Weary

It’s just as well I took this shot of a sleepy-looking fox this morning in the back garden, because it’s the only one I’ve taken all day.

I’ve had a very quiet day, feeling really weary and somewhat lacking in confidence. I’ve been taking Smithers’ blood pressure for the past few days at the request of the surgery pharmacist (following an increase in his BP medication) but was alarmed to see some quite extreme readings, coupled with Smithers saying that the cuff was hurting more than usual. 

I discovered that the tube connecting the cuff to the monitor wasn’t fitting properly into the side of the monitor, which was probably hindering it from inflating properly in order to give a correct reading. I ordered a new monitor (despite the other one being only two years old) to be on the safe side. However, the readings I took on the new one, which had a much better fitting for the tube, were also quite unusual, with high BP but low pulse. I couldn’t understand it, because I’ve been taking Smithers’ (and my own) blood pressure for years with no problems. In desperation I tried using the old monitor again, but this time I pressed the plastic nozzle at the end of the tube into the monitor firmly the whole time it was inflating, and the reading was normal.

I have since worked out that the cuff for the new monitor, which is the same model as the previous one, is the probable cause of the strange readings. It is much longer than the previous cuff, to allow it to be used for bigger arms as well as Smithers’ slim ones. I had put the cuff on in my usual fashion, but hadn’t allowed for the fact that it was so much longer than the previous one and needed wrapping round quite a bit more, but without the excess flap on the cuff pressing on the tube leading to the monitor. (Easier said than done.) I have managed to get a decent reading from it now, but I’m finding the responsibility of getting accurate readings a bit much at the moment.