Marple

*Warning* One of the photos showing Will's injured hand looks gory so don't look at them you'd rather not see.

Though Marple is a really pleasant, welcoming little town our stay there was not a happy one. Vicky's health hadn't improved much and we made the decision when we arrived to dial down our plans for onward travel, to focus on her getting enough rest and just move on as and when we could.

We found a mooring spot near Church Lane Bridge, a roving bridge giving ramped access to the main road leading down to the town centre just 5 minutes away. From the boat we could see the Ring O' Bells veranda up the hill; another good Robinson's pub that Will got to know quite well during our extended stay.

Sadly Vicky wasn't the only one feeling poorly. Abby had been gradually getting more and more lethargic and losing weight. We'd been buying her favourite gourmet pate in an effort to feed her up and she'd been keen to eat until she came down with a bout of sickness and diarrhoea. We hoped it would resolve itself but she was so unwell on Thursday that we called the nearby Marple Vets. They were a vet down but were amazing, rearranging another client's appointment so we could take Abby to them that morning. They admitted her as a day patient to rehydrate her with an IV line, give her anti sickness medication and take blood and urine tests. We were to pick her up when they closed and return her the following morning.

During the day Will visited the Ring O' Bells for a light bite and returned home to light the fire. He'd bought a bottle of methylated spirit to use instead of firelighters in an effort to reduce residue build up. He put a capful in but it didn't seem to light so he poured another cap. As he put it into the stove the spirit in the cap caught light and in shock he tried to put it back on the bottle in his other hand, which also caught light and spilled all over his hands, the floor and ottoman. Leaping to the sink he was able to extinguish his his hands while Vicky put out the flames from the liquid splashed on his clothing, the floor and furniture.

The burns were bad and it was necessary to keep his hands in cold water. His temperature began to drop and he was at risk of going into shock. Vicky bundled a duvet round his shoulders and got him a woolly hat and blanket for his lap. Thankfully at 0.1°C away from shock his temperature began to rise again. He eventually let Vicky call 111 who said he needed to go to hospital. Ambulance waiting times were 2 hours so we decided to get a taxi but before we could do this Vicky needed to pick Abby up from the vets. It was a relief to see her looking much better but her blood results showed the start of kidney failure, which was a blow.

The pain of having Will's hands out of water was excruciating as we made our way up to the Ring O' Bells and waited outside for the taxi. He nipped into the pub toilets to run the taps over them a few times but in the taxi on the way to Stepping Hill the pain became too much and he passed out for a short time. A&E triaged him at the taps in the toilet and sent him to the Urgent Treatment Centre where he found a small sink. The nurse cut the blistered dead skin away and dressed his hands, giving advise to keep up the painkillers, keep hydrated and keep the worst hand elevated and fingers moving. We left around 9pm and all four furries were very relieved to see us.

The following morning Vicky took Abby back to the vets for her second day of treatment. They were pleased with how she was doing and discharged her at the end of the day with a special certificate to say how good she'd been.

Life was difficult. Vicky didn't have any energy, Will was dosed up on painkillers and incapacitated. At least there were shops close by, places Will could eat out and takeaways to keep us fed. We applied online to the CRT for an extended stay on medical grounds which was granted until 10th April. The laundry and dishes piled up. The place became even messier and muckier than usual as we eaked out the limited water we had on board and ran the engine instead of the generator for power.

Will returned to hospital on Saturday to have his hands assessed and redressed. Thankfully he'd managed to extinguish the flames quickly enough that the burns hadn't penetrated so deep as to need skin grafts but he'd need to keep going back every few days to have them seen to. If we'd been registered in the area a District Nurse would have come to the house or perhaps GP surgery to do this but we were just grateful of the help offered by the hospital.

Heartbreakingly Abby became more tired and stopped eating over the weekend. She was very frail and by Monday her sickness and diarrhoea was back. With her arthritis, heart murmur and now kidney failure her quality of life was poor. We made the decision that we didn't want her to suffer any longer and made the appointment with the vets for that afternoon. The staff had grown fond of her during her stay and were great with her and us, creating a calm and caring environment. She died quickly and peacefully in Vicky's lap. She was 16 3/4 and the most gentle, loving companion. We miss her.

They say that when it rains it pours... well as we were struggling on, Leo became poorly to the point he stopped eating and Whiskers followed suit, hiding away under our bed for nearly two days. It was a very worrying time so soon after Abby's death but thankfully both are now recovered.

We poured love into all three remaining furries and even took Tiger Lilly to Barkley and Fetch, a shop in Marple that makes dog harnesses on site. She's always had hand-me-downs so we got her fitted with a matching harness and lead of her very own.Read more