Home From Home

Edgar is in respite some miles away from Swanvale Halt. Back in May he had an operation to correct an ‘essential tremor’ he’s had for many years and this was entirely successful, so he now has a usable right hand for the first time in a long while. However, he reacted unusually badly to his medication and had to stay in hospital longer than expected, and at home, having been doing very well for some days, took a tumble and broke his ankle. Back to hospital for Edgar, then, and finally out – but not to his and wife Jennifer’s impractical house with its ground-floor garage and lots of stairs, but to a care home in a leafy part of the county.

The staff are kind but overworked and management could be more effective than it is. The place ran out of insulin last week and the manager had to drive Jennifer all the way back to Swanvale Halt to pick up Edgar’s entire supply. Edgar is currently the only resident without dementia and, he says, once the staff got used to not treating him the same way, now pop in to see him suspiciously often as they can expect a reasonable conversation. It would be better to move him to a different home just up the hill from me, but Edgar is a tall gentleman and that particular establishment doesn’t have any extendable beds! All the care facilities in the area are packed, as are the hospitals: normally the kind of physiotherapy and rehabilitation Edgar needs would be handled at Milford, but they have no beds at all.

I spent about 45 minutes with Edgar, having not seen him for several weeks. And as I drew back I realised that the one thing I’d decided I needed to talk to him about – his role as the church’s licensee for events where alcohol is served – I’d completely forgotten!