Isobel woke at about a quarter past eight and breakfasted, bathed, dressed and took her medicine without any problems. Balance was very poor although speech was fair. Iona came over and delivered her mother to the hospice.

I collected Isobel from the hospice; Steve commented that her balance had been especially bad today. I parked the car in the farther car park, knowing that if the forty yard walk was too much she could sit on a bench halfway and I would bring the car to her. We did not get to the bench, Isobel was unable to lift her right foot clear of the ground, when moving forward the right foot dragged heavily along the ground all the time. She could only manage ten yards, I sat her on the low retaining wall of the flower bed (if she toppled backwards there was a surface of wood bark chippings level with the top of the wall)while I brought the car up. The walking today is far worse than it has ever been previously. Isobel refuses to be taken into the hospice in her wheelchair, although a number of her group are always in wheelchairs.

The stairs have, perhaps surprisingly, never been much of a problem before. Today Isobel decided she needed to lie on her bed about an hour after getting home. I was a couple of steps behind her, About two thirds of the way up she knelt on the stairs and could not move. It took Euan and I about a quarter of an hour to get her to the top of the stairs. She was unable to do very much to assist herself, in fact her leg positioning hindered us considerably. There is no doubt that Isobel was not able to control her legs in any meaningful way. When Isobel was cleaned up and settled in bed I went to the shops and Euan kept an eye on her every couple of minutes. At one check Euan found his mother lying on the floor - he had been in the next room but had heard nothing. It appears that Isobel had tried to get out of bed for some reason but had slipped off the edge of the bed (similar efforts have been caught by one of us in the past). It appears that as she slid she caught herself on the corner of the bedside cabinet, as shortly afterwards a nasty scratch about a foot long was found on her back. Isobel was not able to explain what had happened or how she had got the scratch.

Iona arrived shortly after I go back from the shops. The three of us discussed the new problems that had arisen in the last couple of days. Isobel's weight is now up to fifteen stone and it is not practicable for Iona to move her. In fact she is at the limit for myself and Euan. Because she cannot or will not cooperate in placing her body and limbs in the most helpful positions, it often requires two people to move her. The methods that seemed only a week ago to be working satisfactorily will be unsustainable if Isobel remains unable to support her own weight for more than a very short time.

As Isobel enjoyed a substantial three course lunch at the hospice we decided to get by on junk food tonight, pizza and garlic bread. Isobel had two helpings of pizza and a whole baton of garlic bread, washed down by two half glasses of beer. Isobel dozed off at about 11pm.