Re: Diary summary week ending 31st August 2025

[ThrelfallYorky]

Viktoria, don't hesitate about the pacemaker - you will find it very re-assuring, but do make sure you follow the instructions given! Mine settled quickly, and apart from the nuisance of keeping my arms from creeping above my shoulders, we got used to each other soon. The actual op is less traumatic than you will expect - i was able to watch what was going on as it was "done unto me". Ask Gillg.
TY

[Viktoria]

Thanks T.Y.
Am I correct in that it is six weeks before you can raise your left arm above your shoulders?
See my son “pegging out!” 

I have had my hair cut really short to manage with one hand ( I hope!)

A sunny morning and I must get to Morrisons ,got  some expensive new potatoes , loose,but at home I can see they are green, very dangerous ,something beginning with s, solignium or something spelled similarly, not really safe to cut the green out.I got the last few and they were expensive.
They were £3 a kilo,mine were £2-54.

Eldest son and daughter in law off to Cypress ,it was her seventieth birthday last week ,a little older than my son.
Well weather brightening up and washing in .I need to keep on top of things as no big arm lifting jobs after pacemaker fitted for six weeks.
It will pass and thanks to T.Y. it seems no big thing .

I must  phone my old friend on The Gower, she is very bright and breezy at 90+ lives alone but a son lives not too far away,sadly her eldest died very suddenly last year. The same age as my eldest.That was very sad.

Well must get on, look after yourselves folks.
Cheerio.Viktoria.

I could not scrape them so had to peel, but all were green under thr dirty skin.

[Nanna52]

I agree with TY Viktoria.  Pacemakers are no trouble to have fitted.  I’ve had one for over 18 years, battery lasts around 10 years then you get a new battery put in.  When you put your mind to it keeping your arm down is easy.  Both times I was in around 11.00 am and out by 10 am the next day.  Hardly had a chance to warm the bed.

[louisa maud]

My friend, 86 had a pacemaker put in last week, he can't shower for 10 days,  well that's no problem,  just do downwards!!, plaster votes off after about 10 days.
I am sure Viktoria your son will peg your clothes out, not the way you like but he will manage,  you have to do as you are told, as difficult as it is for someone like you always on the go , take is easy.

LM

[ThrelfallYorky]

Viktoria: son and heir will HAVE to do things like pegging out, hairwashing too, ideally, plus all the reaching and climbing up and heavier housework you normally do, for a few weeks.
By the sound of it you do so much for him that he ought to be delighted to do somethings for you.
-I went in at 8.30, and was back in time for a late lunch!
TY

[Gillg]

Viktoria
So you are going to join the pacemaker club!  Well done!  I was in the outpatients dept for most of the day and could have watched the operation, but chickened out.  I was given drugs via IV catheter for pain relief, antibiotics to prevent infection and something to keep me calm during the procedure.  Home again for tea and allowed to shower my lower body.  After a week I had the dressing removed by my GP surgery and could then shower.  The not raising the left arm business is annoying, I must admit.  My daughter washed my hair for me and my son pegged out the washing in a haphazard way.  A friend who also had a pacemaker fitted recently made sure she always wore something with pockets and kept her left hand firmly in the pocket at all times!  Take it easy for the six weeks if you can and let others do the work. 

I have found that when people ask me "Are you feeling better now?", as they often do, I have to say that I don't really know.  I think the greatest benefit must be psychological.  I know that the pacemaker won't let my heartbeat drop below a permitted level, however I also suffer from atrial fibrillation, which means that my heart sometimes beats too quickly and this is supposed to be dealt with via beta blockers.  Unfortunately the ones prescribed by my GP made me feel like a zombie walking through treacle and struggling to think clearly!  ( I had been warned by the pharmacist that it might make me feel "lethargic", but  that was putting it mildly.)  When I spoke to the cardiologist about it he said, "Stop taking it then", so I did, and we haven't yet found something that does the job without reducing me to total dopiness.

Best of luck, Viktoria.  We'll all be rooting for you.   

[Viktoria]

Many thanks ,he is very thoughtful at times but is working via computers
Internationally ,so not free for most of the day.
Does take me shopping etc.
I might get another clothes maiden , he can take his washing next door then .
Why are men( some)  embarrassed by doing things like hanging washing
out ?Perhaps he won’t be ,I ought to broach the subject ——

Thanks for the pacemaker info ,knowledge can make things easier.
I will perhaps get some info when I go for the pre op on 16th September.

I have noticed that since Covid we don’t kiss hello or goodbye anymore ,I only liked it  with family anyway .

Well kitchen all tidy again ,Antiques  Roadshow soon after David Attenborough .
Look after yourselves folks.
Viktoria.

[louisa maud]

A nice hug can take the place of a kiss now,   I never have kissed anyone on the lips, except 1 person, say no more, I got into trouble with my mother in law, I taught our daughter when she was old enough to offer  her cheek, didn't go down to well at the time.

My husband very occasionally  will  hang washing out but when he brings it in he often puts it on the table,  never thinks to fold it up but I should think myself lucky he gets it in if need  be. Have a word with your son, he might only be to pleased,   no doubt he has been busy working and never got concerned  about what you were doing throughout  the day, no harm in asking,  tell you you can't do it for X amount of days, that might get him worried he will run out of clothes!!

Off to the new week

LM

[Gillg]

Gosh, that was a cold wet weekend where we were staying on the Gloucestershire/Welsh border!  I had planned summer clothes, but was glad of the extra jumper that I had packed, and my waterproof jacket, too.  We stayed in a small hotel which was run by some former Ghurkhas.  The Nepalese food in their restaurant was delicious and the staff, all family members, were lovely, but the bedrooms needed a bit of TLC.

Back to normality now.  The sun is shining, but rain is forecast.  The gardens are loving it.