found her out in the rose garden in her "tub chair" enjoying the fresh air & getting a break out of her room where she has been isolated for the last week. She is still far from well but enjoyed the foot massage that Lyn gave her. We spent a couple of hours there keeping Mum company and helping her with her lunch before we had to come home for lunch as Lyn & Richard were heading back this afternoon to their caravan which they have at Diamond Beach. They wanted to beat the traffic exiting Sydney & the central Coast later in the afternoon.

Images attached: some flowers for Mum from the flowering gum tree at Butch & Anne's farm; The family, arrived for dinner on Wednesday night; Lyn giving Mum a foot massage this morning at Tarragal House.

Sunday 16th March 2008

Last week was a rather bad week for Mum as she was effected by a gastro bug that was raging through the Nursing Home. The wing that Mum lives in was closed down to visitors & is still closed now. Luckily Phil & Kerry were allowed in to see her as they had come such a long way from Moree. Andrew was back on Friday night to stay with us, Pete arrived home from his week of golf at Nelsons Bay also. Andrew kept him company watching the footie match on TV Friday night.

On Saturday morning I took Andrew with me to visit Mum. She was still in a very tired state but not in any pain or discomfort. She was able to have a bit of time with Andrew before going back to sleep.

Before golf today we took a quick visit to Tarragal House to see how Mum was coping & she was sitting up in her "tub" chair, all showered & dressed - just finished breakfast & was feeling much better. We had a really good conversation with her & it was so good to see her looking & feeling much brighter. She seems to be through the other side of the Gastro bug - however the wing is still closed down & we have to wear masks, gowns etc when we enter.

Golf today was a Las Vegas Ambrose & we had a lot of fun playing with George & Vicki Foster. We thought we had played reasonably well as a team, especially on the back nine, but it was not good enough on the day to win a trophy. It was a beautiful day for golf & we had an enjoyable day.

Images attached: With our playing partners George & Vicki Foster at the first tee; Flowers for Mum from Dale, Barry & Andrew.

Thursday 13th March 2008

What a huge week this has been. What I thought would be a lovely peaceful week with Peter away golfing turned out to be absolutely full on for more reasons than one.

Monday I spent pottering in the garden enjoying the sunshine & peace.
That night I got some phone calls to say that my nephew Andrew & Phil & Kerry were coming to see Mum, Andrew on Tuesday & Phil & Kerry Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.
Meanwhile I have been following up on reaching all my Golf China travellers to tell them about a discount offer - so lots of emails & phone calls.


Tuesday morning I spent at Tarragal House instead of playing golf because I thought I had made an appointment for Mum's hearing test for that day. After being there for 3 hours waiting I finally rang up to find that the appointment was for next week - not this week. Mum seemed to be recovering from her virus infection & I had found her in her "tub" chair outside in the BBQ area enjoying the nice weather.

In the afternoon I called in for the presentation of the Tuesday Golf Comp day so that I could update the Golfers Blog. More emails & phone calls about the Golf China trip.

Wednesday was quite a different story. Tarragal House had closed all the wings because a gastro virus had broken out. Unfortunately it was the South Wing that Mum was in that was suffering from the outbreak & Mum was one of them. I drove out to Tarragal House & I asked if Phil & Kerry would be able to visit as they had come all the way from Moree just to see Mum & were arriving that afternoon. They said they could come in only with protective masks & gowns etc. Mum was quite unwell so I decided to wait until Phil & Kerry arrived before going to see her.

I picked a big bunch of roses from my garden & headed to Gosford at lunch time. I had organised a lunch at "Tails" restaurant at Gosford with my dear friends Heather Hollier & Lorraine Lepore. The occasion being to celebrate Heather's birthday.
We had a lovely lunch chatting away until Heather & Lorraine had to go back to work.

After Phil & Kerry arrived we decided as Mum was so sick that we would leave our visit until Thursday morning. Instead we decided a quite family night at home would be appropriate. Butch and Anne came from Sydney & we had the good old baked dinner & a family bonding session. We had a mini wedding anniversary celebration for me (minus Peter).

Today - Thursday morning I played golf as it was a special team day to celebrate St Patricks Day. We all had to wear green and the trophies (being Irish Day) were awarded last to first. My team was very proud that we won the prize for last on the day - winning on a countback.

While I was a golf Phil & Kerry went to see Mum at Tarragal House & checked out the Erina Shopping Centre.

Thursday afternoon I caught up with my Golf China paperwork, emails & phone calls. Then we went out to see Mum again. We had to put on the gowns & masks & wash out hands in special cream. Mum recognised us but was very washed out & tired.

We decided that dinner at the RSL club would be a good thing to do on the way home to finish off the day.

Images attached : My golf team Lesley Gregory & Nerida Hancock with our "Winning" wooden spoon trophies presented to us by Yvonne Wilson who donated all the trophies for the day; with Nerida & Lesley at the first tee; Lorraine & Heather at Heather's birthday lunch; Phil & Kerry masked & gowned at Tarragal House prior to visiting Mum today.

Sunday 9th March 2008

This week was a mixture of events. I have spent a lot of time at Tarragal House with Mum as she has been miserable with a virus. The earlier part of the week she was suffering from an infected throat, now the virus has moved to her chest so the staff are sitting Mum in a "tub chair" which is a very nifty invention to help the elderly stay comfortably in an upright position to prevent respiritary problems.
The "Tub Chair" is very comfortable & soft and it can be wheeled outside into the garden on a nice day. Mum is as comfortable as she can be given the circumstances.

I had my first lesson in playing "500" (card game) during the week so that I can be up to speed by the time we go to the Gold Coast for a week of golf in July.
I am not a card player so progress could be slow to start with. The group we are going with are keen card players so I could be the fly in the ointment.

The itinerary for the Tasmania week of golf was finalised at a meeting with Golf China this week so we are off & running with that.

It is our 42nd wedding anniversary next Wednesday. Pete is off today with a group from the Gosford Golf club for a week of golf at Nelsons Bay (as one does). A bunch of roses & dinner at "Arie's" last night was in advance and a peace offering for not being here for the event.

Ken is home from hospital after his operation & is on the mend. We visited him yesterday and inspected his "zipper" which is healing beautifully. If he looks after himself he should be good as new in a couple of months.

Images attached: Mum in her "tub chair" at Tarragal House yesterday; my anniversary roses.

Tuesday 4th March 2008

Another busy week with heaps of activities: to the movies to see "The Bucket List" (good show); to the footie at Bluetongue Stadium Saturday night to see the Rabbitoes flog the sharks; dinner at the Leagues Club; worked a couple of days on the golf club practice putting green gardens; played golf on Sunday; dinner at Sam & Shane's on Monday; played golf today (Tuesday); had multiple visits to Mum at Tarragal House; after golf today - another visit to Mum & then to Royal North Shore Hospital to visit our friend Ken Gardiner who is recovering from a serious operation -so a pretty full day.

3rd of March 10 years ago was the day we lost our Greg so it was a heavy heart day yesterday.

Mum has not had the best of weeks so I have been spending extra time at Tarragal House. Today she seemed a little better - but is getting very weak & tired.

Images attached: With Sam & Shane - dinner at their home; with my golfing partners today - Pam Witt & Priscilla Webster; with our golfing partners on Sunday - Ron & Lyn Puiatti; the golf club putting green garden area.