Giving blood in the time of coronavirus...

Day 71

I went and picked up Mum this morning at 9.30am as we were going with Dad to the fracture clinic at Northampton General. He was being collected from the care home by a community ambulance and we arrived at 10am to find one already there. I thought it was for my Dad but it was for another resident who was going to A&E.

Mum and I sat and waited in the car... and we waited and waited. One of the staff called me to say the ambulance was on its way, but it finally arrived at 11am so we wasted an hour. I was not amused! Dad was brought out in a wheelchair and we said hello, and then followed the vehicle to the hospital. We weren't sure if both of us were going to be allowed into the fracture clinic with him, and in the end, neither of us were. I was fuming, to be honest, because it was a waste of our time!

The ambulance driver said he had been told to collect my Dad at 12.30pm so Mum and I had no choice but to go and waste another hour somewhere. Ordinarily, we would have gone for a coffee in the hospital but no cafes were open! We drove to Morrison's where we were able to buy two takeaway coffees and the newspaper, and we decided to head over to Abington Park to sit in the car.

I still think back fondly to when Mike worked here last summer and how pleased we were that he'd got a good job that paid well. It seems incredible to think that he hasn't worked since... We sat and enjoyed our coffees and chatted and then made our way back to the hospital where we went to see Dad for five minutes. I managed to get him to sign his Attendance Allowance form so I can get that sent off tomorrow. He seemed fine but still looked a little frail. He needs a good dollop of sunshine!

We followed the ambulance back to the care home, but when Mum got out of the car she felt a bit dizzy, so we said a quick goodbye and I took her home. It has been warm and sultry today and there was a thick band of very white cloud looming over us, making the blue sky seem even bluer! This slowly cleared away and it came out very hot again!

At home I had lunch with Sophie and then watered the garden. I had arranged to go back with Mum to the care home in Kettering for 4pm as she wanted to have another look. The problem is, that it's very expensive but it's more like a hotel than a care home and Mum and Dad could have two rooms next to one another - one to use as a bedroom and one as a sitting room. We had a very pleasant chat with one of the staff and I dropped Mum back at home after saying we would have a good discussion about what we would be doing.

It certainly has been a busy day today because Sophie, Mike and I had an appointment to give blood in the evening. I had wondered how they would manage it, but it was all done very well, with only a few changes to what we would normally expect from a donation session.

When we entered the building we were asked questions by a St John's ambulance man and then asked to go and wash our hands thoroughly. We then waited as normal, but at a distance from other people. The staff who were taking blood all wore masks, as did some of the people arriving to give blood but we weren't made to wear them.

Mike sadly didn't donate today as they couldn't find a vein but Sophie and I gave a pint each so now I have donated 40 pints (although I have given more than that as I started when I was 17 and then stopped).

Afterwards, we sped home to find Keith putting the finishing touches to a dinner of chicken fajitas. It was late to eat, but I'm very glad we went and donated - we have booked another appointment for the middle of September so I'm hoping things will be back to normal then!