Well, the afore-mentioned kidney transplant operation has come and gone; everything was remarkably successful. The removal was virtually painless for me, and my brother is now a "new man". I do not think that we really knew how ill he was, but we do now as we see a much fitter version, literally "in the pink" and no longer feeling tired all the time. All the stats are going in the right direction and so he just has to re-adjust to a life of balancing anti-rejection drugs with the risk of infection (as the drugs inhibit the immune system).
If you are interested in the idea of living kidney donation, please see the whole story of my donation at http://diaryofakidneydonor.blogspot.co.uk/. It's quite surprising - I'm a reserved logical person but this experience has really found the emotion in me (especially the entry on Oct 21st).
Please become an organ donor - see http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ - and make sure that your next of kin know that this is what you want. Apparently a surprisingly high number of donor card holders do not donate anything when they die because their relatives still have a veto. At least I can be sure that my next of kin know how I think!
I now have a good excuse to catch up on gentle activities like walking, writing and reading as, even though I feel great, I am banned from doing anything more serious than lifting a glass or mug for a fair while.
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Wednesday 9 October 2013
The Year's Work Draws to a Close
My impending operation (see http://diaryofakidneydonor.blogspot.co.uk/) is now only a week away so the end of the year's work is close for me. I will be in no position to be able to do anything at all strenuous or difficult for some time, almost certainly into 2014. That will of course mean that any lifting is out but even bending down might be too much for me for a while. These last few days have been concentrated therefore on doing various odd bits which either really must be done now (or wait for another year) or else are things which have a benefit exceeding the time and effort required (i.e. they please 'Er Indoors).
One important thing was to put an insert into the chimney pot for the fire in the third bedroom. We have twice had an idiot wood pigeon fall down this, presumably by falling asleep and overbalancing (and probably not the same bird). The first time was before I fitted the secondary glazing; it got into the bedroom and I was able to open the window and shoo it out. The second time was this summer and I had fortunately removed the secondary glazing for ventilation; this time it was sat just up in the chimney refusing to budge, so I had to open the window, reach up with a gloved hand, grab and then quickly throw whatever I had grabbed out of the window. It flew off leaving a trail of feathers, but it was not impressed at this treatment!
The difficulty in stopping pigeons falling down was that (a) I didn't want to block off the chimney as it needs to be ventilated, (b) the top of the chimney is about 9 feet above the gutters so it is VERY high and (c) the chimney is rectangular and no-one seems to sell a rectangular vented clay hat. I therefore made my own device but it looks so odd that I'm embarrassed to add a photo of it. To fit it I borrowed a ladder which reached the fascia and used a long pole with a hook on the end and managed to lower the device into place without falling off the ladder. Thinking about that now, perhaps I shouldn't have taken that risk as any injury would have scuppered the operation next week.
Secondly, I've had to cut the grass which was only laid a couple of weeks ago. I thought that this would not be needed again before winter but it was almost 10cm high, so I've done a high trim. It looks as though it has been down for years.
Thirdly, I've been doing various bits in the lounge, such as tackling the plaster which was damaged during fitment of the window (the one fitted in June 2011...). I've also sorted the wooden poles which form the corners of the plaster on the chimney breast and the window bay. These had been papered over years ago but have now been scraped clean and given a coat of wood hardener which has brought them up nicely. Finally, I removed the door and cut a half inch off the bottom so that we can lay carpet somewhen; while it was off I decided to remove the brown gunk (it's not paint or varnish) on the inside, ready for painting somewhen. When all the dirty work is done we can seriously plan to buy a carpet, which will please the other half a lot!
The final job was outside again: the ivy in one apple tree had been ignored as it gave privacy and security (as well as cover for birds). I realised that it was very high so I decided to remove a lot of this to allow the tree to breathe again and possibly grow better next spring. It's a once a year job for the autumn only so it was now or leave it for another year. Now I have to dispose of the foliage!
One important thing was to put an insert into the chimney pot for the fire in the third bedroom. We have twice had an idiot wood pigeon fall down this, presumably by falling asleep and overbalancing (and probably not the same bird). The first time was before I fitted the secondary glazing; it got into the bedroom and I was able to open the window and shoo it out. The second time was this summer and I had fortunately removed the secondary glazing for ventilation; this time it was sat just up in the chimney refusing to budge, so I had to open the window, reach up with a gloved hand, grab and then quickly throw whatever I had grabbed out of the window. It flew off leaving a trail of feathers, but it was not impressed at this treatment!
The difficulty in stopping pigeons falling down was that (a) I didn't want to block off the chimney as it needs to be ventilated, (b) the top of the chimney is about 9 feet above the gutters so it is VERY high and (c) the chimney is rectangular and no-one seems to sell a rectangular vented clay hat. I therefore made my own device but it looks so odd that I'm embarrassed to add a photo of it. To fit it I borrowed a ladder which reached the fascia and used a long pole with a hook on the end and managed to lower the device into place without falling off the ladder. Thinking about that now, perhaps I shouldn't have taken that risk as any injury would have scuppered the operation next week.
Secondly, I've had to cut the grass which was only laid a couple of weeks ago. I thought that this would not be needed again before winter but it was almost 10cm high, so I've done a high trim. It looks as though it has been down for years.
Thirdly, I've been doing various bits in the lounge, such as tackling the plaster which was damaged during fitment of the window (the one fitted in June 2011...). I've also sorted the wooden poles which form the corners of the plaster on the chimney breast and the window bay. These had been papered over years ago but have now been scraped clean and given a coat of wood hardener which has brought them up nicely. Finally, I removed the door and cut a half inch off the bottom so that we can lay carpet somewhen; while it was off I decided to remove the brown gunk (it's not paint or varnish) on the inside, ready for painting somewhen. When all the dirty work is done we can seriously plan to buy a carpet, which will please the other half a lot!
The final job was outside again: the ivy in one apple tree had been ignored as it gave privacy and security (as well as cover for birds). I realised that it was very high so I decided to remove a lot of this to allow the tree to breathe again and possibly grow better next spring. It's a once a year job for the autumn only so it was now or leave it for another year. Now I have to dispose of the foliage!
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