Paul- Your story about the treatment on your mother and the medicine she's being sent home really makes me sad about the reality of American healthcare (or lack thereof, rather). But your commitment to caring for her. Your astute life shift on what should be done---and the fact that she's pushing 100, is really a testament to your character. I hope you'll send her my best wishes this holiday season? Cheers, -Thalia
Thank you Thalia, your comments much appreciated. My mother is now 101 and still very much with us. We live in England, but many of the healthcare problems here parallel those in US healthcare, but for different underlying causes. Whilst as you know, in the US inequity often concerns individual affordability, here in the UK the issue is where that the whole nation can no longer afford the cost of the National Health Service conceived by the Labour government in 1948 to provide free care at the point of need. Many here believe the NHS is broken, with postcode lottery care, and very long waiting lists. Any question of even part privatisation being an anathema.
On a far more cheery note, have a great Christmas and brilliant, peaceful New Year.
Paul- Yes, Merry Christmas to you indeed. I’m not too familiar with postcode lottery care but it sounds like it’s based more on luck than on need? Which would be problematic indeed. Does the availability also vary by region, by chance? Which region are you in the UK, Paul? 🇬🇧 Cheers, -Thalia
Thalia yes exactly right. Availability and standard of care, even life expectancy, can vary according to where you live. Two examples in focus right now are scandals around maternity care, and availability of care at home for the elderly and chronically ill. I share a view held by many, that healthcare needs to move away from large monolithic hospitals to community based diagnostics and treatment, alongside provision for adult social care (another political "hot potato", not funded through the NHS). We live in Lancashire in Northweat England. There are measurable differences in life expectancy comparing the North of the Country with the more affluent South East.
Welcome to Substack! And what a wonderful first post - nice work. Real human stories like this are what makes the world go round.
I wonder have you ever dabbled in home automation? I'm planning on writing a little about my own (incredibly meagre) setup which does nothing but control a single bedroom lamp for me, but if and when I'm able to own my own house I plan on rigging it out with all kinds of wizardry. I've long thought home automation would be the perfect companion for carers and those with mobility or memory issues - would definitely be interested in hearing your experience / thoughts if you've ever tried it!
Thanks very much Tom. Your comments much appreciated. Do please let me know of my second post "Covert Carer" isn't showing. I've not even scratched the surface on home automation. I do use light dependent 13A LED plugs in hall and bedroom so night time wanderers are not left in total darkness😉 LED "moon" lamps which stay on if power's off, and 13A timers for pond lights and some old tech cameras. (I'm fairly obsessive about power cuts with a 5.5KW 4 stroke generator and a 2KW invertor!!). I play with Arduinos a lot in robots and trains but never put them to work on home automation. Thanks again.
Just read your second post so it is indeed showing up!
Perhaps it's just my selfish technophile side talking but I think a future post on how you're using the LEDs and lamps etc to help around the home would be insightful and could help other carers or those who don't have anybody around - after all what good is all this tech stuff for if it doesn't help humans! Even the most basic things sometimes elude people who don't know what's available and how it can help.
It sounds like home automation would be a brilliant fit for you, frankly! My own setup is a Raspberry Pi, with Home Assistant (https://www.home-assistant.io/). I'm sure you could find a way to have the robots making the tea at 3pm and the trains delivering it!
Thank you very much Lauren. And welcome to Substack. You may well find other writers here of interest to you, or maybe even put "pen to paper" yourself.😊
Paul, I completely agree that writing can be challenging not only for beginners, but also for professionals. I personally experienced similar difficulties with the third article. While it had a wealth of real examples and quotes, it seemed overly critical to me, so I omitted most of the examples. Although the resulting article lacked some richness, it still managed to attract readers. In writing, when I'm unsure of an idea, I often reject or filter it out. I think this is largely a matter of inner mood.
Paul- Your story about the treatment on your mother and the medicine she's being sent home really makes me sad about the reality of American healthcare (or lack thereof, rather). But your commitment to caring for her. Your astute life shift on what should be done---and the fact that she's pushing 100, is really a testament to your character. I hope you'll send her my best wishes this holiday season? Cheers, -Thalia
Thank you Thalia, your comments much appreciated. My mother is now 101 and still very much with us. We live in England, but many of the healthcare problems here parallel those in US healthcare, but for different underlying causes. Whilst as you know, in the US inequity often concerns individual affordability, here in the UK the issue is where that the whole nation can no longer afford the cost of the National Health Service conceived by the Labour government in 1948 to provide free care at the point of need. Many here believe the NHS is broken, with postcode lottery care, and very long waiting lists. Any question of even part privatisation being an anathema.
On a far more cheery note, have a great Christmas and brilliant, peaceful New Year.
Paul- Yes, Merry Christmas to you indeed. I’m not too familiar with postcode lottery care but it sounds like it’s based more on luck than on need? Which would be problematic indeed. Does the availability also vary by region, by chance? Which region are you in the UK, Paul? 🇬🇧 Cheers, -Thalia
Thalia yes exactly right. Availability and standard of care, even life expectancy, can vary according to where you live. Two examples in focus right now are scandals around maternity care, and availability of care at home for the elderly and chronically ill. I share a view held by many, that healthcare needs to move away from large monolithic hospitals to community based diagnostics and treatment, alongside provision for adult social care (another political "hot potato", not funded through the NHS). We live in Lancashire in Northweat England. There are measurable differences in life expectancy comparing the North of the Country with the more affluent South East.
I see. Has the geographic wealth disparity always been the same in those locations? I wonder why.
Welcome to Substack! And what a wonderful first post - nice work. Real human stories like this are what makes the world go round.
I wonder have you ever dabbled in home automation? I'm planning on writing a little about my own (incredibly meagre) setup which does nothing but control a single bedroom lamp for me, but if and when I'm able to own my own house I plan on rigging it out with all kinds of wizardry. I've long thought home automation would be the perfect companion for carers and those with mobility or memory issues - would definitely be interested in hearing your experience / thoughts if you've ever tried it!
Sending love to your wife and mother ❤️
Thanks very much Tom. Your comments much appreciated. Do please let me know of my second post "Covert Carer" isn't showing. I've not even scratched the surface on home automation. I do use light dependent 13A LED plugs in hall and bedroom so night time wanderers are not left in total darkness😉 LED "moon" lamps which stay on if power's off, and 13A timers for pond lights and some old tech cameras. (I'm fairly obsessive about power cuts with a 5.5KW 4 stroke generator and a 2KW invertor!!). I play with Arduinos a lot in robots and trains but never put them to work on home automation. Thanks again.
Just read your second post so it is indeed showing up!
Perhaps it's just my selfish technophile side talking but I think a future post on how you're using the LEDs and lamps etc to help around the home would be insightful and could help other carers or those who don't have anybody around - after all what good is all this tech stuff for if it doesn't help humans! Even the most basic things sometimes elude people who don't know what's available and how it can help.
It sounds like home automation would be a brilliant fit for you, frankly! My own setup is a Raspberry Pi, with Home Assistant (https://www.home-assistant.io/). I'm sure you could find a way to have the robots making the tea at 3pm and the trains delivering it!
Thanks Tom. Yep, I agree, the readily obtainable assistive "tech" will be ideal for inclusion in next post.
This is such a good read Paul! Well done. 👏 I love, and laughed at the "Evil Eye" part. 🤭 ☺
Thank you very much Lauren. And welcome to Substack. You may well find other writers here of interest to you, or maybe even put "pen to paper" yourself.😊
Congratulations on your first post on Substack, Paul! Keep them coming. 👏🙌 enjoyed the read!
Thanks Nat. It was really difficult to judge how much to include in a first post!🤔🙂
Paul, I completely agree that writing can be challenging not only for beginners, but also for professionals. I personally experienced similar difficulties with the third article. While it had a wealth of real examples and quotes, it seemed overly critical to me, so I omitted most of the examples. Although the resulting article lacked some richness, it still managed to attract readers. In writing, when I'm unsure of an idea, I often reject or filter it out. I think this is largely a matter of inner mood.