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A recent Covid-19 Experience of a local u3a member
A recent Covid-19 Experience of a Hucknall and District u3a member
Member Alan Ratcliffe writes about his recent diagnosis and hospital treatment for Covid -19. If you read this you will have little doubt about the need for social distancing, hand washing and varying degrees of lockdown.It was written for close friends and family and I wish to thank Alan on our behalf for agreeing to share it with us.
David
Alan writes:
Thursday: today was a good day for a stroll in the garden. Yesterday I returned home after spending seven days in the Covid Unit of Kingsmill Hospital, having tested positive for Covid the previous Tuesday. Neither my wife Una nor my daughter Fionnuala was keen on me dying alone in hospital. However, we took the decision that my chances of surviving would be increased if I went into hospital. As the tailgate of the ambulance was raised I couldn’t help thinking I was taking my last look at them. I could see the anxiety in their faces and I’m sure they could see the anxiety in mine.
On arrival at hospital, I was wheeled in bed to see the doctor. He explained in very clear terms what were my chances of survival and what course of action he recommended. The bed was then wheeled around a labyrinth of corridors and I ended up in a very palatial room on my own. I thought that it would be a very comfortable room in which to die.
However, after a short while, the bed was on the move again and I ended up in a ward of about fifty feet square with three other men, the four beds being in the corners. The next day I was connected for most of the time to an infusion where liquids meant to kill the virus were pumped into my body.
The next day with the infusion now removed, I became more aware of the schedule of activities that would aid my recovery. Food would be served at specific times of the day but before that we were given menus from which to choose our meal. The menus had a really wide selection to choose from and when the food arrived, it was absolutely delicious.
Doctors appeared every day to inform each of us how we were doing. At regular interval, nurses would appear to check blood pressure and oxygen concentration in my blood. This was a vital factor in monitoring our progress. The oxygen level had to attain a certain level before we would be considered sufficiently healthy for us to be sent home.
Days were not so bad. There was always a flurry of activities and it did take a lot longer for normal activities, such as washing, toilet activities and even eating. We were allowed to choose our own techniques, whether that be bedpans, basins of water in bed or a shower. I was able to hobble over to the toilet and have a shower and a shave but at the start it took me an hour to complete the process.
The nights were rather different. We were allowed to make our own decisions as to when our individual bed lights were turned off, but the nights seemed interminably long, particularly if you cannot sleep. During the night, the nurses would appear at specific intervals to take the readings of blood pressure and oxygen levels. They didn’t rouse us and I had no difficulty in getting off to sleep when they had carried out their checks. Their smiling faces appearing in the middle of the night were a source of immense comfort. I felt I was being watched over by angels as I slept.
Finally the day came when the numbers came out right. I could not have been happier if I had won the lottery.During my time in the ward, there were a few comings and goings. Some left the ward and were allowed to go home to their families. Sadly, some left the ward but didn’t make it home. Of the ones who were happily returned to their families, to my knowledge, none were as old as I am.
On the day I was released, I believe there were almost five hundred deaths from Covid nationally in hospitals in the country.
Finally, I have to say that for their professional competence and their duty of care, whether they were cleaners, porters, food preparation people, nurses or doctors, this is the most dedicated and inspiring group of people I have ever met and they work at Kingsmill Hospital, Mansfield.
Alan Ratcliffe
Science 2 November Zoom meeting
Science 2 Zoom Friday 20th November 2020
Thirty three members tuned in for this Zoom meeting. John Tedstone began our session with a presentation titled ‘Energy and how it relates to transport’. He explained that we get our electricity from a mix of a fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable – the balance is changing all the time, with the renewable (mainly wind and solar) now increasing share each year.
John then moved on to look at how rail transport has evolved from the early days of the Industrial Revolution.
The final question posed was what have we learnt. The answer probably is that if we’re going to move to a low/zero carbon economy, we need to plan much better, and for the longer term. Railways illustrate that if we don’t, we end up with less than ideal solutions.
Mark Jackson followed with a talk based on one of the Pint of Science meetings he attended in 2019 (those were the days…) The topic was an interesting one: Chrono-nutrition. It is widely known that: If Calorie Intake is more than Calories Burned = Weight Gain. When it comes to eating healthy, we talk about what’s on our plate, but not what’s on the clock (Chrono-nutrition). Our bodies are affected by our individual body clocks. That’s because our metabolism actually changes throughout the day because of our circadian rhythm. – The body’s clock, which tells the body to do the right thing at the right time. Basically it recommends not eating after dark or late in the evening. Colleagues who have experienced shift work shared their experiences which indicate that it is probably not as simple as that.
Finally Alan Ratcliffe spoke with great candour about his recent close encounter with Covid-19. Read more about this in the Newsletter.
Date of next Zoom Meeting: Thursday December 10th at 2.00pm
This will be open to all u3a members for a presentation by Professor Nicola Pitchford, University of Nottingham – ‘Using educational technology to address the global learning crises’. Again more details in the newsletter.
David Rose
Christmas Zoom Film Show
Christmas Zoom Film Show – Thursday December 17th at 1.30pm
‘Miracle on 34th Street’, American comedy film, released in 1947, that has become a perennial family favourite at Christmastime.
Natalie Wood portrayed Susan Walker, a precocious little girl whose well-meaning mother (played by Maureen O’Hara) has raised her not to believe in Santa Claus. When their lives intersect with that of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn), an elderly man hired to play Santa at New York City’s famous Macy’s department store, Susan begins to suspect he may be the real St. Nick. After a jealous fellow employee frames him for an assault, Kringle is placed in a mental hospital. At the ensuing sanity hearing, Kringle and his attorney attempt to prove that he is indeed Santa Claus.
Although the movie was released in the summer, it became a box-office hit and ran in theatres through the holiday season. Its legacy is such that it is regularly aired on television right after Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and the store has frequently decorated its windows during the Christmas season with displays based on the film. The popularity of Miracle on 34th Street is due in part to the performances of Gwenn, who won an Academy Award, and Wood.
Film Show via Zoom
November Film – Wednesday 25th at 1.30pm
Running Time 1hr. 28 min
Dead End
Directed by William Wyler. With Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie. The lives of a young man and woman, an infamous gangster and a group of street kids converge one day in a volatile New York City slum. The story of one day in a slum area of New York. Noted gangster, Baby Face Martin, who grew up in the neighbourhood, decides to come home to visit his mother and the girl he left behind.
Bring your own 
and 