The air temperature went down to minus one as the sky remained clear overnight, so I woke up to a bright sun on a decidedly wintry morning though with little frost. I had a much better quality night's sleep, awake for two hours out of nine in bed, nevertheless, and peeing a litre as well. I wonder if this is something to do with the body eliminating the remaining traces of the diuretic what has given me such grief? I guess I'll find out tomorrow night. At least I'm more relaxed from the rest I had, not experiencing the accumulated adrenaline rushed of half a dozen bladder wake up calls.
Kath phoned on her way to work. We chatted about switching broadband accounts, and the pros and cons of buy a smart TV with built in Freeview content. It's the next big decision I have to deal with. The trouble is, when I'm not feeling well, my ability to be decisive evaporates. I start thinking What's the point of it, when locked into the vicious cycle of decline due to the medication? Apart from high blood pressure, I think I'm recovering well from the stroke, maintaining fitness, eating well and resuming many normal activities. Is there a way to break out of this vicious cycle? For the moment I have abandoned the 'booster' hypertension drug regime which has had such a bad effect, and rely just on the Losartan I've taken to keep me stable for the past eighteen years. The question facing me is how to avoid over stimulus and anxieties that elevate my blood pressure? I think I'm my own worst enemy.
Dr Mullaney called at eleven thirty. Blood tests revealed that my sodium level is not as low now as it was. I told her that I had abandoned the medication causing continued low sodium. I asked her if it would be possible to look into an endocrine based drug that works as a trigger to control the sensation that awakens the need to pee more frequently than necessary. Sheila told me in church yesterday how helpful this had been to her Mike at the end of his life when diuretics were ruining his sleep. Dr Mullaney acknowledged it was worth looking into, and is arranging a consultation for me at UHW with a medication specialist in the light of recent blood test results. It's just a visit thankfully, not a hospital stay.
An electrician was sent by Care and Repair yesterday to look at raising the set of electrical sockets feeding various gadgets in lounge telly corner. A quote of £265 arrived by phone and email. Accessibility without too much risky awkward bending is worth paying for I suppose.
Outside this morning, the noisy rumble of machines. Meadow Street's broken and uneven pavements are being resurfaced. Glad I don't have a car to find an alternative parking space for, as cars are banished from the street while the work is done. We had to stay in the house for a couple of hours until the new tarry pavement surface fully hardened. I wonder how long it will be before it will be broken to investigate another gas or water leak, ? These are not infrequent, although most of the supplying pipes have been replaced. That's not always the case within a property, and any disruption to the ground may have unexpected consequences. That's a problem with legacy infrastructure unfortunately.
I worked on next week's Biblical Reflection before lunch. Afterwards, I went into town. Buses from Llandaff Fields in the afternoon are so infrequent that I walked to Cowbridge Road instead and picked up a number 18 bus to town instead. I went to John Lewis' to look for a smart TV, and bought a Sony Bravia for just under three hundred quid. It's the same size as the non smart Sony Bravia it replaces and slimmer. I didn't fancy hunting for a taxi to get it home, so I walked with it to the Bus station and had to wait half an hour to catch a 25 bus. Traffic up Cathedral Road was so slow moving I got off the bus at the Berthwyn Street stop and walked home from there lugging the telly without seeing the bus overtake me. In the dark I got distracted by the awkwardness of carrying the seven kilo cumbersome package and missed the visual cue for the left turn into Llanfair Road and reached Meadow Street a longer way round. At least I didn't trip and fall in the dark with the telly! I didn't have the desire to get on with unboxing and installing it. That can wait until tomorrow.
After supper, I listened to the news reports about the Covid Enquiry Report, issued today. It's very critical of the government response described as 'too little too late', and of Boris Johnson's chaotic administration and poor decision making. It was clear there were serious relational and communication problems between central government and Celtic regional administrations. It boils down to arrogant, self-serving leadership failing the country at a critical time. One positive aspect about the response was the speedy research and development of an effective vaccine and its widespread distribution. It happens when people knuckle down and work hard together, and the scientific research community is very good at achieving its goals.
There was nothing of interest to spend the rest of the evening watching, so I went to bed early, tired by the exertion of getting the new telly back home on the bus.
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