karened50

Gosh it's been so long since I have had the time to come on here, just been reading my thread and I can't believe how far we have come. 2 years in July. Some things are still the same, Jim still has no mobility and very little speech, but in himself he has come so far. He has now come to accept what life changing things have happened and is now so much happier in himself which I am so thankful for. I can honestly say I don't think anyone could have handled what has happened to them as well as my Jim has, he has a smile for everyone I never see him unhappy. NOW FOR MY BIG NEWS WE GOT MARRIED 12/12/2013 after being together for 23 years I finally made an honest man of him lol It was Jim's 50th birthday and was such a special day, don't think there was a dry eye in the place even the registrar was tearful, and he was word perfect, we practised so hard and he was looking at me all the while so I could help him through my tears, was such a magical day and will cherish it forever. We have booked a holiday for June this year, a place called mablethorpe (never heard of it myself) and am so looking forward to it, even a change of scenery will be good. This is something I really never thought I would have the courage to do as I am so organised at home everything is done a certain way that to go somewhere else that will not have the equipment I have at home was something I did not think I would do, but do it I am and I know I will manage one way or another. I feel so confident in. Myself now. I have had an extension built with a wetroom and it's lovely and makes things so much easier for me and Jim, that was finished a month ago so the house is just getting back to normal. Had to pay for the lot myself as I could only get a grant for a lift to go upstairs but this would have still not made things any easier for us so thought *** it we got money in the bank for a rainy day and the rainy day is here so spend it, after all what's the point of it being in the bank if we can't get out to spend it. I can tell you Jim wasn't to happy me spending nearly 20 grand on it but I soon talked him round, got nothing left mind but does it matter, no. Anyway will defo not leave it so long now my head is in the right place. Love to you all and hope your all keeping well Love Karen & Jim xx

Thanks for your replies and advice, dont think il bother then with the booster,save myself some money. we seem to have been left on our own again, no physio, no speech therapy, not even seen jims social worker, only seen her once since we came home. physio n occy health knew i was getting a new riser recliner chair and no one has told me we can get help towards these things. they did tell me not to get a powered wheelchair for jim as they said they did not think he would be able to use it but me being me took no notice cos he had one in the hospital and managed fine with it. jim is still adament he does not want to go out but some decisions have to be taken by myself so hes going out today as its a lovely day, just in the garden to watch me cutting the grass but i think a bit of fresh air will do him good. so if your sat in your garden and hear a big **** OFF then you know its big jim ha ha. karen xx

hi everyone, been a while since i have been on here jims definatly keeping me busy. want to ask for some advice, i have been looking at circulation boosters as jim keeps suffering with water retention to his right foot which is the side he has no mobility on this is also causing him have a bad cough, doctor has checked his chest and said it is clear but this is why he's coughing cos with him having no mobility he gets water on his lungs. What would be the benefits of buying a circulation booster? the doctor could'nt advise me one way or another, dont want to buy something that will do anymore damage. Have just forked out another £2,000 for a powered wheelchair, well were having some fun with that, only had it a day n jim got the arm rest stuck under the handle of the larder unit in the kitchen and we had to reverse it out which caused a big rip in the arm rest and all he had to say was "for f--ks sake" ha ha we laugh every single day cos if we did'nt we'd cry n never stop. was talking to my avon lady's hubby the other day and was telling him about jim and he told me the same thing happened to his wife 18 yrs ago and he says she is still getting better even after all that time. she did not walk or talk for 6 yrs then one day he said everything seemed to just click into place and shes now 100% better, so there is some hope but i will never give up on my jim he means so much to me. was thinking the other day how much i miss him talking to me then thought hey woman what you crying for he's still here with you. wait a minute, yep thats big jim shouting me "kaz" not forgot how to shout me. hope your all well karen

Hi to everyone. seems such a long time since i have been on here, dont have a minute to myself some days, who said there is only 24hrs in a day?? cant it be changed to more lol, not enough hours in the day. well my jim is coming on leaps n bounds, physio 3/4 times a week for the last 16 weeks, got just another 2 weeks left, did'nt know it was only for so long thought it was there util you did'nt need it no more,at first you could see the improvment in him but that seems to have come to a standstill now,am now resigning myself to the fact i really dont think jim will get his mobility back but miracles do happen. speech therapy twice a week but thats stopped now for a while to give him a rest from it. speech is comin on, he can repeat anything you say to him just has difficulty finding the words, so frustrating for him, i only have to go to say a word and he knows what it is, just needs a bit of a prompt, i do wonder if he will ever get the abbility back to say it himself without prompts, think its something called dyspasia?????????? only just this week got his benefits sorted out, dont know what we would have done if he had'nt been getting paid from work, relly feel for the people that dont get paid when off sick, i would have been out of my mind with worry by now. work are going to finish him on the grounds off ill health so am just waiting to see the payoff package they have for us and what pension we will get, keep telling him "hey not bad jim retireing at 49" i am concerned at the amount of time jim is sleeping, he has a good 10 hours at night but still sleeps on and off most of the day, hes asleep more then he is awake, take today, slept from 10 last night till 9 this morning, had breakfast and actually fell asleep whilst eating it, woke at 11 (1 1/2 hours sleep) awake for 45mins sleep again till 3, awake then till 5.30 sleep till 7, awake till 8 and still asleep now so not awake much. his consultant did say he could sleep alot but i am a little concerned, has anyone else came across this with either themselves or someone else. had my little ellie stay with us last night the first time since jim came home, she is so protective of her grandad, she'l go upto him and cuddle his "poorly hand" as she calls it, she even pretends to give grandad injections in his hand to make it better. well life seems pretty good at the moment under the circumstances, i still have days when i have to walk out of the room so jim dont see me upset, i sit sometimes and my mind wanders and i have to shake my head as i still cant believe what has happened. there was a time when i thought life had stopped as we know it but now i just tell myself its just going in a different direction. the best part of my day is when i say to jim "i" and he finishes it off with LOVE YOU Will try to keep in touch now that things seem to have settled down at home take care everyone karen n jim xx

Hi all, i cant believe the difference in jim in less then 1 week at home, toileting is going great, jim lets me know when he needs the commode and we have only had 2 accidents in the time hes been home, i knew i was right that he could do it if only the means were put in front of him. he is so happy and content full of smiles and laughter and hes not even getting aggitated or frustrated when hes trying to tell me something he just says what he can then tries and says "oh f--k" and laughs. am now waiting for an appointment with the incontinent nurse as he does not seem to know when he wants a wee at night whilst he is in bed, one of the enablement team said it could be that he does'nt get the same sensation of wanting a pee when he is lay down, does make me wonder why he was not reccomended to the incontinence nurse in hospital though, me wonders if it was because they knew they wer'nt doing all they could for jim. last night before he went to bed i said "do you fancy a cuppa jim" yes he said, say "please" i said and i will make you one "PLEASE" he said i was overjoyed and we both laughted, you want "tea" jim "TEA" he said, so am now making it my aim for him to repeat single words in every sentence i say to him. Yet more good news this morning got a letter from the insurance (critical illness) a cheque will be in the bank to pay the mortgage off within 5 days. we seem to have gone through so much heartache in the last 4 mths that someone now is looking out for us and making things a lot easier for us. on the DLA form front a lady is coming to see us at the end of the week to help us fill the forms in shes from tameside council and she helps housebound people with things like this. we wont be housebound for much longer i have some portable ramps coming on thursday so its ONWARDS AND UPWARDS from now on. yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh am so happy today my 2 little grandchildren are just on there way round with mummy to see grandad n nani, we hear ellie 3yr old all the way down the street shouting "i cuddle my ga gad" adoreable the pair of them and make life so worth living. karen xxx

I WANT TO SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS MY JIM IS HOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO HAPPY jim came home on wednsday. very emotional day for jim and myself he has come on leaps n bounds, in 4 days only 2 accidents where he has been wet, i knew it, i have said it all along that he was'nt incontinent it was just that he had no wat of letting the staff know when he wanted to go, cant stay on long as jim is fast asleep and i am a bit tired but oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so happy. even had a cuddle sat on his knee today n it felt like we had never been apart. long job ahead of us now but we have leapt over the hurdles that have been in front of us this last 4 months and well jump the ones that come next. thanks for info about the forms will defo look into 1 day this week. will try to get on here again soon with updates thank you all for your very kind and comforting words i cant express how well you have all made me feel. love to you all karen xx:biggrin:

still no jim home, they need 2 carers 4times aday and are having difficulty with the teatime carers so just have to wait, ALL I WANT IS MY JIM HOME i am so impatient ar'nt i ha ha. had moving n handling today, what a farce just showed me how to use the rota stand which i have been using everyday for the last 2 weeks. SOME ADVICE NEEDED I received a claim booklet today to see if i can claim disability allowance for jim, flippin eck its like a book, spoke to the social worker at the hospital and asked if there was anybody there that could help with filling it in, she said they dont have a welfare officer there to help, who else can i ask for help filling it in, she did say to be very careful filling it in as the dept work n pensions are very strict on things they look for in the claim packher, but i know hes still in there somew, i dont have any letters or anything like that to send them as proof that jim has been poorly. dont think i can even get my head round it yet, i sit here sometimes and start thinking of thing that have happened in the last 15 weeks n just shake my head, i cant believe all that has happened to such a nice loving adoreable man, i know hes still in there somewhere. will things ever be the same again, jim gets so frustrated when hes trying to tell me something that wont come out, has anybody else lost there speech for this long and then been able to talk again, i feel so helpless when hes trying so hard then he starts sobbing his heart out and i feel so bad for him. WILL I EVER WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE????????????????????????????? KAREN X:shock:

Hi Andy welcome, i like you are new to this, my husband (48) had a brain heamorage followed by a stroke 14 weeks ago tomorrow, he is a non smoker, no high blood pressure, no high cholestral and only went for a couple of pints on a saturday night n maybe a few sunday dinner, i am so glad he had not gone out that day, i hate sundays now. my hubby had vasospasm on the left hand side heamorage was right sided. i am as blind as you in all this but have had lovely messages of support from all the lovely careing people on here. its a long hard road and i dont think i have any tears left to cry, our lives have not stopped they are just taking a different route now. i wish you a belated happy birthday Andy. you will get all the advice and support you need from here take care xxx karen x

just knew it was to good to be true had a phone call at 11 oclock friday morning asking me to go in within the hour for moving and handling for jim, well got there at 11.45am asked the nurse on duty "so is everything ok for jim coming home today" yep she says just waiting for a call from the social services transfer team that everythings in place, so said shall i pack his stuff up and jims friend could take it home, you might as well she says so left a couple pairs of underwear n t shirts. waited till 1oclock still no sign of the person doing the moving/handling thingy so asked for them to contact her, the cheecky little b---er had only left for the day, fuming is'nt the word. waited then till 4oclock for transfer team to contact the ward, you guessed no call, i phoned them from the ward in the end and then they tell me they hav'nt got all the carers in place so would not be going home. i was angry and dissapointed, me and antony (my son) had worked so hard over the last couple of days to get the house into order read for jims big return home. if they had of said to me we think jim will be going home on friday if all the carers are sorted i would not have even told him just in case. i had to then tell jim what was going on and he did not seem to bothered but within 30mins of me telling him he was stripping off again and very agitated, not had any of that for the last 2 weeks so it seems it must be something related to stress. awwww nothing goes smoothly does it. so now got to go in again at 11 on monday for moving/ handling, said jim might be home monday but you know what i am not going to listen to them anymore, just gonna take it 1 day at a time. he is really doing so well this week, i have spent as much time with him as i possibly can and i can really see the light at the end of the tunnel, names this week, and the nurse said to me today that he said to her "you ask karen where" she thinks he was asking her where i was, i laughed today when she also told me jims brother went to see him and he said "you go now" and his brother thought he meant that jim wanted him to take him home, now i know my jim and i know he was telling him to p-ss off, not very sociable is he lol. nedd to clear my head i think, went to ikea today to get a few things got to the till put my card in put the pin number in and it said incorrect so tried it again still the same so 3rd time lucky NO, so blocked my card, tried jims card that did the same, tried again n the same 3rd time lucky again NO locked that one as well,well everyone behind me tutting i could of died, son in law was with me so he paid for it all. asked the asssitant if they were having a problem with the card machines no everyone else was ok. got in the car and suddenly realised i had done the very same thing 3 weeks ago and had a new pin for my card, WHAT A MUPPET, still did'nt see why jims had been blocked. got home antony was there and said i put jims card on the fireplace mum, errrr what card, the card you gave me the other day to go to b&q, ha ha i had only tried to use an old card of jims that was in my purse. god help poor jim when he comes home ha ha thanks for all your kind words of encouragement i have had over the last few weeks they have truley lifted my spirits no end to know that there are people out there who have been through the same thing, i only wish you had'nt. hope your all keeping well and i will let you know how things go over the weekend love n hugs to you all karen x:confused:

I'M SO EXCITED AND I JUST CANT HIDE IT JIMS COMING HOME ON FRIDAY YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH been a few busy days getting everything ready for my big jim coming home. new kitchen nearly finished, well at least i have a sink n cooker n hob lol bit nervouse now, any suggestions, i will be sleeping in the same room downstairs as jim, well bang goes my lovely lounge, and i am stressing out a bit, what can i get for jim to let me know if he wakes in the night, i am worried cos he cant talk that he will be lay there awake and i dont wake up, probably worried for nothing as i have never been a deep sleeper. have added some pictures of ga gad jim with our new baby grandaughter "libby rose" shes adoreable. will try and get on again when jim is home thanks for all your lovely messages of support i just wish i had found this site sooner. paul i have been reading your story about lin, had me in tears i can tell you, glad she is on the mend and you are both enjoying your time together. karen xxx:razz:

thanks for all your replies they certainly make some interesting reading. i can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. had a couple of really good days with jim no agitaton or taking clothes off or throwing beeding on the floor. we have had a few laughs and a few cries but lots of kisses n cuddles as well. what i would'nt give to hear him tell me he loves me something he did every single day, hey but as long as i know he does it dont matter. a few new words one of them being "karen" i laughed and said ohhhhhhh what have i done now cos you only call me karen when i am in trouble lol. steven was another one (eldest son). he was trying to tell me something tonight and just could'nt get it out so i said shall we try a pen and paper jim, yes he says so i give him a pen and paper and i dont know if it was what he meant to spell it but he wrote i MOAN strange but probably true, then tried him with a alphabet sheet and spelt out mine and jims name by pointing with a pen, asked jim to do the same and he was pointing at random letters, we'll get there in the end NOW FOR SOME WONDERFUL NEWS got a letter of our insurance company THEY ARE PAYING OUR MORTGAGE OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF over the moon is an understatement, i have genuinely been thinking about selling the house and buying a smaller one out of the proceeds as i would have been heartbroken if we had lost the house with both of us no longer working. i can see my jim getting stronger by the day got a meeting with the stroke co-ordinator on monday so am hoping they say he is ready for coming home, am not niave and know i will have my work cut out, no walk in the park but in all honesty if this last week is anything to go by i know i will mange well after all have had no help (nor wanted any) from anyone at the hospital this week, i can wash n change jim and his bed in about 5mins (not bad for a n old girl), have been toileting jim every couple of hours and the accidents are now few and far between mind you it might have something to do with me having a giggle with jim when i am washing and changing him make him laugh when i get the wet wipes (freezing cold) and slap em on his bum lol the language of him at this point is very choice (he is giggling like a naughty schoolboy at this stage) and i tell him carry on matey and i'll use more of em ha ha sleep tight all karen x:crazy:

Hi, well it certainly worked, had a phone yesterday before I went to the hospital from PALS, she was disgusted and very angry at the treatment jim has had from some members of staff, she asked me if i wanted to make a formal or informal complaint, i said informal cos all i want at the end of the day is for my jim to be treated with respect and dignity. She went onto the ward and spoke to the people concerned and it has worked a treat, the sister who i have been having most problems with (margaret) was on the ward yesterday but i think she has been told to keep away from both me and jim, never even made eye contact, the manager of the ward (shirley) was constantly asking me if i was ok and how was jim, she also said to me "i have been watching you care for jim and i know you wont have a problem with him when he goes home you are marvellous with him, hmmmmmmmmm, i never said i would, it was you that said i would, muppet. She said make sure you ask us if you need a hand with him, it always takes 2 of them to change jim but he helps me so much when i am changing/washing him that i can do it on my own no problem. He has been amazing the last 2 days i have been there and now i know i was right about the stripping off, he was asleep and wet himself, he woke up and went to take his undies off, i said have you wet jim? Yes he said, so i helped to to change his clothes and bedding and the problem was evaded. i had a feeling this was why he was doing it as when i am there he never does it cos i change him straight away, obviously they can t be there with him all the time so its a case of i am wet so strip off. now i think instead of this being the inappropriate behaviour they say it is i would say this is more appropriate behaviour as he is telling them in his own way i am wet. So off i go again today, dont know about jim but i am getting more confident by the day bye all karen x:biggrin:

thanks jane for that advice i will look into the somerset thing tomorrow, am so tired been with jim caring for him most of the day, boy do i need my rest now. jim does have a book with laminated pics in but everytime i show it to him he looks at it and gives it me back. keep on trying though. well letter went in today from dear rachel so we will see what they are like tomorrow. one thing i did notice today just before i was leaving was 4 cleaners on jims ward, now he has been in this hospital for 8 weeks and i can honestly say with my hand on my heart that i have NEVER seen a cleaner on the ward so theres a surprise, funny but you dont think about these things until you actually see them. i had a lovely day with jim today, he got a bit agitated when it got to 4.30pm cos all the afternoon visitors had gone and i think he was a bit concerned as to why i was still there even though i have explained to him several times what i am doing for the next 2 weeks, so i said "do you want me to go jim" "yes" he said so off i went for a bit of fresh air (and a fag) lol and when i went back in he was fine. took some games in with me today, frustration (ha ha) connect 4 and a dart board game, jimm went out every sunday afternoon for a game of darts with his friends, not sure if it was a wise move as he got a bit weepy, dont know if it was the darts or the frustration game as we used to play that with the kids when they were young, will try again another day. NOW FOR MY BIG NEWS, whilst i was there today jims friend phoned me to see how he was, i gave jim the phone and what happened next truely amazed me, he said "hello" 3 times and i cant explain it but jim is a very happy friendly man and always answered the phone in a sing song voice and very loudly, i always said you dont need a phone just stand at the front door and the whole of manchester will hear you, then the conversation continued, he said okay, yes, righty o, and another one of his favourites okey dokey then said okay bye. well i could have cried, this is the most and the clearest he has said anything in the whole 3 months. i was exstatic, jim put the phone down and mike phoned me straight back in tears, he said dont tell me that was jim yes i said, he was crying his eyes out, they have been best friends for 38 yrs and he said i never thought i would ever have a chat with my mate on the phone again. so thats it now i am going to get someone to phone me every day so i can give jim the phone and see if it helps he get a bit of confidence back. has anyone else found that they could talk better on the phone rather then face to face? Macca we were in your neck of the woods when jim first got poorly, he was transfered to salford royal from tameside hosp. within a couple of hours of him having his brain heamorage, he was there in critical care for 5 weeks, how i wish they would have kept him there they were marvolous with him but once he was stable they transfered him back to this s**t hole. thanks everyone for taking the time to read and answer my notes, i really love coming on here now to read and see progress of the stories on here. think this will be my lifeline. can you hear that????????????????????/ my bed calling me x karen xxx

Thank you all for your advice and sympathetic words. i wish the weekend staff were on all week, jim has been so well cared for this weekend. one of the male nurses CAME to me tonight and told me how well he thinks jim is doing, he said he slept really well last night until 5.30am and he settled him back down again, put some music on his cd player very low and put the earphones on jim and he fell asleep again with the music on till 8.30am, this is the longest he has slept in 3 months. its 3 months today since jim had his heamorage, it feels as if sometimes its gone so fast but at other times so slow, cant believe how much are lives have changed. i tell jim are lives have changed but they will just go in a different direction thats all. my daughter in laws twin sister came round today, she is a nurse at christies hospital, Rebecca (thats my daughter in law) had been telling her sister (Rachel) how jimmy is being cared (bein the operative word) for, she was furious, she came round and took a lot of notes from me asking me things that had gone on, names and times of nurses and carers on duty, she is going to write an email to PALS for me, she said this is neglect and if someone came into my house when i am caring for jim and saw me doing things that had been done they would say i was not fit to look after jimmy. she said dont say anything to the staff at the moment until PALS get involved and then if they carry on neglecting him to let her know and she will then get in touch with them by phone and also contact The Manchester Evening news which is our local paper. the hospital concerned Tameside General has very bad reports and is always in the papers for 1 reason or another. Got the nurse that was on last night to show me the behavioural chart they are filling in for jim, they are being ever so choosy what they are writing on it not a single word about how he was on friday night when that horrible incident occoured so i asked him to give me a chart (which was put in jims folder at the end of jims bed but went missing SURPRISE SURPRISE) and i made sure i wrote it on that and will be checking every day to make sure its still there. think i need some sleep now, had my little grandaughter last night, ellie jane, 3 yrs old and such a cheecky monkey, she was sat on her grandads new riser chair all day saying tell ga gad ellie likes her new chair, apple of mine and ga gads eye that one, nearly lost her when she was born weighed just 3lb and was in intensive care for a long time. Her mummy had another little baby 4 weeks ago libby rose and she is just as adoreable, ga gad got to hold her at just 2 days old as they were in the same hospital, he understood as well tears streamed down his face, lots of pics taken for him nite for now, hope your all feeling well karen x

I knew it would'nt last ! what an awful day yesterday, went to lunch with a friend, whaen i got home there was a msg to contact the hospital, they said jim was being unco-operative, undressing and taking his bedding off, OK so thats a reason to phone n leave a msg that had me scared to death till i spoke to them, i think they are starting to be petty cos i have told them i am not happy with jims care. so i went in and the curtains were around jims bed, he must have recognised mt footsteps as before i even got to his bed he opened the curtains lol, i looked at him and was so shocked, he was sat on the end of the bed starkers, no bedding on just the mattress, he was shivering with the cold, he was absolutely soaked in urine so much that it was running off the bed onto the floor where there was a big pool of it, if he had tried to stand up and get into his wheelchair ( even though i have told him not to do) he would have slipped. i felt like crying but kept my cool, before i went to see the sister i washed n dressed him and as i am doing it i am telling him what i am doing and what i am going to do next, he was very amenable, he was blue with the cold and had all red marks on his bad leg his foot was like ice, no urine bottle for him to use anywhere, drink bottle empty, i then sat him in his chair whilst i went to see the sister. i asked her have you seen the state of my jim, how long has he been like that? yes she says he been like that most of the day, hes not being co-operative with any of the staff, he has been aggressiveto 2 members of my staff and wont let us do anything for him, hes refused his tea, ermmmm exscuse me my jim cant say "no". i said well i have just been in and hes not been aggressive to me he let me get him washed n dressed no problem, yes she says hes like that with me, so why did you not see to him if hes ok with you? i am furious, i'll be in in a minute, that minute always seem to last forever. i went back to him and he was still sat in his chair with a big smile on his face bless him. i washed and made his bed him watching me all the time. the visit went well after that and he was once again nice n warm, NEW WORD OF THE DAY FRAN. Thats his brother, seems were on names this week. half an hour before i left he wanted to get back into bed which i will admit i normally let him do himself with my help but he was a bit unsteady on his feet so i asked the nurse to get his rota stand and help him into bed, you'v guessed "in a minute", after 10 mins in which jim kept trying to get into bed i asked them again to help him into bed "let me just get someone to help me" by this time visiting time was coming to an end so i drew the curtains around hin n we did it together. for the whole of 2 hours that i was there not 1 nurse or carer came anywhere near us, what would have happened if i had'nt cleaned him and his bed. on my way out i said to the carer you dont need to put jim in bed i have done it myself, "thank you" she said i felt that she was being sarky. i am so angry i am dreading going in tonight to what i might find. who do i complain to, even the sister on the ward does'nt seem to care,(that was the one that i spoke to when i first went in last night) if they cant handle the way jim is surely he should be put onto another ward that can cope with him, he cant be the first patient who has had a brain heamorage and a stroke, i think they are used to dealing with elderly patients who are happy enough to stay in bed to rest jim is'nt hes a hard working 48 yr old male who has had so much taken from him with this terrible thing that has happened to him at least leave him his dignity for gods sake. thats my moan of the day over. on a more positive note at least they can see that he is brilliant with me and i wont have a problem seeing to his needs when he gets home. just having my new kitchen fitted today, that was a job that jim was doing before he was taken ill, its been a nightmare for the last 3 months not having a proper kitchen, i had no cielings in my kitchen and hallway, no electrics, no plumbing, he certainly got out of the way at the right time did'nt he ha ha. cant wait to be able to cook n wash in my newbie bye for now karen:frown: