Back home...

I called home again, and it was a bit worrying that after two calls there was no reply. So I called my brother on Skype, and the call was rejected. My mind began to imagine all the things that may be happening... Emergency rush to the hospital... Accidental fall? Severe bleeding? High fever?

Then brother called back. Relief... The home phone was unplugged for some reason. Things are alright, though for the past two nights, mum has been running a high fever, 39C the night before, 38C last night. It's worrying, especially in her current state of health, and especially after what the doctor said about rushing to ER should she develop a fever. But luckily, with some icing and wipes with cold towels, mum's temperature subsides and comes down to normal. Mum says perhaps it is due to the winter blanket she is still using, when it is already Summer.

It feels strange to talk to mum at a distance and through a video screen now, especially after I have constantly been around her for the past four months. Stranger to see her lying down in her bed everytime I call. But she said she does feel a bit more energetic, at least better than before. Yesterday, brother posted pictures of him wheeling my mum to the park nearby in her new wheelchair. There was a scene in which mum is sitting side by side next to the baby buggy. Brother captioned it a "four wheeled race". I smiled at that, from afar, and wished I had been there to see mum's face as she smiled looking at my nephew in his race-car (pram). "Remember to go out again today!" I told her. She said it hurts when the wheelchair goes over the uneven pavement, especially where she has an open wound with the bile tube connected, but also where she recently had the bypass surgery. Even so, she must go out and walk about more and get more exposure to the sun and fresh air. It will do her good.

So it has been four days since the carer came to our house. My brother was talking to her today about the possibility of having her around for the long term. She proposed to have  a set wage and to forgo the agent. It does seem like a good idea, especially as it would spare us, and in particular mum, the trouble of finding, training and getting used to a whole new carer. Wait a bit more and see how things are so you can have a better assessment, I suggested.

Seems like things are going relatively well, or at least stable so far. It does reassure my mind, but in some little way, suspicious and perhaps too thoughtful as I can be, I do wonder whether they are not telling me things so as not to worry me and distract me from my exam next week.