Our Caring Community

10 July 2020

I hadn’t been taking good care of myself for a little while, I’d been eating the wrong foods, mainly ‘instant’ microwave meals that didn’t provide a varied diet. I wasn’t exercising enough either, so as a result in March of this year I collapsed. Because my neighbours hadn’t seen or heard anything of me for a while, thankfully they entered my flat but found me collapsed on the floor.

I was rushed into Leicester Royal Infirmary where it was found I had major heart problems along with kidney failure and it was necessary for me to have electric shocks to get my heart rhythm back to normal. Once stabilised I was transferred to the General hospital, where I stayed for a while before being transferred to the Clarendon ward in the Evington Centre, Leicester. There I was found to have the Covid-19 virus and I was later moved to a specialist unit on Lutterworth Road. I was kept in isolation for quite some time but eventually moved to a Care Home in the Braunstone area of Leicester and after two weeks was found to be Covid negative. This meant I was moved again to another Care Home, this time not too far from Oadby where I am likely to stay  until a more permanent place can be found for me to live.

It is a challenge for me though, getting used to the other ‘inmates’ at this place because some have dementia, so are calling out for help or for their mother, etc. There is a fairly strict routine to be followed here, with most folk being put to bed around 9pm and woken in the mornings between 7 and 8am. I have made it clear that I am used to doing as much as I can for myself, thankfully all this has been accepted, but it is taking some getting used to.

For me, all these events have required more than a little acceptance to change in my life. What I have found though is that all the staff, (nurses, carers etc), that I’ve seen in the last few months have been caring and helpful, despite being under great pressure at times. They don’t always get things done as quickly as perhaps some might like, but things do get done.

I give grateful thanks to all those who have kept in touch with me at this difficult time – thank you, one and all! I am slowly regaining my strength and in time, when circumstances for me and in the outside world permit, I will rejoin the wider community. In the meantime, whilst being an inmate here and in solitary confinement (for a while yet, anyway!) I will continue doing what I can, providing further updates on events etc.

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