26 February, 2012
Taking time out to help my fractured wrist heal earned points with the consultant I saw at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary last week, but it was taking a heavy toll on the Other Half.
She was doing her day job, covering about half my crofting workload, ferrying me to the hospital and back, and doing all our normal family trips. She also had to work late on several occasions, in the worst case dashing from her workplace to the croft to collect us and then transport all of us to the secondary school the Big Lad will attend for a parent’s evening.
Even with the help of our boys plus some from me, it wasn’t sustainable.
On top of the OH’s workload, we’ve had the financial burden of the weekly trips to the hospital. Our mileage went from 200-220 miles a week to 456 miles last week alone.
Travelling to hospital is too expensive for us to maintain weekly visits, in time as much as money spent on diesel. The OH has to take time off work and abandon her car sharing arrangement while the boys have to go to a ‘before school club’.
So, there’s no option but for me to get back to work. I started yesterday, doing the croft chores as well as doing the cooking and some washing. Today, I was out chasing cockerels on top of that and tomorrow I’ll have to up the workload further.
I’m not comfortable carrying loads, even if only left-handed, and going in with the pigs can be challenging. As for cooking, let’s just say peeling onions with my teeth isn’t one of my favourite jobs.
It’s not ideal going back out to the croft work after just three weeks in a cast to correct a severe wrist injury, but needs must.
As for the hospital visits, they’re cancelled until I’m certain I can manage the 2.5 mile walk to the station, the train trip to Aberdeen, the bus trip to the hospital and the same in reverse. Plus the cost.
I’ll have to be careful, but if need be I can walk to the doctor’s surgery in the village.
So, as various people have said, I’ll just have to get on with it.
Related articles
- The perils of crofting (stoneheadcroft.com)
- Fractured wrist remains stable (stoneheadcroft.com)
Wow, tough times. Your wonderful wife is awesome!
Shhh. Don’t say that. She’ll want a pay rise.
I’ve just been on the phone to the hospital’s Fracture Clinic and it was clear their staff don’t grasp the realities of life outside their bubble. I explained I had to cancel tomorrow’s appointment as I couldn’t get in to Aberdeen at this point.
The person I spoke to said I had to go in to have my arm checked. No, I don’t. It would be good if I could go in for a further check-up, but I don’t have to. She said a family member or friend could drive me in. No, they couldn’t. The OH has already taken too much time off work while friends have their own jobs to go to. (Plus there’s the cost.)
Ah, the hospital’s staffer said, I should use public transport. Fair enough, if I was not knackered and in pain, I’d think nothing of walking three miles to the station, catching the train to Aberdeen, catching a bus from the station to the hospital and doing it all in reverse after my appointment. (And never mind finding the right train/bus combination to get to the appointment on time.) At the moment,though, doing the house and croft work leaves me wrung out by the time the boys leave for school. I’m not yet back to a position where I can do those jobs, then walk three miles, catch a train and so on.
Well, then, I was told, you should get a taxi in to Aberdeen. Ha, ha, ha! How much would it cost for a taxi to come out here, pick me up, drive me to Aberdeen, wait for me and then bring me home?
No, I said, I’m not coming in. The staffer was flummoxed: I had to. No, I don’t. Eventually, after more discussion, we decided the best option was to make an appointment for a fortnight’s time. If I feel I can make the trip by walking and public transport, then I will go in. If not, I’ll leave it for another week and remove the cast myself as I’ll have had it on for six weeks by that point.
Except, I was told, you can’t do that. Well, I think they’ll find I can.
How lucky to have something like Voluntary Action South Leicestershire (VASL) nearby. I know from voluntary work that I’m engaged with that their volunteer car scheme [http://www.vasl.org.uk/transport.html] is a boon and blessing for isolated, disabled or elderly people. People unable, for example, to get to their hospital appointments. Charge is very reasonable too. I believe Leicestershire also has a WRVS sort of ‘good neighbours scheme’ but I think that may be more a befriending scheme for housebound people. We certainly have an ambulance car scheme operating in the county; valuable though it is, it usually means a longer day than if you go via your own means.
You seem extremely resourceful so I am sure you’ll have looked into these things locally. Be great if there was someone nearby prepared to do a voluntary ‘car scheme’ for your hospital visits. Those seem like a ‘must’ for a while longer – it’s only another two ‘weekly visits’ before you’ll be left alone for four weeks or so, isn’t it?
Whatever, take great care!
I’m supposed to have the cast on for six weeks, with weekly X-rays and checks due to the nature of the injury. We can’t do that due to distance and the need for the OH to take time off work to transport me.
Most people don’t appreciate how tiring a simple fracture is, much less a serious one. The body diverts a lot of resources to the healing process, leaving not much for everything else. An hour’s croft work means an hour’s rest and recuperation at the moment–it’s not optional, my body just says enough and I conk out. Until I’m sure I can manage six miles walking plus bus and train, I’m not going back to the hospital.
This is a good point for us wannabes who are still wondering where we may end up: if we have the chance to be within easy travellling distance of a hospital we’ll aim there. It’s a good reminder that whjen we are working on our own smallholding the possibility of needing hospitals is likely to be higher than now, where my most lileky injutry is tripping over a computer cable.
Thanks for the thoughts, as always..
Do you want a nissian micra for a few weeks?
Its cheaper to fuel then a TD5
Thanks for the offer, but it’s not needed as I’ve cancelled the weekly appointments, chopping the Aberdeen trips from the equation. It also means the OH can resume car sharing as she’s not transporting me. The combination of those will bring us back on budget.
Damn
I’ll just have to wash it myself