A Rare Week

 

On Thursday afternoon I was sitting, knitting, watching a very old Tipping Point on W+1 with Ferretfingers. Thunderthighs came into the room and purposefully sat down beside me with 

"Mu-um can you look at my neck"

Behind his ear, just under the hairline, was a red lump the size of an old penny.

"When did that start?"

"A week ago."

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes."

"When did it start hurting?"

"A week ago."

"Why haven't you shown it to me before?"

"I didn't want you to worry."

FFS!!!

Straight on the phone to the doctors and, God bless the receptionist, I got him an appointment at 11am on Friday morning. So that was knit'n'natter out the window.

The doctor asked the same questions as me as she looked at the now scabby lump.

We shared a horrified mothers-of-sons-together look.

“Next time don’t wait a week to tell someone about it” she said writing out a prescription for Fluoxicillin 4 times daily for 7 days.

He had a dental check up at 1.30 pm, all was well.

Ferretfingers had a dental check up at 9.10 on Thursday morning, all was well with him too

On Thursday afternoon Fester went for a routine medical appointment with his practice nurse.  

He was caught out when she told him she wanted to take a foot pulse.*

"If I'd known I'd have worn cleaner socks."

It's a rare week when a pair of his finds its way into the laundry basket.

The carbuncle burst properly when Thunderthighs had his bath on Friday evening.

I've had the joy of pus wiping and putting/replacing absorbent dressings on his neck, right by the hairline, morning and evening since. It's looking a lot better now.  

Less swollen and pink not fiery red. He can also turn his head a lot more freely.

Thank goodness we had absorbent dressing and micropore tape in the house.  

Older readers will remember the bursa on Fester's right elbow which I also had to do all the cleaning and dressing on because it's impossible to dress your elbow yourself (try it).

Fester went to bed well on Friday night, got up for the loo at 6am, came back to bed shivering and spent the rest of the day there sighing and swearing.  Apart from the odd cup of tea, bowl of thin porridge made with milk and a lump of jam, and refilling his water bottle, he needed little attention.

Mrs Eft has moved to a nearby village and the plan was to go up with the boys on Saturday (yesterday) to help shift boxes and furniture.  Thunderthighs had intended to go up on the bus and meet us at her house.  However, between tending to his neck and recumbent father, time went by and the boys and I ended up going up in the car not long before noon.  My treat was to drive home via the coast, so I could at least see the sea.

After his day of rest Fester was fit enough this morning to take Ferretfingers to the Tynemouth Book Fair whilst I did domestic goddessy things and sat in the sun in the garden watching our family of sparrows and starlings.   He is back lying on the bed listening to the cricket, intermittently going downstairs to prepare tea.

He just came into the office

“You did make it up to Mrs Eft’s yesterday?”

“Yes”

“Thunderthighs went on the bus then?”

 

*Apparently once you reach a certain age they want to check the blood is getting to your extremities.