My Way of Life

Red Tape

This week we decided to get on and change our driving licences to Spanish ones.

Not as easy as it sounds, you have to take your passport and residencia to a centre where they do the medical necessary. You also have to get special size photos taken and get a certified copy of your UK driving licence, both sides. This is for you to carry until the Spanish one comes through.

So yesterday we went to Albox, the nearest place that does the medicals. We had been told were this office was, only it wasn't where we were told. Bloody typical, only time hubby and I have problems is when we are trying to find somewhere specific. He as a young man was a rally driver and his best friend was his navigator, you know in 20 yards second gear right hand bend sort of navigation. I'm a woman and it is a well known fact we can't read Maps, especially ones that don't show half the roads or any roundabouts, like 1 in Tenerife, admittedly it was for the pearl factory but only map we had 😨😨. Result we never did get up Mount Teide. I'd been before anyway lol.
Eventually we explored a bit more as asking was getting us nowhere. So off down a very very steep hill, wheelchair in lowest speed but not wanting to go where I'm steering and being told not to stop. I wouldn't even if I could have, so not helpful darling! I only touched 1 vehicle and thankfully didn't even disturb the dust 😁😁.
The office was on the next corner! So we go in and hand over our paperwork which all gets entered into computer, then we have our photo taken. Very professional 3 lights rigged up on a piece of wood with Webcam stuck in the middle, don't knock it it worked. The computer was plugged into a 6 way trailing socket through a 3 way adaptor, all sockets being used. Again it works, they not hot on health and safety over here another plus point.
An appointment was made for 11am this morning to see the Doctor, we had been told you just walk in and it's all done then. Strangely by the same peeps who told us where the office wasn't.

Next we went to get a certified copy of our licence, again not as easy as it sounds! First you have to go to the town hall where they copy it, no problem there then, but then you have to go down a different steep hill to the bank to pay before they with stamp it to make it official. Thankfully we have found a less steep way, all be it a little longer, way down to the bank. I'm so glad I have good batteries on my chair with all these hills.

It was now time for some lunch and a break.

Today we go off for our appointment, the office was busy but the guy we had dealt with yesterday took us straight through. First thing was a test on a computer following 2 white lines both going different directions, only you had to move your left and right hand to follow the lines. You get a quick practice then go for it. Hubby realised he had the wrong glasses so someone else came in and did his in the meantime. Amazingly I passed my left side was the worst, as usual hubby did really well. He is a superb driver and the guy read the readout twice just to check it was correct.

The computer has a piece of card sticking over the screen on 1 side to block out the light, basic but effective.
Then in for the medical. We then had to work out which catogeries we wanted on the Spanish licence as they are so different. We had to say what if any medications we were on, then we hit the sticky bit my MS. She wanted me to get a report from my doctor, I haven't consulted him on anything to do with MS. Then asked about my specialist, haven't seen one for 5 years. She then asked about medication for MS and was stunned when told non for last 5 years. She gave up then and went on with testing my blood pressure and eyes. Decided I was perfecto, I always knew it but so nice to have it confirmed 😄😄.
We impressed her so much we were given small box of chocolates. I think officialdom are amazed at our very happy attitude, we laugh at so much and tease each other all the time.

Then we had to go and get our photos done, seemingly my head was looking up to much and was on the slant. How could this be not long ago I was told I was perfecto!

It was now time for ice cream, hot over here today, my excuse anyway.

Now all we have to do is take all paperwork for it to go to Almeria, worrying bit is that peeps doing this bit are the ones who gave us the information as to where office was. It's part of the services they charge for, like changing our medical cards, I've got mine still waiting for Hubbys after a re application.

Life can be so cruel at times and put you under such stress you think you will never be able to cope.
I have Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, and am in constant pain and now have very reduced mobility. I have always blamed stress for my MS but like most with it stress makes it so much worse.
My Mum used to live in sheltered accommodation in Wales and all was ok until my Dad and aunt died within 3 days of each other. My aunt had been Mum's main support, saw her or spoke to her every day. Dad had been in a home for 11yrs, so wasn't such a blow but they had been together nearly 60yrs.
Mum started to go downhill health wise from then, first she was really depressed then she retreated further into her shell. She has always been shy and introverted, finding it difficult to talk to people she didn't know. Things where she lived also changed not for the better. Also my MS was making it difficult to visit her every week as we had been doing for years.
The decision was made she would like to move nearer to us. So I got the wheels in motion, I could do that sitting in my chair so was fairly easy. We had also noticed her memory was getting bad but didn't think things were too bad, we just accepted that she could no longer work out how to use things anymore, so wrote instructions down.
She was adamant that she would pack up her flat, but thankfully another aunt and uncle stepped in. We organised all that we could from this end and down she came full of what she was going to do.
She arrived and the seemed to just give up. She sat in the chair and didn't want to do or join in with anything. The manager of the home and I tried everything we could think of to try and get her to mix with others. Eventually we got a social worker involved. He thought I was just trying to dump her at first. After a year of banging our heads against the wall it was decided that she should go into full time care for respite. What a relief that was we no longer were getting begging phone calls all hours of the day and night.
She seemed to settle and started to talk to others and eat which she had stopped doing. It was decided that she should stay in care.
Then after a couple of months she was admitted to hospital her chest was really bad and I had had to speak with the doctor about the amount of antibiotics she had been given. She was not expected to make it through the night. So difficult phoning all the family.
But she did make it and came back home. Then we get a call asking about her last wishes. Yet she still hung on. Last night, about a month after she got home we had a call from the home saying she's now losing blood and that they thought she wouldn't make the night.
Yet here we are with no call during the night.
It is so difficult just waiting for a phone call, wishing for her sake she could just slip off in her sleep. You are constantly just waiting for the phone to ring so can never really relax.