Thanks so much

Thank you all so much for the really lovely comments.....Gemma's Person, who are the Mahoneys?

Only a few days to go to our holiday now, I hope the weather is reasonable.  By that I mean that it doesn't rain all the time.....we've had so much rain lately down here.  I don't mind it being cold (can always put another layer and a scarf on), but I really don't like walking in the rain.

Sister rang elder brother and I yesterday to say Mum was having difficulty breathing and the carer had called for an ambulance.  We all thought this was it....turned out to be a false alarm though, paramedics checked Mum over and said her vitals were ok and it was probably just acid reflux (she was sick a bit later, a common occurrence).  Think the carer was just being cautious.  It's like this all the time with Mum now, it's a total rollercoaster.  Mum fell over yet again a few days ago, another big bump on her head and more bruises to add to her collection.  Luckily, the district nurse was there at the time (she'd turned her back to do something for a split second) and was able to get Mum up with the help of younger bro, get her back into bed and check she was ok, she also went back later on in the day to check on her again.  Mum does get good care, for which we're all grateful.  Her GP now thinks Mum's kidney cancer has spread to her womb, nothing is being done about it in view of Mum's age and poor state of health, plus the fact that she doesn't want any more 'messing around'.  She'll just be kept as comfortable as possible and her pain managed.

I've asked sis to keep me informed whilst we're away on holiday next week, but said we won't be coming home early if anything happens.  There won't be anything we can do if Mum dies, and husband can't drive a couple of hundred miles up to the Midlands anyway, he's just not fit enough for that anymore (hence why we're only going to the next county).  But we do both need this holiday and a break from what seems like our constant medical appointments.  In the week after we come back from hol, husband has a GP and a hospital appointment, I have 2 hospital appointments and then the GP.  We certainly get our money's worth from the NHS.