Thursday 12 August 2010

Brief Update

Hello again. It's been one of those months: my wife, Pat, had a second hip replacement and I'm now not only chief cook, bottlewasher, sweeper-upper etc., but full-time nurse and carer. It's now two weeks since her right hip replacement op and the next few weeks will be difficult, to put it mildly.

The only son and heir of Lord Haddington, Lord George Binning, finished uni at Glasgow and had a terrible accident about five weeks ago. He fell 50 ft from a bridge onto concrete and ended up in Glasgow Infirmary; luckily not the mortuary! Some serious injuries but so happy to report that he is now recovering in the west wing of Mellerstain.

His dear Dad, the Earl, has also had some very disturbing diagnoses about a couple of health problems and is in London today, seeking advice from a specialist. I do not want to say more than this at present and we are all keeping fingers crossed for some good news soon.

Another member of the peerage, the Duke of Roxburgh who lives in Floors Castle, Kelso, about 8 miles down the road, is being treated for throat cancer. He is only in his fifties, so the news is that the prognosis is good, so I understand.

The recent passing of our friend and blogger, Barry, was also terribly sad. He put up a gallant and persistent struggle and remained hopeful throughout his long and courageous battle. We shall miss his beautiful posts.

Things can get better with time and I'm sure my next posting will be more upbeat. Take care my friends and always put your best foot forward. That's what I keep telling my Pat! She's almost a bionic woman now!

11 comments:

Vera said...

Nice to see you leave a post, and hope that your wife gets on the mend soon. I, too, was sad to hear the news about Barry. It is surprising how one feels so close to fellow bloggers, and he does leave a gap. Hope you stay well and in good spirits.

The Bug said...

I've heard that people who have hip replacements are amazed at how good they feel once they've recuperated - may it be so for Pat! Give her my best...

thistledew said...

Hello Phil,
Glad that Pat is recovering now and am sure that you are coping admirably with all your duties.
On the whole, the news seems to becoming more upbeat now.
PS. I have captured a late swarm of bees, so I too am back in business!
Best wishes,
David

Argent said...

My goodness, such 'interesting' times! Hope Pat gets well soon along with Lord Binning and the rest. Take care of yourself too.

PhilipH said...

Thanks for your kind comments, Vera, Dana, David and Silver.

Glad you're beeking again David! Well done, and good luck. Hope your busy ladies reward you in due course.

PhilipH said...

All we want now is a nice late summer! It's been a cloudy old time here in the Scottish Borders.

Susan said...

hoping this time goes quickly and as easily as possible for your dear wife... and so sorry to hear the news about the other illnesses/injuries.
Be well!!!

Jo said...

My older brother has had two hip replacements, and now he rides his bike everywhere. And that's funny, because he couldn't ride a bike before... Kidding, kidding... Seriously, he rides his bike every day.

You take care of yourself too.

Hope to hear good news about the Earl.

Stella Jones said...

Nice to see your Blog post Phil although you are going through a difficult patch. Hope that Pat soon feels more like her old self and that you can have a rest and put your feet up.
Best wishes, Star

A human kind of human said...

So happy to see you posting and I hope Pat will recover quickly and completely. As for all the other ups and downs, are you sure you are not living my life at the moment, but not to worry, one of these days, I am going to catch and hold on to an UP and soar above all the downs again and I hope I will find you (and Pat) soaring right up there with me.

PhilipH said...

Thank you Suz,Jo,Stella and Human for dropping by.

I've not been doing much in the way of blogging but hopefully, when Pat gets a lot more mobile, I'll be tapping away a bit more than of late.

It's a slow progress job, this hip replacement operation, but all is going reasonably well so far.