Dad Takes Ill and My Packing Continues

Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Bombay

Dad Takes Ill and My Packing Continues

     Namaste from Bombay!
     Truly, there is never a dull moment in my life! Just when it felt as if Dad looked much better, today, he took a turn for the worse. My day see-sawed as I tried to help him.
     But, first, I awoke at 6. 30 and went through my morning routine--blogging, reading The Times, listening to my book, breakfasting (muesli and coffee) while watching Joolz Guides to the Postal Museum and Secret Underground Railway in London. I was about to get going on my laptop with an important family assignment when I decided to call Dad to find out how he was doing. Rohit, his Man Friday, informed me that Dad was not well at all and was fast asleep. I instructed him to call me when Dad awoke.
     Within half an hour, Dad called to tell me that he was not feeling well, that his head was heavy and that he felt like throwing up. I volunteered to go with him to the doctor and so I dropped everything and left. I was in Dad's house in ten minutes and Dad was getting dressed to leave for the doctor when it suddenly occurred to him that his symptoms were probably the result of a coming vertigo attack (Dad has suffered from vertigo since he was in his 40s). He told me that he was going to take his vertigo tablets and go to sleep again and would go the doctor in the evening. I went along with his hunch and after ensuring that he (and Russel) were comfortable, I left his house.
     Back home, I continued with my assignment and worked steadily on it until lunch time. Before I stopped to eat, I corresponded with friends in the UK to let them know about my imminent plans to spend a few days in London and I was invited by my friend Sue in Oxford to spend a few days in her empty home as she and her partner will be in Bristol on the days I intend to get there. I also looked at flights back home with the Fulbright Travel Desk as they will be providing me with my return air ticket.
   I then stopped to eat the last of Valerie's meal: chicken curry with potatoes, gherkins and dal with one chapati and mango for dessert. I watched Come Dine With Me after a long time while eating. Soon after, I continued listening to my audio book and then took a short nap. But I was worried about Dad and simply could not sleep. Dad called me at about 3. 30 to tell me that he was feeling very much better.
     I then returned to my packing and made very good headway with it. There are a lot of things I will not be able to pack until the eve of my departure such as the clothes I need for the next week and the kitchen things I use daily. I also need to pack up the three things I bought after I arrived here: my Smart TV set, my microwave oven and my electric kettle. Thankfully, I kept the original boxes of all three items and intend to repack them and leave them at Dad's place after I depart. They will do well on his loft.  But I was very pleased with the progress I am making.
     I was plodding along when I got a call from the CCTV company that I had called in the morning as I am considering installing a CCTV system in Dad's apartment. Since I will be leaving for the States shortly and Dad is now too aged to manage the house on his own, I would like to keep abreast of what is going on at home at any given time through my Iphone and the CCTV system. The engineer called Sachin came to Dad's place, surveyed the apartment, answered all our questions regarding installation and left. His boss will give me an estimate tomorrow. The installation takes only a day but for us to be able to access the system, Dad will need to install an internet system in his house. This means that I will need to contact my internet man, Subhash, to find out how it can be done most economically. Dad will also need to buy a smart phone--he has a mobile but it is very basic--to enable him to access the house while he is out. This a project on which I shall now spend the next few days. But it will be a matter of great personal comfort for me to know that I will have visible access into Dad's home even while I am far away in the US.
     After Sachin left, I stayed and visited with Dad and Russel for a bit. Dad was much better. It was clearly an imminent attack of vertigo that he averted by taking the medication in a timely manner .He told me that he would go to the doctor tomorrow morning instead of this evening.
     As for me, just when I thought my saga with the bank was over, I was mistaken because, according to my online banking records, my money has not been transferred into my current account I will now need to make a trip to the bank to find out what the hitch is. Thankfully, it is only a few minutes' walk away and I know all the personnel there by now.
     I left for Mass which was said by Fr. Anil Rego from St. Francis of Assisi Church today as our Novena to St. Anne continues. It was a very good service, if really long, but I am now getting accustomed to these lengthy sessions. I walked home briskly and got down to dinner: Candies's salads and a cup of soup and more mango as I watched another episode of McCallum. Sadly, I kept falling asleep while in the middle of it, waking up, rewinding, watching and falling asleep again!!!
     Until tomorrow...