A Trebian Christmas

I love Christmas. I like all the food, I like the odd drink, I like being with my family, I like presents, I like card & board games and I like the Doctor Who Christmas special. This year I was also looking forward to having a week off, as I haven't taken a break since March.

Things are a bit more difficult to arrange these days, what with my father in care and the children at opposite ends of the country, but we got it sorted with the children coming home at the weekend and my brother and his wife having Christmas lunch at the care home with our parents, then we go across on Boxing Day and have lunch with my mother then off to the home to see my father.

The wheels dropped off sooner than we expected with a phone call from my mother on Saturday morning sounding not very well, so we went over to find out what was wrong. She was in a lot of pain and after an hour or so of phone calls and waiting we got a home visit from a practice nurse who said she needed to go to A&E for x-rays/ECGs. So off we went. Long story short at the end of 5 hours in A&E she was told she had to transfer to the super hospital in the neighbouring town as the local one doesn't have any beds or care facilities or equipment. My mother hates that hospital as she has had bad experiences in it, - lack of information, for a start and the odd nasty nurse as well and being put on a ward with screaming dementia patients just because she is old. In the mean time Miss Trebian had got home to an empty house.

Sunday we went to pick up Master Trebian from the station and went out to lunch (my mother was supposed to be with us and it seemed a shame to waste the booking). Then off to the hospital, where things were looking okay. My mother was laughing and joking with the nurses, and was in a nice, bright, ward on her own due to be transferred to another ward for treatment and tests.

Christmas Eve we had to ourselves and went to see "The Hobbit" as a family, which we all enjoyed. Then a few games and drinks and into Christmas Day (got a Kindle, - recommendations for free books suitable for a wargamer, including 19th century colonial warfare appreciated). Inspired by the film I set up the GW "Battle of the Five Armies" game and tried to understand Rick Priestley's rambling rule book once again. Nice pictures, shame about the text.

By Boxing Day we were back on duty, and over to the hospital. My mother was not happy. They'd ignored her when she told them what meds she was on and relied on an old record from June. She was feeling nauseous, and unable to eat or drink. No tests or scans had been done since she had been admitted, and she was going backwards. I spoke to the junior doctors on duty and went over the medication and got them to look at more recent records from another consultant which cinfirmed what my mother had told them. Hopefully by the time we go over on Thursday afternoon she'll be feeling a bit better. And they'll know what's wrong.

I'm concerned now about how long she is going to be in and when she'll be discharged and what after-hospital care she'll need. I can't just nip out of work to pick her up these days.

Anyway, I'm planning an SCW game for Friday, and I've got a possible ancient game this evening, depending on travel conditions for my potential opponent, so let's be positive.

Then at the weekend I will submit a BIG figure order for the Chinese armies.

Merry Christmas one and all.