More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)

[Les303]

" To kill a mocking bird  " - one of my all time favourite films.
I remember when i first watched it as a young boy, i was totally enamoured with the character of " Scout ."


Barry had a bad night last night, due a build up of excessive fluid on the chest & lungs, despite being on oxygen, he struggled for every breath & we feared that he may not survive the night.
Not surprisingly, considering everything that he is going through, he also experienced some delirium ( halucinations etc...) that left him very agitated, confused & angry with everybody which is so much out of character for him.
But he is a tough bastard, he survived the night & by this afternoon he was sitting up & cracking his usual sarcastic jokes.
Despite this setback the doctors are optimistic as their new regime of medications has the main concerns of fluid retention & weight gain trending down & they assure us that once these underlying issues are managed there will be no further bouts of delirium.
Just hoping that he has a better night tonight.

[anona]

My heart is wrung for you, Lex. I was with each of my parents in their last illnesses and know how powerless you feel to help someone's suffering. At least, going by the doctors' responses, you can be optimistic for your brother and hold on to that.

[Les303]

Thank you, anona.

While your messages of support bring me to tears they also provide me with much comfort.
I never imagined that i would ever experience anything worse than being with my mother as her illnesses took her away from us.
I am the youngest in the family so i am just beginning to realise that in all probability i will outlive all of my siblings (provided that i follow Ozziejack's example & get a bit of exercise, give the smokes away, reduce my alcohol intake & sign up at a gym, maybe even get a litte border collie.)
& that scares the hell out of me.

I just hope that the bloody phone will not  ring again tonight.

[Hobbit]

I will hope & pray that the bloody phone doesn't ring anytime soon Les.  I can fully understand what you are going through.  I had to watch Ray fight & struggle & suffer for 4 months.  You feel so bloody helpless.  I genuinely & sincerely believe you have reason to feel optimistic as Anona says.
Pen

[Hobbit]

Hi Jack
I would never dream of accusing you of being a pompous git.  I think your thoughts & comments are always spot on.  You obviously have a great deal of empathy.  Especially for those of us who haven't always had things easy.  You put a great deal of thought & care into what you write.  Much appreciated.  As well as your cracking sense of humour
I enjoyed both cartoons.  I do enjoy my job in the sense that my colleagues are brilliant & we do have a lots of laughs.  Unfortunately, in the case of some of the patients it feels like the inmates have been put in charge of the asylum  
I'm off to exercise my little grey cell while it's still working.
Pen
here's one especially for you!

[Les303]

I will hope & pray that the bloody phone doesn't ring anytime soon Les.  I can fully understand what you are going through.  I had to watch Ray fight & struggle & suffer for 4 months.  You feel so bloody helpless.  I genuinely & sincerely believe you have reason to feel optimistic as Anona says.
Pen

Thank you to everyone for your very kind prayers & messages of support.
He had a good night last night ( probably slept better than me ) & looked so much better this morning.
He has lost 1.7 kilo in fluid / weight in the last 24 hours which is allowing his kidneys to function as best as they can.
He is still experiencing a lot of confusion & at random times, some delirium, but is mostly lucid & just frustrated that the uncontrollable shakes/jerking/twitching cause him to continually drop things.
He got very angry ( at himself ) this morning when he spilt a cup of water into his lap.
While i assured him that it was no big deal & organised a change of pj's , he had enough clarity to ensure that I told the nurse that he had not drank that cup of water as he is on a strict limit of 1.5 litres of fluid intake each day.
His team of doctors are currently 50/50 about the risk / benefit of the stent surgery so they will continue monitoring the situation & only proceed with that option when they have 100% agreement.

[Ozzyjack]

Hi Les,

I am glad the prognosis is looking better.  Hang in there, mate, and stay strong.  We look forward to more bulletins of Barry's improvement.

Look after yourself.

[Les303]

Thanks mate.

[Ozzyjack]

Unfortunately, in the case of some of the patients it feels like the inmates have been put in charge of the asylum  

Hi Pen,

I wasn't fishing for compliments but yours was very touching.  Sincere thanks.  And you pegged me accurately with your cartoon.

Here is a tip on how you will feel about the patients on Monday.



Actually, I don’t think we have asylums any more, but we do have psychiatric wards in hospitals. 

The last one I visited, I asked the Doctor ‘how do You determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized’.

'Well,' said the Doctor, 'we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a Teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.'

'Oh, I understand,' I said. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.'

'No.' said the Doctor, 'A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?'

Now I know the answer, they are going to let me out next week.

[Hobbit]

Hi Jack
Love the joke   I'll bake you a cake with a file in it so you can tunnel out of the psychiatric ward asap
The Monday cartoon sums my working day up perfectly
As far as I can work out the prime minister has sold us down the river.  I do read the Daily Telegraph (mainly for the cryptic crossword) which is sometimes known as the Torygraph.  I might not be getting a very balanced view.
You haven't mentioned golf this week.  Are you taking a bit of a break? I've found a cartoon which perfectly sums up my former golfing prowess!
Have a fab Saturday
Pen

[Ozzyjack]

You haven't mentioned golf this week.  Are you taking a bit of a break? I've found a cartoon which perfectly sums up my former golfing prowess!

Great cartoon, Pen. That is how I played yesterday.  We were playing in the Taxation Social Club's Championship deep in the suburbs of Sydney and had to leave the highlands at 5.30 am.  I didn't win the Bradman award for the greatest number of shots (Also known as the NAGA award Not a golfer's something or other) but I went very close..  No, the second "A" doesn't stand for armpit.

I run out of things to say about the regular activities so not being mentioned doesn't necessarily mean thay aren't being done.

The word we get here is that you won't have to put up with your Prime Minister for long although you don't seem to have the knack of sacking them as often as we do.



Look after those brain cells, Pen

[Hobbit]

Hi Jack
I very much enjoyed the cartoon   Theresa May seems to be like Teflon!  She's hanging on by her fingernails!
I also liked the other cartoon.  Very appropriate.  Think my brain cell is nearly pickled by now
I found this which I hope will raise a smile.  Hope I haven't posted it before

The Germans

Golf can be a very frustrating game.  Even for those of you who play properly!

Good night/morning
Pen

[Ozzyjack]

Golf can be a very frustrating game.  Even for those of you who play properly!

I knew somebody who could play properly once, but it's so long ago I've forgotten who. 

I've had one of those quiet days when I've done nothing but walk and play with the dogs but I feel totally knacked.  So am going to be kind to myself and be lazy tonight.

First from todays Sydney Morning Herald

Shortly after take off, a Turkish Airlines flight reaches its cruising altitude and the captain announces: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. Welcome to Turkish Airlines Flight 409, from London Heathrow to Dalaman. The weather ahead is pretty nice and sunny, so we should have a smooth, uneventful flight. So sit back, relax and ... OH MY GOD!"

Silence follows. Some moments later the captain comes back on the intercom: "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry if I scared you ... While I was talking to you, a flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap ... You should see the front of my pants ... !"

A Scottish passenger yells from the back: "For f---'s sake, you think you've got problems? You should see the back of mine!"

On Germany



An offer you can't refuse





Goodnight, Pen, it's a special day tomorrow

[Hobbit]

Hi Jack
I'm with you - having a very lazy evening.  Contemplating my 11 and a half hour shift tomorrow
I loved your birthday wishes for Les.  Simply superb.  Must have taken you yonks.
As usual excellent cartoons & funny joke
Catch up with you on Tuesday.
Penx

[Ozzyjack]

Must have taken you yonks.

Hi Pen,

I am not sure how long yonks is because it is as precise as the length of a piece of string. 

Nor am I sure how long it took me because I undertook it the same way I approach the Chihuahua puzzles.  Once I had the idea for an acrostic I had an obvious framework.  So then I filled in the low hanging fruit (I remember that bit of jargon from my working days). In other words, those lines (words) that came easily I did until I ran out of inspiration and then put it out of my mind for a couple of hours.  When I come back I find my subconscious has been working overtime and I had more lines (words) to fill in or to replace existing weaker ones.  In concentrated time, I wouldn't have spent much more than an hour.  If the result lifted Les's spirits even for a short time then every minute was worthwhile.

But more than my post, I believe it is the large number of well wishing messages from forumites that will do the job.  There are a few more that I expected but perhaps they are still to come.

I will go away and give some thought to your long working day today.