Deirdre Geraghty

I don’t know what I have done to my left shoulder – it is so painful. Whether it is arthritis or frozen shoulder or something I did when I used to exercise it, I don’t know. I am waiting to go for an x-ray and an ultrasound.

I fed my neighbours two kittens for a couple of days this week. They are so little and sweet and playful. I love ’em.

I received a phone call on Wednesday from Vodafone. They wanted me to change from my pay as you go phone to a monthly paid Contract. I told them I was happy with my current arrangement but the man took no notice. I didn’t tell him I have a mental disability. Half an hour later it was all set up for me to receive a sim card through the post with a different number. I knew I was out of my depth and although promised help by a friend I wasn’t happy with the arrangements. Two days and many phone calls later I managed to cancel the Contract. I spent those two days pacing up and down in a terrible state. I must say when I phoned Vodafone back I told them I had a mental disability and they were very helpful. I just hate these pushy salesman types, I find them very difficult to cope with.

I have received advice that I should no longer name people in my blogs anymore. I understand it is all to do with the privacy laws.

Lily, one of my cats, is very playful at the moment. She has the odd half hour when she charges around the house at top speed and now she has started chasing her tail. Highly amusing.

They were talking on the news yesterday about the shortage of beds for mental health patients. Have they only just noticed? We have been talking (‘we’ the service users) for ages about the lack of beds and the lack of care in the community. Since then things have become a lot worse and even Bridges (our mental health drop-in) has now gone. So it’s me, the cats and the television.

I had to send six samples to the lab for bowel cancer screening. The funny part of it is catching a poo to take the sample. The serious side is when you get the result. Mine was negative. Now I have to go and have a cervical smear test which is equally important.

My cat Lily has been poorly again. She has a bladder disease which is like an ongoing cystitis. I took her to the vets a couple of weeks ago and he kept her in overnight to get a urine sample which showed that she had crystals in her bladder. So for the past two weeks she has been on her new prescription food and she got the all clear on Wednesday.

I seem to be going through another cycle of waking early and going off to sleep at night before all the good programmes start on the box. So, again this morning, I awoke after 4.00 and by 5.00 I had eaten and fed the cats and ready to start the day. Though I sat and watched early morning tv in my jimjams and waited for everybody else to wake up.

My friend Mary came to visit yesterday. She lives nearby with her family which I find very comforting. Anyway, she came to visit with her arm in a sling as she had an operation on one of her fingers and is unable to drive or work or anything else with only one hand. I felt very close to Mary and am really grateful for our friendship. Friends and family mean so much.