The stresses and strains of the last eighteen months have taken their toll of my sister and of me. A few months ago Peter suggested that we take another holiday as it was apparent that I needed a break and an escape from life at home. Mum’s gradual deterioration, as well as the touch of pneumonia that was diagnosed a few days before our intended departure, had me in two minds. Sarah, the Community Matron, advised that I needed a holiday. I knew that I would be able to jump on a plane back from Italy if necessary but I was still ambivalent. It was only 48 hours before we were due to leave that I changed my position from ‘if we go on Friday’ to ‘we’re going away at the end of the week’.

A little more than two days travelling to Italy’s Ligurian coast provided the start to our late summer holiday. We were unable to locate the satnav and this navigator took her eye off the map a couple of times so we meandered a little more than we should have. The route wasn’t supposed to include a drive through the centre of Brussels with its many tunnels, nor did we intend to cross and re-cross into Germany, but we found an excellent little hotel with a very good restaurant in the Rhineland Palatinate. At journey’s end, with the car unloaded, we located the satnav under the suitcases and have no idea how it got there.

The best thing to happen was an email from my sister, informing me that mum has now been granted NHS Continuing Healthcare and funded Nursing Care. I’m not exactly sure when this will all kick in but at least mum will be taken care of in her own home with no further financial burden on her own savings, so that’s another worry lifted from my shoulders. We are both so thankful to Sarah and her efficiency in taking care of the situation and making mum’s needs so urgent and imperative.

So now I can return to enjoying what is left of the holiday. Just two more days in Italy where it appears that the unsettled, overcast weather has finally come to an end. Two days lazing by the pool under a blue sky are just what the doctor ordered and I intend to make the most of them. Here’s to la dolce vita.