New Years resolutions . What's yours?

Go for it Caz. Maybe you could put a picture of one of your paintings on here would love to see your work.

happy New Year not long till yours starts. Xx

Hi just out of curiousity are you a professional artist or do it as a hobby?

My husband & his 2 sons are landscape painters. The sons do it professionally but my husband just for his own enjoyment. 

He did a portrait of my daughters dog & cat for Christmas. It was the greatest gift

Happy new year Caz!

Hi Betty, I went to art school at 13 and did 3 years of everything and basis schooling. At 16 I decided to go into graphic design, even though I loved drawing and painting I thought graphics would be a good career. It was, I worked in London, then Sydney and even had my own studio in Perth. I loved the computer art and became adapt at that.

Now, at 65 I have retired, if an artist ever can. I have gone back to my first love, drawing and painting ( watercolours). I love it and just do it for my pleasure. You have no idea what no client means to me.

Caz x

 

Hi Caz

What a wonderful career you had and how nice to have such a creative background to enjoy in retirement.

I so admire creative people. I truly believe one is born with that kind of talent no matter how much schooling they have. I'm a "creative wanna be" but never quite get there

I hope you will post one of your paintings

for all of us to see!

Happy new year! Betty

Hi BETTY it's always nice to have some sort of hobby even if its a Wannabe ...lol 

mine is writing

if you key in on Amazon..... books by Jean clover you will see some of my stuff 

it keeps my old brain working 

Jean 

Wow Caz

 what a wonderful career you've had  and you can now enjoy your retirement 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

Wow Jean, I just found your books. Have I got the right ones? The Front Door, Let's Laugh.

Im going to get them

Caz

Happy 2015

Jean!!!! You sly fox, you! Never letting on that you are a famous artist

i just ordered two of your books off Amazon!!! Wow, I'm very impressed! How long have you been writing?

Between you and Caz you are both true inspirations, especially on this first day of a new year! Makes me want to pursue my wannabe dreams! You go girls! Betty

Yes Caz that's me ....The Front Door is loosely based on my childhood ...with name changes 

and "Let's Laugh"  is just tongue in the cheek poetry  with a Yorkshire sense of humour 

Jean 

hi

I've written since being a young girl ...I used to write funny poems for my children 

 I got a break when I started chatting to an Irish author online  he suggested I make a book up of my funny poems for Charity 

which I did I gave them to AGE UKI  and made them £600 

i joined a local amateur writers group mainly older people like me... It's more a social gathering  but it keeps the brain ticking over ...lol

Jean 

Love it well done Jean that's very exciting. Any more on the horizon? Could you write one in your experiences with knees. I'm sure that would be eagerly welcomed by people like us

And I'm far from famous ...lol 

I've already written some on the knee subject .. 

I couldn't resist it 

maybe I will type the one out of my experience of the physio Man I met in hospital 

Jean 

Well I think that's wonderful! I ordered the front door & let's laugh and I eagerly await them

That would be brilliant. Maybe Caz could illustrate it

I hope you understand my daft humour Betty... and as I said the Front Door is loosely based on my childhood with name changes 

Jean 

 

Oh Jean I think you are a star writing books as you do.  I myself love books, always have.  You are an inspiration.. As has been said, you should collaborate with Caz with writing and illustrating.  Your knee book sounds interesting! Keep up the good work xx

Thank you for your comments

It's just a couple of poems I wrote about the knee op  

writing is just a hobby ....I'm sure there are lots of different hobbies  that people can and do enjoy.

 

Having not retired yet, will at the end of January, I have never really had time to do things for myself.  I am looking forward to taking up some hobbies in the future and also to a bit of me time, including holidays!,

The poem a true story

MY POOR BUM

And physio therapist came to me,

to help me walk with this bionic knee,

He came to my bed and called my name,

Bringing with him a ZImmer frame,

I've come to teach you to walk my dear,

Get out of bed and stand right here,

My knee gave way and I fell down on my bum,

But away from me the physio Man did run,

We're not allowed to catch you! The idiot said to me,

JUst in case we hurt ourselves! Don't you see?

I said how am I supposed to get up without your help?

Then I tried to move my leg but it made me Yelp,

I shouted loudly at him, help me to. my bed,

But he chucked me some cushions on the floor instead,

The air was turning blue as I struggled to my feet,

I made sure I kicked his ankle hard but did it really discreet,

I looked at him with anger blazing from my eyes,

And I never saw him again! what a surprise,

So if you go into Hospital avoid him at all cost,

And if he comes to get you up, just tell him to GET LOST.

Jean

 

Good for you Susan ...I like ...me time and holidays 

Ha ha brilliant! Not a good experience though

Health and safety gone mad.... They could hurt themselves if they picked you up ...that's what he said ...so he chucked me pillows of different sizes until I was high enough to shuffle myself into a chair ...then bed 

I am lucky I have had nothing but good experiences with the NHS. It must be frustrating for them as well not being free to help hug or lift anyone

You are so right ..it's not their fault these rules and regs are now the order of the day 

 everything else was fine with my stay in hospital  

 It's just my thing that if something upsets me I have to make fun of it ....that's my way of coping 

Jean 

Yes I think we have a very similar sense of humour. Lot of my family work in hospitals so I hear the other side of things. 

When I was in hospital I loved  chatting with the nurses. And at night time when I couldn't sleep I would go and talk to them at the nurses station.

i miss that , living on my own.

 

It's like a short term social life.

I too enjoyed chatting to the nurses I'm glad I got on with them  as I was there for 9 days

the thing I noticed was ...too many patients and not enough nurses

it must be hard if you live on your own ....I don't know how you've coped  as

this TKR is quite a lot harder than I ever imagined it would be.

 

They are so busy bless them. I am quite an independent person but I  miss not having someone to talk to at night time. Maybe one day eh.......

Never say never is my motto 

Must admit we must all be the same, I had good chats with nurses, domestics, porters etc.  you learn a lot by talking to people fom all walks of life.  I work in nhs myself as medical secretary to a consultant so I deal with both patients and professionals.  I found being on the patient end this time really strange.  I think we are all independent people but agree it must be very difficult for people when they are completely on their own after this op.  

As as for being on your own..... You never know what is round the corner.....

I'm not on my own  I was saying ...never say never to Soobeedoo I'm fortunate to have been married for 58 years and he did his best for me in the first horrible weeks after this TKR ...I've always been the carer but he surprised me and really stepped up to the mark

of course it's stopped now .....back to square one......lol 

Sorry Jean wasn't implying you were in your own, just with these posts so much is being said by different people when replying you forget who you are posting too!!! My husband also stepped up to the mark at first but kind of stopped now.  I am even back to cooking roasts etc snd hoovering. Nothing lasts forever  lol

I'm ok don't worry have family close by and some really close friends. I have had some help .

i wish there was someone you could just go and talk to when you're bored at night time. 

I'm 55 I'm not sure if it's too late for me. And sometimes I'm not sure if I could cope with someone there all the time but like Jean says "never say never" 

i may meet someone one day as daft as me

It's ok 

I've done the same myself many times 

And it's the same here I'm back to cooking ...shopping ....and sorting out the bills ....sigh ....the wonder of love 

It must have been good for you to experience the other side of hospital life. Help to understand patients more.

must be great working for a consultant. What does he specialise in

Make sure he has his own home so you can send him packing when you've had enough for the day

then ring him when he becomes useful again or if you need some bread and can't be bothered to go to the shops

 sigh.... The ideal man 

 

Do you know his name and phone number?

Errrrr noooo .... 

If you find him for me I'll let you be bridesmaid 

It's a she and its psychiatry.  It did make me understand why patients get cross about different things. i have enjoyed my work but am pleased to be retiring.  

Hi Soobeedoo and Jean, Here we have a shortage of nurses, lots of empty beds. I was in a teaching hospital so allowances must be made for the young nurses. 

Saying that, there is a limit and I must have had the most stupid nurse in the world. She had a dazzling smile and seemed to think that it would cover any sin. On the second day, the day the morphine drip stops, I was in agony and asked her for painkillers, she looked at my file and said not yet. This went on all day, until the night shift took over. I asked why I couldn't have painkillers and the night nurse looked at the file and said that I could have had pain relief every 1 hour. My nurse said, oh, I thought that 1 was a 7. She gave a dazzling smile, shrugged and said, never mind, you can have some now!

The night nurse unlocked my medication drawer and found my morning tablets all measured out in the plastic cup, she had done that, then locked the drawer without giving them to me!

Not being in the best of moods, I asked that she never come near me again. She was allocated to the other ward.

Caz

That's awful. I hope you out in a formal complaint. When you were vulnerable they didn't do their job properly that's gross misconduct. That would have upset me great

y as you feel that you can't trust the staff that are looking after you

Hey Soobeedoo, my best friend in England got married last year. She is 72 and fabulous.

I have been married twice, once in the 70s that lasted 11 years. This one has lasted since 1988 and still going strong. Des has been my rock during last year. I had pneumonia, then this TKR.

You are my Facebook friend, if you need to talk in your night, message me, it pings and we can chat.

Caz

After my surgery I was in a single room, the next day they asked me if I minded sharing as they had another patient that really needed to be on their own. I got moved into a shared room with a great lady who had a new hip.

We both had failed spinal blocks, I ended up having a general too, but she woke up in the middle of her op.

She was a private patient and made a complaint about the aneathstist including me.

The air conditioning in our room failed and we got really hot. Jenny was already running a high temperature - we complained about that too. It got fixed the next day.

We complained about the stupid nurse.

We stayed in contact after we left the hospital, our staples came out the same day so we saw each other then.

Neither of us have heard about our complaints. We got treated as though we always complained about anything, but I think we were valid.

Caz

There's always hope then Caz

thank you I will 

trying to train myself to get back into night sleeping. Going back to work today on 1 1/2 hour sleep . Not good 

xx

That's awful. Must have put you off hospital for life. 

The fact there was two of you I would have thought would have made the point.

do you have a complaints procedure independant to the hospital.

hope you have had better follow up service