Divided loyalties
The Manor has seen a bit of an upheaval over the last ten days.
For a start, the place is incredibly quiet. No yelling of obscenities, No demands. No clatter of things being thrown. No nothing really.
Of course I have been doing a lot of driving and have probably covered more miles in a week than I did all of last year.
The silent sufferers though are the animals. Or one animal in particular.
Penny was always a great one for getting excited at the rattle of car keys. It meant a drive somewhere, or a walk, or best of all a trip to the coffee shop. She doesn’t like being left alone. Sometimes, if I were going somewhere she couldn’t go I would tell her that I was sorry but that I would be back soon. She’d stand somewhat accusingly as I closed the door in her face.
Now there isn’t a flicker when I pick up the keys. She now knows that she’s not coming and that I won’t be back soon. She doesn’t even follow me to the front door. She is resigned to another day of loneliness. She is also somewhat confused as to the lack of Herself. She has stopped searching the house and just lies there looking depressed.
When I do eventually return, there is a dash of wild excitement and a treat or two but she knows I shall probably fuck off again the following day.
What about Cat, you ask? Hah! Cat couldn’t give a shit. So long as she is fed and has access to the garden occasionally she wouldn’t care if the house was deserted or full of zombies.
Anyhows the day is drawing on. Time for me to leave and traipse up to the hospital again.
Now I just get a sigh from the dog.
Penny knows perfectly well that your wife is not in the house. She picked up on the fear and anxiety you both reeked of in the days preceeding her departure.
And she knows of your stoicism, and those times when you get just a little bewildered.
Some hospitals allow pets to visit their keepers. Any harm asking if that's possible?
(Some moving ones on YouTube, just in case. One with the African Grey really blew me away).
I did think about bringing Penny in. The only problem then is that there would be no need for any of us to go home. The cat would either starve or find a new
suckerhome.Have no fear of that. You can only eat hospital cafeteria food for so long before you start to crave something that actually tastes good…or has any taste at all…or that you can actually identify…or isn't lukewarm…
The food isn't that bad and there is a fairly decent menu. Add to that free telephone, free multichannel television, free newspaper [delivered to the room], free heating, free maids [though don't let the nurses hear you call them that] and just about free everything. They are a bit sniffy about smoking though.
I was going to say something along the lines of, But the rent is phenomenal, but then I recalled that you folks have that free (as in beer) health care or something like that? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Oh, and ask Herself if the bed is actually comfortable will you? They certainly aren't here in the States by my experience so I'm a bit curious.
Free? No! We're on private health insurance which costs a significant portion of the pension. The bed is top of the range electric. I discovered today that the bed even warbles gently if the breaks are released! Even my car doesn't do that.
If we hadn't had insurance there would probably be a three year waiting list with every chance that the operation would be bounced back to the bottom of the queue if the theatre was needed for something more important [i.e. a patient with insurance?]
Thanks for the correction. And when you said the bed was a top of the range electric my brain initially thought you were speaking of a cook stove. I had to shove the brain cells back into alignment before the neurons started firing normally again.
Oh, yes, you all have good reason to go home – it's home. Including cat. 😉
Daughter suggested this evening that I bring in a stuffed cat for company. I said I was happy to stuff the cat but not the dog.
Like Penny, our dog, Tilly, loves routine. She knows exactly when she is due food, treats or a walk, and will not let you forget. Any change in this time sequence usually puts her whole system out of kilter for a bit, but she soon adapts. Hopefully Penny will take it all in her stride and things will get back to normal soon.
You and your wife will really notice the difference with her new knee. My mother had both done as well as one hip over a period of time, and it let her be much more mobile for years after.
Good luck to you both.
Ian
Welcome Ian! Penny is certainly a stickler for routine! Strangely enough she does occasionally show an independent streak and will break a routine for no obvious reason. For example, jangling car keys causes an immediate dash for the car where she will happily lie on the back seat. Once in a blue moon though she will get as far as the car and then just trot back to the house again. No apparent reason is given.
I hope the new knee works [so far so good]. The trouble is that the other knee is nearly as bad and her lower spine is worse than both knees! Time for the knacker's yard?