Always learning

You learn something new every day. So here's a few of the things I've learnt these past few days.

I have learnt that you can't put pullover pyjamas on a small child when small child is hooked up to oxygen.

I am used to walking out and about with children who have NG tubes. But the sympathetic head tilt and "you're so brave/such a shame/is it cancer?" looks and comments we get when out and about multiply ridiculously when the same child has an air hose slung around the neck and up the nose. Although, considering the amount of tape necessary to keep the cannulae in place it is possible some of these glances are just checking there is in fact a face under there somewhere. I am still learning the process of how exactly to react when the people we almost know (i.e. the people we meet on our daily school runs but never do more than say a quick hello in passing) start to say hello then suddenly become hugely busy with something on the other side of the road.

I have learnt that hell hath no fury like a woman whose daughter has managed to kick over the urine jug midway through the cathing process sending wee over the floor and down my trousers.

I have learnt that threading camels through the eyes of needles would be easy in comparison to trying to pick bogeys out of nostils already containing an NG tube and a nasal cannula.

I have learnt that it is not a good idea to put soluble prednisolone into a syringe, draw up water into the syringe and then shake the syringe violently. Although if I can get a good supply of pred I may consider this for future waterfights.

I have discovered that, however many phonecalls are made and received during the course of the day, there will always be one phonecall left to make which will only be remembered after 6PM. I am learning that this will be the same phonecall forgotton on Monday and Friday and Thursday.

On a similar note, I am reminded that, however many drugs you reorder from the GP there will be one mediction in particular which is constantly forgotten.

I have learnt that soaking the covers of Little Fish's chair in washing soda to get rid of the Weetabix, porridge and paint will cause the plastic coating to melt and puddle in one corner.

And apparently I still have not learnt that stacking paperwork on the windowsill and under the settee and behind the computer and beside the toaster is not the same thing as actually dealing with it.

Tia