Refuge

Angus, March 2022

As ever, there's been a lot going on. I went to visit a friend yesterday who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and has been receiving constant chemotherapy ever since. We sat outdoors to minimise any risk of infection, and it was freezing, and he asked what I've been doing, and it took a very long time to tell him. 

The most interesting bits include: 

• finding a new care provider for dad, and arranging for assessment of needs for both parents
• looking after trainee guide dog Angus again
• spending a day at the international badminton in Birmingham
• welcoming my cousin from Seattle and giving her a tour of Lola Towers and Leamington along with Lola II and Mr M
• a very interesting visit to the periodontist
• lots of Buddhist stuff as usual
• a new project, as if I didn't have enough going on...

The care provider and Assessment of Needs

The old care provider told us that they were stopping at the end of March, and mum asked me to help find a new company. We rejected the most enthusiastic and responsive and helpful company because they were charging twice as much as others (they are still calling me to find out how we're getting on), and another couple of companies that I contacted failed to respond at all. I hope we have ended up with a satisfactory replacement, but time will tell. 

The Occupational Therapist carried out the Assessment of Needs a month ago, wrote a report with the wrong names in it, submitted it to the Borough and was told that two separate reports were needed, one for each person, so she wrote new reports and submitted them a week ago, with the corrected names (we are told).

Angus the trainee guide dog

I have looked after Angus before for a weekend, but this time I had him for nearly a week. For three of those days he was at school being trained, so I dropped him off in the morning and picked him up again in the evening - on these days he was pretty tired in the evening. On three other days I was looking after him all day, and on those days I was pretty tired in the evening. He is really affectionate though, and I was prepared for his mischief so everything that could be picked up was already put out of his reach. I loved having him, but the hair! So much hair!

The periodontist

I have been having teeth and gum problems all my life. As a child transitioning from baby teeth one of the new teeth erupted from the centre of my palate and had to be removed under general anaesthetic. Four teeth were removed in my teens and I wore full metal braces for a couple of years to straighten those that were left. I've been seeing my current dentist ever since moving to Leamington 20 years ago, and we haven't yet found a way to reduce the infection and inflammation affecting my gums, which has led to one molar being lost about three years ago. The current orientation of my teeth mean that the upper and lower jaws meet only on the back molars, and even there the contact is not flat. What this means is that chewing is difficult, I don't have any sort of bite, and I have pretty much constant discomfort when eating anything tougher than soup.

"A dentist treats the teeth, gums, and other areas of the mouth while a periodontist only treats the gums and the bone supporting the teeth. Orthodontics is a specialism within dentistry that focuses on straightening your teeth and making sure your bite is correct."

The periodontist I saw was a very nice man who reassured me that I am by no means the worst case he's seen and is confident that things can be improved. Unfortunately the treatment (that I've now agreed to) involves two lots of surgery under local anaesthetic and will take about six months altogether. This should then lower the risk of my teeth falling out as they are moved about by the orthodontist to improve the bite.

Offering refuge

So what is this new project, as if I didn't have enough going on? Well, Ukraine. It is horrific to see what has been going on there, and along with many others I have donated money and wondered what more I could do - could I accommodate a refugee? Looking at the process laid out by the UK government where you volunteer your services and are somehow matched with a stranger, I was uncertain whether I could trust the scheme. But on a local message board I saw that a Leamington resident who is from Ukraine was offering to put potential hosts in touch with people she knows, so I got in touch, and she sent me details of a friend - a young woman who would also like to bring her cat. So I said yes.

My main concern was that she might be traumatised and not speak English and need more support than I could easily manage. In fact she has been studying for a Masters degree in psychology, works as a software developer and speaks English very well indeed. She and her parents had to move from where they lived in the Crimea in 2014 and ended up in Kyiv, from where they have now fled to Poland. She filled in the online form, and although I expected a long wait I have already been contacted by my local authority to carry out the checks that are required to make sure I'm the right sort of person and have suitable accommodation. So we're moving forward quicker than I expected.

Everything else

What with all of this I've done almost nothing for Mr MXF this month, but I've been in touch to offer some time next week when I haven't got a dog and the care provider should be in place and nobody's visiting - except there's the visit from the council officer and two local meetings about the Commonwealth Games and the usual Buddhist stuff...