REDISCOVERING MOTHER

Here I am, back after a somewhat traumatic few days which began on Thursday afternoon last week. It started off like any other Thursday. I had arranged to meet Mother for lunch and sure enough, when I walked into the cafe at one o'clock, there she was, sipping her tea with a ready smile of greeting playing on her lips. We ordered sandwiches and more drinks then sat and talked about lots of things, including funeral insurance - although quite how that came into the conversation, I do not know. At five to two, I boarded the tram back to pergatory - sorry, the office - and we waved at one another through the windows until the tram rounded the corner and she was ot of sight. Back at the office, I ploughed in, getting quite elated at the prospect of meeting illustrator Ashley straight after work at Caffe Nero's in George Street to discuss the illustrations for the second book - a meeting we had been tryng to arrange ever since Christmas and had finally confirmed the Tuesday before - and then, my mobile phone rang at quarter to four thus throwing everything into complete turmoil.

It was Mayday Hospital. Furthermore it was the A and E department and even furthermore it was a nurse telling me that my mother had had an accident and been brought in by ambulance. It was but definitely the kind of phonecall that the parents of young children and the children of elderly parents absolutely dread! I gave my colleagues no option. As the news sank in I pulled on my coat, picked up my bag and just headed out of the door at ten to four. Before I was five yards from the office, I had rung Hubby and by the time I was on the tram I had rung Youngest Sister with the news. I also had to ring Illustrator Ashley to cancel the meeting. In blind panic I rushed to the hospital and I was shaking all over by the time I shoved to the front of the queue to breathlessly proclaim my mother had been brought in an hour or so before. "Through that door," I was told. What would I find? Mother hooked up to dozens of wires, breathing with the aid of a ventilator as she sank into further unconciousness? Mother all battered and bruised and laying on a trolley?

Actually no. As I walked through the door there was Mother smiling and waving from a wheel chair. "What on earth have you been up to?" I blurted out as relief and disbelief swept through me in an icy surge. "I tripped as I got onto the bus," she told me. "I have cut my leg." During the course of the hours that followed, I was able to piece together what had happened. She had indeed slipped as she boarded the bus but this was no mere graze. She had a gaping wound on her left shin a least three inches long and rather nausiatingly deep and wide. What's more, her mishap had caused the bus to be taken out of service as the police and ambulance were called. In fact her 'slip' had brought the whole of central Croydon to a complete standstill! Anyway, to cut a long story short, they manged to pull most of the dislodged skin back into place, patched her up with a couple of dozen sterile strips, some padding and a bandage from ankle to knee, gave her a tetanus jab and sent her home with strict instructions that she 'keep the leg elevated and walk about regularly' (!) - so the likelyhood is that I will have the only high-kicking, hop-along 77 year old mother in the entire unIverse for the next few weeks. Of course there was no question of her spending the weekend at home on her own so she moved in with us for the weekend - along with a small suitcase and The Rat. Fortunately, Hubby adores her and she loves him to bits so everyone got along swimmingly - including The Rat and Cat. Apart fom delayed shock and quite a lot of pain and stiffness, she's better than she was. We took her back to Mayday yesterday who have now referred her to her GP and her sister has come to spend the rest of the week and take care of her. There was some confusion yesterday over how she would get to the doctor on Thursday for the new dressing. Neither of us have a car yet going by bus was out of the question. The doctor said they couldn't do anything to help until they had a fax from Mayday. Mayday said they couldn't do anything to help until they had a fax from the doctor. Super Aunt came up with the idea of contacting Age Concern who have a fleet of volunteer drivers so, for the moment anyway, that problem may have been solved.

It was actually rather nice to have her over for a few days. Because she lives just a fifteen minute cab ride away, there is actually little reason for her to spend more than a day or so with us - apart from when Stepdad died and she was devastated, or at Chrstmas time. And, in herself she was reasonably okay. Hubby and I managed to go out a couple of times for a couple of hours over the weekend because she was happy to be left with the TV remote as long as the kettle and teabags were within hopping distance. And I do believe that The Rat and Cat are beginning to forge something of a relationship, too, as they were caught rubbing noses more than once!

I realise now that I still haven't updated you on the writing but hey -blood is thicker than - well -ink, isn't it?