General Chat

Huia, I have problems with my hearing, I have a hearing aid, but hardly ever wear it, because it sometimes falls out of my ear. Alun and Jennie are forever telling me to go back to the place where I had it from. I know I should, but I paid quite a lot for it a few years back and went back a couple of times so they could get it to fit properly, but it has never been comfortable to wear. So now I'm reluctant to go back there.

I must admit that it's miserable not being able to hear very well. I'm okay with one to one, but if there are a few of us togetether I just lose the conversation nearly all the time.

Well, enjoy your birthday, and take care.


Love, Sallie.xxx

Jean just seen your post, I hope that you are feeling better. It's nice to see you posting, we miss you on here when we don't hear from you.

It's been nice to hear from both you and Caz tonight, so we only need to hear from Joyce now.

Love, Sallie.xxx

Sallie I will say just one thing to you. silly person, get a national health aid. My digital aids are great, OK they can be seen if my hair is short but I wouldn't be without them now. They are free and the batteries are free. Go on, get your hearing checked, ask your doctor to be referred, you wont regret it.

Caz, glad you have recovered or are recovering from the latest fall. Yep, think you need to lay foam on all your floors so you bounce!!

I also really should get my hearing testing .... but there are no free tests OR aids over here.


Nor do the doctors give you a reference to get your hearing checked


I have no idea how to choose a reputable company!


There are many that advertise all kinds of wonderful things, BUT ...............



and we are talking several thousand dollars for the aids.




sylvia

Sylvia, in your case I guess the best thing would be by recommendation. Here we have opticians who also do hearing aids. Do you?

Ann, just showed Alun what you have written, and he agrees with you.

I have an appointment with the doctor a week on Thursday, so I'll ask him about it while I'm there.

I was told by several people that GP's don't like referring patients for hearing aids and that if I was referred it would take at least 18 months to get an appointment. So I didn't bother, and instead spent a lot of money on buying one, that isn't comfortable to wear. More fool me!


Thank you for enlightening me, Ann.

Love, Sallie.xxx

Ann, yes we do have opticians that do hearing tests, but I don't know how much the test and the hearing aid would cost.

I'm reluctant to spend a lot of money again, especially if I have trouble with the hearing aid.


Sylvia, it's a shame you haven't got anywhere where you can have a free hearing test and aid.

I had my hearing aid about three years ago, and paid almost £2,000 for it, so I can imagine how much you would have to pay for one now.

Love, Sallie.xxx

Ann


no, opticians don't do anything other than eye tests over here.



There are sometimes free Hearing Clinics offered .......... but always by one of the companys!

Sallie the bit about opticians was to Sylvia.

When i firstw ent for my tests the waiting list was supposed to be a long time. But I didn't wait that long. That was about 14 years ago now, for the old type aids. I am sure the waiting lists are shorter now. But if you don't get yourself on to the list it will be longer if you see what I mean. I have never heard (at least in this area) that doctors don't like referring people for tests.

Ask your Dr when you see him, your hearing wont get better.

Sorry Ann, got a bit mixed up there. I will certainly ask our Dr about a hearing test.

Sylvia, the hearing test I had was free, but of course I had to pay for the hearing aid. It sounds as though it's the same kind of thing you have over there.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUIA.

Sylvia, those distances from different size t.v.'s will come in useful. I am thinking of getting a new tv Probably something betwee 37 - 42 inches.

I know that i have left it very late - but Thank you to Sallie & Alun, Ann in Glos), Joyce & Jan and anyone else from Gr who sent me a Christmas card this year.
I now also get cards from cousins I've found since doing the family tree.

One of my cards stands out though, not a "new" relation, but from my aunt (by marriage).
Aunty has written the card on behalf of herself and her son.
She is 100 years old!! A lovely lady, I am very lucky to know her.


Mo, I hadn't heard about gidt aiding things that you give to Charity shops.

If I get sorted, I have quite a few books totake.

Ann, did you look through the books again before taking them to the Charity Shops?

Were you tempted to read some "just one more time?"

I bet that you will find some of them coming up as suggestions in your readers group in the coming months.

Tess

Hello to you all,
****** Happy Birthday to Huia****** I hope it is a good one for you.

Sorry I have not had time to post ,but with all that is going on over here with the floods I have spent a good deal of time watching the updates on the floods,as I was worried about my sister as my brother had no idea where she was I finally saw her on the news when our Prime Minister was visiting the evacuation centre in Rockhampton,and she looked fine.
my brother's house escaped the water entering by about 5 cm's.
The floods have gotten worse in the last 24hours with flash flooding in Toowoomba with 8 people drowned & 72 people missing,and now the flood is on its way to Brisbane ,at least they have been warned and have time to prepare., and the rain is still pouring down.

Now for some explaination, Mybrother Neville and sister Carmel both live in Queensland, Rockhampton in the suburbe of Depot Hill.
I live in New South Wales, in Bathurst , west of Sydney . , I am about 16 hour's drive from Rockhampton.
Bathurst does sometimes gets flooded but the local council has done a lot of flood mitagation along the Macquarie River. This river flows West and ends up in what is called the Macquarie marshes which is a (large bird habitate)it is a very important area out near Dubbo further west.
Our Area is called the Central Tablelands and we are above Sea level and
quite high and very cold in Winter.
We like most places on the Eastern side of OZ have had extremely high rain fall.where as in Western Aust. they are having bushfires in the very South of the State, In Carnarvon which is in the North of WA they have had floods, because it is a vast continent we can have all the extremes happening at the same time.
I do hope you are all well.
I hope to get time to-night to read all the posts I have missed.
Thank you all for your concern and God bless you all ,

Marie xxxxxxxxx00000000x

Marie

Back in March 2000, I got off the coach from Brisbane in Dubbo ............... my school friend met me there, and I stayed 9 days with her and her husband on their hobby farm (8 hectares) at Cook's Gap near Mudgee

Her daughter had died about 4 months previously, and her husband died about 6 months after I stayed with them


OH and I stayed with her again in 2006, when we discovered that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's, and was living alone on the "farm", with some help from friends living nearby.

I next heard from her about 6 months later when she phoned to say that her son had died suddenly .......... and the Parkinson's had progressed to the point where I could barely understand her.

She now had no family left .............. and the sister of a close friend had moved in to be her "carer".

We finally heard from her last week after 4 years of silence

.......... she is now going to move to Northern Ireland to live with her sister. She says she has carefully weighed all the pros and cons, and has decided it is best. At least she will be with family, and not trying to manage on the farm with the help of friends.


We started grammar school together in 1951 in the UK .... so a long friendship, and we always pick up where we left off, even if we haven't seen each other for years and years! I was her mother's "extra" child!

But she has had quite an unhappy life

Her eldest child died at the age of 4 months, she had 2 more children then divorced her husband, and later married a much older man who was very kind to her.




so your mention of Dubbo brought back some happy memories!



we also camped in Rockhampton back in 1976 on our way up to Cairns. We heard on our news this morning that St Charles was also flooded ....... another place we went through on that trip!




sylvia

Goodmorning Ladys
Nice to hear from Maria that shes ok and nice to see Jean back on and of course our Caz,as for me i have done something i shouldnt have but i wonder if you think im right ,as you know im not to well dont sleep for the pain in my feet because of bad cramps .but on the 22nd janu my daughters little girl has been gone 25yrs and on the 6th feb my Mum has been gone 37yrs so ive booked flight to England so i can go and do there grave and put flowers on ,one of my sons and his girl friend is going to help me its what i wanted to do. Jan wasnt very happy but said if you want to go then you can,Im only going to Liverpool for few days and wont be walking anywere far as i cant ,my cousin said last night are you sure your well enough i said not realy but i have to do it been thinking about it for weeks, anyway at the pain clinc on the 1st feb so might get something to help with the pain,and next tuesday we have got Jans birthday he is off that day well will try and pop back on later ,but now going to try and get some sleep take care all and stay safe
Love Dutchxx

I visited Phil today. I was just going to make it a short visit but he looked straight at me for a change and I thought I detected a sign of recognition (well I can hope I did). I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk and he gave some reply. Unfortunately his speech is very quiet and slurred so I have no idea what he said. The same happened a second time. But at least he was responding. A couple of physios (students I think) were walking the other residents around, one at a time so I finally asked them to walk Phil around. They thought he walked very well. I told them he used to do a lot of tramping. Some of the other residents had to be reminded to put one foot in front of the other and had to be held up by the arms and the waistband of their trousers. I suppose the time will come when Phil will forget how to walk, but hopefully he wont last that long. It would be so sad to see him in that stage.

Huia.

Joyce, you do what you feel you have to do. I hope you manage to stay pain free, or reduced to do it. I am sure it will be hard for you but if you don't go you will probably feel worse.

Marie, good to see you back on here and I am pleased that your family is OK despite the awful floods.

Huia, good that Phil was more alert. Does it make a difference what time of day you visit as to how alert he is?
Tess thank you also for your card.

No I didn't dare even check what the books were, a lot of them were/are hard backs too but I have so many others here waiting to be read.

Sylvia, you have certainly got around a lot!

Hi Ann
thank you for your comforting words wish i lived over your side could do with some books to read ,its so expensive to buy them here just got up tried to sleep but cramps to bad
Dutchxx
ps still getting xmas cards thru post some of which were posted on the 9 and 15 of Dec

I can see I am going to have to come clean or you will all think I am just a gormless old woman. Ten years ago I had a virus in my spinal chord that damaged the nerves to my legs, sometimes they don't get the message that they have to stand or walk. I can be stood up and walking and suddenly the message gets interupted and I fall, so I am not a bull in a china shop although at times I feel like it, my warden has been in and she pleased me by saying I am one of her positive residents, I will try and do things even though I can't and am always cheerful, I thought it was a lovely compliment. I didn't have to write this but it's the reason I am always falling.
Huia it was lovely to read that Phil gave a glimmer of recognition when he saw you, do you think the carers will take him out for more walks to keep his legs going and give him something different to look at.
Joyce I knew you were coming over but I will talk to you tomorrow about it.
Sallie and Jean I am starting to do some cards when I send this, how many I will do is anybodys guess but I will make a start.

Love Caz xx

Caz you are an inspiration to us all. We only tease you because you can usually take it. What a horrible virus to have had. You are always cheerful and upbeat on here. I hope you lose yourself in your card making. It helps doesn't it?

Well that is the dental inspection/clean out of the way and we are £39 pounds lighter each. Just for me now this month, optician (ours have started doing annual instead of biennial check ups), hospital, hairdresser, chiropodist and solicitor to update out will. Worse than being at work, all these appointments.

It does indeed Ann, I get lost in them and time flies, although this morning my back is so painful I can't sit for long, it's better standing but can't do cards that way, lol. I was tossing about last night trying to get comfy but couldn't, so might go to bed after something to eat.

Love Caz xx