SAD usually begins, in the Northern Hemisphere, around November reaching its worst point for sufferers in January and February. It is caused when the shorter days of winter reduce the amount of sunlight to the retina. The lack of sun causes the body's level of serotonin to decrease while increasing the level of melatonin, which in turn causes seasonal depression. SAD symptoms disappear in spring, and many sufferers may experience a short period of hyperactivity or hypermania when the light begins to increase.
Summer sun picks me up and I feel better, less in pain and find it more easy to cope... not this year with the wettest and least sunny spring/early summer since records began!!!! Oh well...
Anyway, where was I?? Oh yes, my week. Well it came and went, without much done in my crafty'oom. However, I did tidy my awful desk and made it look as though I always have it that way!!! tee hee... starting another book when I can do a little , with some wonderful Graphic 45 paper, which is kraft colour. It looks fabulous with black, so I used a couple of precious black chipboard sheets for the cover. Will show you next week, if it gets any further along. So here we go - finally, I thought she would NEVER show us the photo!!! -
And the final "but" from the title??? Well, something that went right, for a change!! For a couple of months now, I have been battling the powers and gathering evidence about mum's need for pads, bless. We have some that are woefully inadequate, leading to her being wet several times a day.instead of comfy and dry!! Not to mention risk of skin problems and infections, or the amount of washing that piles up in a single day!!!
Finally, yesterday, I was called by a district nurse who asked if mum really needed to take all the pills she does, and also why I don't ask the carers to take her to the loo when they come!!!! OMG, I was cross but SO upset and in floods of tears... I actually called this woman a coward for not visiting for a proper reassessment and she had the gall to tell me it was "quicker this way" !!!! She also wondered why I was getting upset and said I should not, in a very condescending way, so I put the phone down on her!!!! YAY!!! She rang back...
The problem appears to be that you can only have 3 a day of the big monster ones that mop it all up, and you have to buy any others yourself... mum spends all her pension and allowances on the care we have 7 days a week... nothing left to keep her dignity and health intact!!! So I would have to pay from my pension...
Long story short - well THAT will be the day!!! - my social worker - oooo get her!! - rang this morning and said that she had asked the doctor if mum needed the pills she takes!!!!!! WHAT???? I guess he gave her short shrift from what she said!!! I kept cool today - that makes a first!! - and laid it on the line... I told her I would go public and tell the press how badly we are being treated, and all I wanted was dignity and dry pants for my 88 year old mum!!! She rang back some hours later and.... yes , you guessed it WE WON!!!!! We CAN have 4 big monsters, so my persistence won the war, after MANY battles and skirmishes. But it shouldn't have to be like that, methinks...
OK, the high horse is now back to grazing, and all is quiet on the western front - just a small cheer rings out in the night, for a fight well fought!!!
Thanks for the visit and reading my drivel!!! Still, the desk was good, eh??
Love and light
Frankie
xx
29 comments:
Desk looks great. Well done for winning your battle. Shame it has to take you getting upset or threatening them to get what you want. Still you did it.
Have a good week
Famfa 26
I love the window behind your desk and I see 3 crop i dile chompers. I do love those things. I have 3 and I am looking for the 4th. I am so glad that you were able to get what your mom needed. That woman is going to get old one day. You know what they say, what you put out into the world comes back to bite you in the but. She will get hers one day. #17
Hi there. Nice to pop in and see your creative world this week. I won't stay long; don't want to give you my cold! Hope you have a good creative week though. So sad that we have to struggle with things but glad you won. Just a little thing to some faceless beurocrat but it gives such dignity which is important.
Neil # 33
Oh Frankie I am so sorry to hear about the problems you are having with the health care people. It is the same here in the states too and there seems to be little to do to change it. Obama had the health care reform passed last month and went to Supreme court so I am hoping it will be better. I also have SAD and I have a special lamp that I have in my craft room that I turn on that tricks my eyes into thinking it is bright daylight. Works for me so it might work for you. Vickie #36
Oh Frankie you have a lot on your plate right now with your mum & worrying about everying .
I hope making your book gives you some much need time to relax a little ,, happy crafting jill #43
So sorry that it took that to get what you need and deserve out of people , makes me mad!! Glad you won , so sad you have to fight so hard!!take care trace x 52
Oh Frankie, I don't know where to start. I feel for you I really do. But well done on winning - what a palarver you had to go through, I am so sorry.
Love your tidy desk. and as for your question - well I am slowly (errr rapidly!) sinking in a sea of stash... like love, it is all around you, as they say! Sending hugs, my friend. Helen, 12
Frankie sorry to hear you are suffering from SAD and also all the issues you are having with your Mum - if you need to meet up for coffee drop me a line. Did you go and see the olympic torch on Sunday? Sunshine Girl - no 58.
It simply is not right that you have to go through the mill to get something so important (and necessary) for your poor mum. I'm so glad you won the battle - hope it makes life easier for you both...
Hugs, LLJ ~60 xx
Huge SAD sympathy. I have it and I'm usually a September-March sufferer. I'm thinking of going to bed now and getting up in April! Is it too soon to turn on the light box? I was so looking forward to some hyperactivity.
Well done on winning some dignity for your mum. It horrifies me to know what you've had to go through.
cheers, rachel #53
But thank God that your Mum has you to battle for her...well done gal, another small victory. I agree that you shouldn't have to battle, I really do. As a small thought, I don't know about these things, but perhaps ask the GP to assess the tablets in case they are having a diuretic effect? When my Dad was discharged from his Turkish hopsital and we finally got him home, his GP visited (!!) and told him he would repeat the prescription for the things that the Turkish doctors had prescribed, but he would be substituting every drug for a cheaper brand. It's endemic.
Your desk..my god - I thought you were moving!! Will be lovely to approach and work at for a while, being tidy is such a skill!
Well done on getting things sorted for your mum, but you shouldn't have had all that hassle. I sympathise - my mum is 90 and now has dementia, but is in complete denial of it which is making life very difficult. Thanks for sharing your workspace with us. Thanks for your comment on my blog. Hope you have a good week. Hazel WOYWW #20 x
Keep fighting the good fight for your Mum, Frankie but I do hope there is someone who is your rock when you need them!
I could write a book about the battles and the ugliness that I dealt with when I was caring for my mum.
One to share with you - I was visiting her in hospital and we were laughing and had this huffy witch - nurse say, sanctimoniously, "Be quiet, don't you know there are sick people here." My mum died the next day!
So keep kicking screaming and doing what you need to do!
Very tidy desk! Sorry about your battles for help! At least you won this one! Sometimes we just have to open our mouths and say it!
Good girl!
Glenda 100
i really like your space
sorry to hear our society is not giving your mum the respect and dignaty she deserves you keep kicking up a fuss and i hope all i well soon
TFS Happy WOYWW xx Charlie.xx #72
What a brilliant support you are to your Mum. No-one should have to beg for help like that for an 88 year old lady. Hope things improve quickly for you. x Jo #68
Great that you've got crafting and a lovely creative space to help you through your problems. So sorry you have SAD - for someone who's upbeat most of the time regardless of weather or circumstances, I would find this incredibly hard, I think.
Also so sorry (and angry!) that you've had such a struggle to get the basic stuff to give your mum some comfort and dignity. The authorities make it so difficult, and what they don't seem to appreciate is that the hidden army of unpaid carers in this country carry a huge burden and relieve them of a massive financial burden too! My hubby does a fair bit for me, but at least I can attend to my personal hygiene. If they want care in the community, they should jolly well provide what you need to carry out that care! It's an absolute disgrace, rationing incontinence pads - you should be given what you need. Period.
The High Horse has every right to rear his head at all this, in my opinion!!! Keep up the good work, Frankie. Even if there's nothing practical that your online friends can do, rest assured we can at least all be thinking of you and offering you moral support!
Thanks for your nice comment on my blog - I'm certainly feeling a lot better now, thank you.
Happy WOYWW,
Shoshi #25
It really is a shame that you have to threaten them with public exposure to get something. Good for you for winning the battle! waving hi from the hills of North Carolina with a hot dog in one hand and a flag in the other! :) #37
Thanks for the peek at your space! Happy WOYWW! Tammy #106
Lovely organised desk and well done for winning the fight. Though you shouldn't have to fight, it can be hit and miss with the nhs service you receive. It seems to depend on knowing your rights and knowing WHO to talk to and which 'buttons' to press. I know, I have RA and my dad has asbestosis and is in a wheelchair, luckily my mum is a nurse so knows the rules and we are both quite opinionated when dealing with health officials! Keep up the good work, although hard, your mum is worth it.
Kyla #54 xx
happy woyww, sorry to hear about the trouble your having on your mums behalf. its terrible.im glad you won the battle though. all the best, mark
Sorry i'm late, don't know where yesterday went, I know just how you feel when it come's to SAD's, The depression has hit me hard this year too so from one sufferer to another {big hug}
Hugz Minxy #19
It's unbelievable that you have had to go through all that just to get such a simple thing as an extra pad. It's making me feel quite upset too, when I think of all the money that governments and big business cheat us out of in the form of unpaid taxes, unjustified expenses and over-spending on rubbish. Ooer, don't get me started....! Well done for fighting your mum's corner! :D
Helen S #79
great looking space! have a great day
Those stupid bureaucrats really need to get a life, they're just not on the same planet as the people they're supposedly trying to help are they. It's so stressful on you trying to get the things your mum needs. My FIL died last year from Alzheimers, and I can tell you first hand that the carers of anyone who is sick are the hidden sufferers of all these terrible illnesses. Be strong, keep crafting and I hope you can find time to enjoy your garden again too.
Hugs
Brenda 7
Well done for winning the battle with the local health authority.
When my Mum had a total knee replacement she had the bad luck to get a dropped foot. She lives alone, 4 hours drive from me. She had carers come in to bath her and get her up but they had a rule to not take off their shoes.
It was the middle of winter, the sidewalks were heavily salted and gritted. You can imagine the mess!
Worst of all she had lovely hardwood fllors installed and the water from their feet would be tracked right into the bedroom making a huge slippery mess.
We were always worried she was going to slip on that water so one of us stayed with her for a couple of weeks at a time till she recovered. That way she did not need the carers and their messy feet.
Hi Frankie, your desk looks brilliant and I look forward to seeing the book when done.
My son suffers from SAD too, he lives high up in Aberdeenshire, and the daylight hours in winter are almost non-existent ... he has a special light near his computer which boosts his serotonin levels - it helps.
It really angered me to read about the problems you have been having getting such a paltry amount of help! Having a disabled daughter, I've been reduced to tears too many times to count by the very people who are supposed to help us ... I battled for her through her childhood and the battling continues even now that she's 40! I'm filled with admiration for your courage and tenacity :)
Hope you have a lovely weekend. Elizabeth x #85
Oh my dear you have been in the wars, good on you for persisiting. People need more like you around that don't take that crap.... I saw a few hmmm posts back you were in a very creative mood with your desk in full swing, gladly you have sorted it and now it looks amazing and yes you are getting things done, good on you. I love your art, amazing tallent you have. How is the blood presure by the way? I do hope it is at a better level now and you are doing alright. You hang in there you only have 1 mother, love her heaps with all of her inabilities, she is still Mum.
Give her a hug from me, and tell her to hug you from me. LOL
Eliza #22
Happy Crafting
What a terrible time you are having at the moment.
I can understand how the lack of sunlight can affect you because my daughter suffers too. But then to have all the trials and tribulations over you Mum keeping her dignity must have taken you to the brink.
It's good to hear that you won but how sad that you had such a battle.
I hear such terrifying things that I'm nervous about returning to the UK.
I hope your tidy desk beckons soon and you can have some creative therapy! I think you deserve it.
Apologies for being so late visiting this week...but what's new I ask myself. Better late than never though ;D
I hope you have a better week next week and the sun shines everyday for you!
Neesie #29
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