[Chirley]

Thanks for your kind thoughts but somehow it feels wrong to so much as think about how IM feeling.

Mums treating team doesn't work weekends and have a generic junior doctor on call instead and the patient liaison '(advocate) doesn't work weekends either.

She is in a room with three other people, two men and one woman. One of the men is loud and demanding and the other man has a continual mental health nurse with him to control his violent outbursts. The other woman in the room is quiet as a mouse. The actual physical environment is not pleasant but we felt that as long as her care was good it didnt matter but Mum is not getting any sleep and the whole atmosphere is depressing. She is on a one litre per day fluid restriction which includes the IV meds so she has very little to moisten her mouth with and nothing has been supplied to ease her dry mouth. I've ordered some Biotene gum and spray for her but it won't come for a few days. Her O2 sats are sitting in the high 80s and she's on oxygen via nasal prongs at 2l/min but it's obviously not enough to keep her comfortable but I can't find anyone there who is willing to tell me why her oxygen can't be increased. She doesn't have a history of COPD or anything that would prevent her having a higher concentration of O2 as far as I know.

My Dad is going to see her today but he won't ask any questions or advocate for her if something's wrong, he's too polite to make a fuss. It's Fathers Day here and after I come back from paying some bills for Mum and Dad, I'll make him a lovely roast dinner. He came to see me about an hour ago and he admitted that it's starting to overwhelm him and he doesn't feel like he can keep going. The good news is my brother rang Dad for Fathers Day and said he is coming back tomorrow and will stay in one of his houses in the next suburb. He said he had to leave because it's bushfire season and one of his farms had long grass from being understocked with cattle and he had to go and slash some paddocks as a fire precaution.

I have a big basket of ironing to do for Mum and Dad, it's not my favorite thing but it's something I can do to help because I can do it sitting down.

Better go.

Regards

Chirley