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    A Big Thank You From Mum!

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    I was able to pop in and see Mother on Thursday, who thankfully was looking rather chipper. After a difficult week previously, she seemed to be in a far better place, which was good news; not only for Mum but all of the family as well.

    I gave Mum everyone's good wishes, which have been coming through from friends and family alike. She was of course grateful for all of your kind words and sends all her love back. I was able to spend a few hours chatting before work. Mum has been to hell and back over these last three weeks and I am just hoping she has finally turned a corner. However nothing is certain and Mum's continual recovery will very much depend on the level of care she receives from the Hospital and the support she receives from family.

    My concerns are specifically centred around the Hospital. Mum has the will power to overcome anything thrown her way, but Queen Alexandra Hospital are at present falling well below the standards expected of an NHS institution. Mum remains in a respiratory ward, rather than a vascular one, consequently she rarely sees an appropriate Doctor, who in my view have neglected her needs as a patient. Yesterday I received a call to tell me Mother had fallen, whilst being transferred by an OT to her bed on the ward. This particular incident seems to have psychologically set Mum back a long way. On the same day, her blood sugar was allowed to fall so low that she had what is called a 'Hypo.' Mother is a type 1 Diabetic and her blood glucose levels can not be allowed to drop too low. Somebody, somewhere took their eye of the ball and my Mother suffered as a result!

    It is important for all of us to keep monitoring Mothers progress; if we are not happy with anything, it is up to us to say so. Family have a duty to rally around during traumatic times. I will do all I can, as I know we all will, but if my mum isn't getting the appropriate care then we need to speak up. In time we will all be able to put this sorry affair behind us, until that day we will do everything to facilitate a positive outcome!
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    Rab's World!

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    "Do you ever sit and wonder if the person you are thinking about, is thinking about you!"
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    Newcombe Arms!

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    On Wednesday I started a new job at the Newcombe Arms in Fratton, near Portsmouth. The Newcombe is a traditional back street pub, located in the heart of the City. My family have used this bar for many years and regard it as their local. I was a little bit anxious about what to expect when I started working, but I need not have worried; I had a fantastic evening, meeting many of the locals on my first day!

    This place is unlike anything I am used to; bars in Spain are very different. The Manager of the Newcombe is a professional through and through, rather different to some of the establishment owners in Spain, who are mainly Brits, wanting to venture into the hospitality game, for no other reason than they like having a drink themselves. They may well be professional drinkers, they are certainly not professional publicans.

    Equally when you look at the successful bars, clubs and restaurants on the Costa Blanca, you can immediately see the disparity. The Newcombe is a success because it caters for the local community, who live near it, in contrast to an owner with their own personal agenda. I think I will be very happy there. The patrons are a fantastic bunch of characters, who have welcomed me with open arms.

    My first couple of shifts have been an eye opener into the British way of doing things; very different to that of Spain. 'Weights and Measures' play the biggest role, with drinks accurately measured and all wastage recorded, a very different process to that practiced back home. With prices in the UK three times higher and measures a sixth of their Spanish counterparts, you immediately notice the difference. Once again us Brits get the raw end of the deal. Having said that, I have missed the old fashioned British Alehouse and it's good to be back working in one.  Backstreet pubs like the Newcombe are a dying breed, however this venue remains the lifeblood of the local community and that makes it special; without establishments like this, the community that exists would all but disappear.
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    The Purple Dye in Levothyroxine!

    USA penelope-wren
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    Paige is my cocker spaniel. She was born in 2002. We met in a Pet Shop in Arizona when she was ten months old and it was love at first sight for both of us. I am frightened of animals – all of them – so this bonding was unusual in the extreme.
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    Paige was the first dog I have ever been able to touch and hold. She has always been gentle with me from the get-go and I have been sensitive to her needs. It’s like we were made for each other. When I would have to go away for a few days, she would stop eating. She follows me wherever I go. Her love for me is unconditional. She holds a special place in my heart.

    I let the children name her. If it had been up to me, she would have been called ‘Lady’. The five children came up with Paige unanimously and Paige she is.

    My husband readily admits that he is a mutt! It makes me laugh. Americans like to say they are made up of a percentage of the nationalities of all their ancestors and, as you know, the majority of Americans (bar the native Indians) descend from immigrants especially from Europe. My husband’s extended family comes from Norway, Denmark, Germany and Ireland. I, on the other hand, am a purebred! My ancestors come from Fordingbridge and Southampton for quite a few generations.
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    My ‘puppy’, Paige, is also a purebred. We have a great and natural understanding of each other. Perhaps we are subject to the myth that purebreds are a little insane due to interbreeding. Nevertheless, we are not mutts.
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    Paige is getting on in years and I am dreading the day when she has to cross the veil. She is so much a part of our family and I love her deeply. The past couple of years, her health has been declining. She always love to come on long walks with me and then she didn’t want to go any more. We would get a few hundred feet and she would be pulling on her leash to go home. We took her to the vets and eventually she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. The vet put her on some purple thyroid tablets – Levothyroxine 0.6 mgs. She started eating again, had more energy, and started to be able to go on small walks around the block. I was so happy she was feeling better.

    One day a few months ago, I picked her up to put her in the back of the car to take her to the vets for one of her injections and a comprehensive examination. I felt something crusty under her belly. I couldn’t figure out what it was and wondered if she had another cyst that was weeping. When I got to the vets, I pointed it out. I left Paige at the vets as scheduled and rushed home to work.

    A couple of hours later I got a call. The vet told me that she had open sores all over her body (how the heck did we miss that?!). The vet had done some research and discovered that Paige was allergic to the purple dye in the thyroid tablets. She went on to explain that the manufacturer had been told that some dogs were allergic to this dye but they hadn’t changed their product in any shape or form.

    When we went to pick Paige up, they had cleaned up her wounds. Gobs of hair had come out of her coat and we could see all the open weeping lesions on her body. I found this extremely distressing. Paige had not shown any signs of pain that we had recognized.

    We had to apply ointment to all her sores twice a day for two weeks. They covered most of her body – her back, her shoulders, her neck, all her tummy and her hind legs. Together with antibiotics and pain killers, her sores healed and the vet was very pleased to see skin growing back. She put her on some other thyroid tablets without any dye in them. It was a lower amount so we had to monitor Paige to see if the new dosage worked. I asked the vet to file a report to the manufacturer so that this wouldn’t happen to any other dog. I would hate to see any other dog suffering as much as my little girl had.
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    We took Paige into the vets again last weekend as we were worried that we saw blackening on her skin and she was having some more cysts appearing. We were also concerned as her hair wasn’t growing back on her body. We were lucky as the blackening wasn’t a repeat of the lesions, just old age. It turns out that the dye that caused the lesions also caused the hair follicles to be destroyed.
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    Paige will now have to either wear a doggie coat or have sunscreen put on her if she goes out in the sunshine. I feel so sad for her being physically scarred by this medicine. We now take our walks early in the morning before the sun has had a chance to be out. I so love Paige and hate to see her suffering in her old age. She is so much a part of our family.

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    Rab's World!

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    "Every group of friends has that one crazy person in it. If you're missing one, I seem to have a few extras!"
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    Cancer Research!

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    It was my first day volunteering with Cancer Research UK today. I have been wanting to do something meaningful since I returned to Portsmouth; today I finally did! All of us know someone who has suffered from Cancer, so for me it was a no brainer, this had to be the charity I gave my support too. Currently my Aunty Carol and Darrell's Mother are dealing with the spectre of Cancer; this is an organisation all of us should support!

    At the moment I do have a lot of time on my hands, so need to keep myself occupied. Of course my pressing priority is being with my Mother, but I do have the luxury of being able to dedicate time to other things also.

    In truth, I never thought I would be volunteering again, especially after my time working for another well known charity, but I have recovered from that ordeal and put my time working with them firmly behind me. Just because one charity acts in a terrible way, it doesn't mean they all should be tarred with the same brush.

    I am working at their Portsmouth branch, a shop that is only a couple of years old; modern, clean and beautifully looked after. The team are welcoming and a joy to work with. All volunteers, whichever charity they champion are wonderful, dedicated people, they have a very different outlook on life; their priority, helping others, the same vision I adhere too! I have always believed firmly in the work charities do, despite my past experiences.

    I have enjoyed my first day working for Cancer Research and will be back in on Monday to offer my services once again. I do have a busy few days ahead of me now; starting a new job tomorrow and an interview on Friday and of course I also need to visit my Mother this week as well. Positivity reigns in my life at the moment, in complete contrast to my life in Spain, for that reason I need to continue on the path I am. I can at least do the things that make me happy; being with family, volunteering and of course writing. This is beginning to feel like a whole new chapter, as yet I have no idea where it will take me; another rollercoaster ride at an unpredictable time!
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