Hi everyone,
It sounds like your poor friend has an awful lot to deal with JM - I can imagine he is incredibly frustrated with the limitations caused by his injury, probably still in pain too and that the last thing he needs is the 'interference' from his Mum's friends making him feel worse - even if that interference is well meaning
. OH headed down the coast on his bike ride yesterday - its a favourite run, some fab coastal cycle paths, beautiful views he says. Usually he does the 'Rhyl loop' and the route he takes gives him a run of about 70 miles, but his mate who rides with him hasn't been too well, so yesterday they ended up cutting the journey shorter than usual. Still, I think it did him good to get out for a few hours - I have my camera, he has his bike - both are tools that hep keep us sane
Sue, I'm hoping to persuade OH to have a break this weekend - our days are dictated by visiting times at the moment and whilst hardly in the same league as having Mil at home, it does feel like a lot of our time is still being governed by her needs.
*Waves* back at Terry
We've had two gorgeous days here, Slugsta, too - yesterday, once OH left, I went out and stocked up on compost, planters and other bits and bobs, and spent 4 hours in the garden. I've been a bit too successful with some of the seeds I've been growing, lol and had to work out where to put a huge number of young lettuce seedlings, plus sort more planters for the various flowers that will soon be ready to go out - though I still don't know where I am going to put 22 sunflowers! I got 'stuck in' and really enjoyed it - but by evening, I was paying for it with a lot of pain in my back and hip, so I think I'll have to be more sensible in future!
We visited Mil yesterday evening, and she looks and sounds an awful lot better - much to OH's relief especially. A little perturbed to find her sitting in a chair, with a blanket round her shoulders and her 'going out shoes' on her feet - she looked really uncomfortable, and the blanket over her nighty covered little, the extent of the bruising from the fall she had at the weekend was really apparent, her knee and her arms are black and blue - it seemed very undignified for her. I've taken in two dressing gowns, one warm and fleecy, one quite light and have already bought a replacement pair of slippers as her first pair went missing within 2 days of her being in hospital, and everything is labelled. I asked the nurse with her where her gowns and slippers are and was met with a blank look - I was nice about it, but said that it would perhaps be a little more 'comfortable' for Mil if her things could be found, please?
In herself, both OH and I were struck again by how 'different' she seems to be - we've felt this since she came out of respite, but as she went into hospital so quickly after that, and there have been med changes, a UTI, a fall and the chest infection since, its hard to work out what is going on with her. Her ability to follow what was being said to her was waning anyway, but now she can't even seem to hold on to the thread of what she is saying herself. She obviously recognises us as familiar, but neither OH or I believe that she has any inkling as to how she knows us now, she certainly doesn't think we are related - and even when it feels 'OK' to remind her of who we are to her, its as though that doesn't make sense to her and after a brief blank look, she seems to dismiss what we have said. When we visit, its just a steady stream of rambling - she will ask over and over about familiar names, but that seems to be her asking because she thinks its the right thing to say (does that make sense?) - she doesn't seem to have any idea who these people she is asking after are. Other than that, its just disjointed and often non-sensical confabulations. She is leaping about in time, going from her working at a holiday camp in her late teens to her working in a hotel when she first left school. She is tending to slot me in particular into the tales she comes out with, so heaven knows who she thinks I am? She is more aware of being hospital now - the current ward is more recognisable as a hospital setting than the dementia ward - but she gives an ever changing run of reasons for why she is there, and occasionaly seems to think that she is working there, that its something to do with her looking after children. We had a most peculiar ramble about how she bruised her hand by falling on grass - she explained that she put her hand out to 'save herself' and because the grass was 'very dry' it was hard and came right through the palm of her hand and made 'that blue thing' (bruise) come up on the back of her hand - and that's pretty typical of the type of conversation we are getting. There's currently no upset and we have been told that there has been no sundowning or agitation sice she was moved to the medical side with the infection.
They are hoping to move her back to the dementia ward today. OH wants to go and see her today, but I've visited for the last 5 days and have said that I am skipping tonight - last night, between OH not getting home till 5, daughter not in till 5.30 after her volunteeer work for the DOE and then visiting Mil, I found myself again cooking tea at half 7 at night, rather than me serving it up at 6-ish - its making for long days for me at the moment.
No big plans today, must try and return the wrongly sized clothes if I can, and I should really play a bit of catch up with the hosuework - but if the suns shining, I expect I might head outdoors (though I'll take it easier today!)
Have a good day everyone xxxxx
It sounds like your poor friend has an awful lot to deal with JM - I can imagine he is incredibly frustrated with the limitations caused by his injury, probably still in pain too and that the last thing he needs is the 'interference' from his Mum's friends making him feel worse - even if that interference is well meaning
. OH headed down the coast on his bike ride yesterday - its a favourite run, some fab coastal cycle paths, beautiful views he says. Usually he does the 'Rhyl loop' and the route he takes gives him a run of about 70 miles, but his mate who rides with him hasn't been too well, so yesterday they ended up cutting the journey shorter than usual. Still, I think it did him good to get out for a few hours - I have my camera, he has his bike - both are tools that hep keep us sane Sue, I'm hoping to persuade OH to have a break this weekend - our days are dictated by visiting times at the moment and whilst hardly in the same league as having Mil at home, it does feel like a lot of our time is still being governed by her needs.
*Waves* back at Terry
We've had two gorgeous days here, Slugsta, too - yesterday, once OH left, I went out and stocked up on compost, planters and other bits and bobs, and spent 4 hours in the garden. I've been a bit too successful with some of the seeds I've been growing, lol and had to work out where to put a huge number of young lettuce seedlings, plus sort more planters for the various flowers that will soon be ready to go out - though I still don't know where I am going to put 22 sunflowers! I got 'stuck in' and really enjoyed it - but by evening, I was paying for it with a lot of pain in my back and hip, so I think I'll have to be more sensible in future!
We visited Mil yesterday evening, and she looks and sounds an awful lot better - much to OH's relief especially. A little perturbed to find her sitting in a chair, with a blanket round her shoulders and her 'going out shoes' on her feet - she looked really uncomfortable, and the blanket over her nighty covered little, the extent of the bruising from the fall she had at the weekend was really apparent, her knee and her arms are black and blue - it seemed very undignified for her. I've taken in two dressing gowns, one warm and fleecy, one quite light and have already bought a replacement pair of slippers as her first pair went missing within 2 days of her being in hospital, and everything is labelled. I asked the nurse with her where her gowns and slippers are and was met with a blank look - I was nice about it, but said that it would perhaps be a little more 'comfortable' for Mil if her things could be found, please?
In herself, both OH and I were struck again by how 'different' she seems to be - we've felt this since she came out of respite, but as she went into hospital so quickly after that, and there have been med changes, a UTI, a fall and the chest infection since, its hard to work out what is going on with her. Her ability to follow what was being said to her was waning anyway, but now she can't even seem to hold on to the thread of what she is saying herself. She obviously recognises us as familiar, but neither OH or I believe that she has any inkling as to how she knows us now, she certainly doesn't think we are related - and even when it feels 'OK' to remind her of who we are to her, its as though that doesn't make sense to her and after a brief blank look, she seems to dismiss what we have said. When we visit, its just a steady stream of rambling - she will ask over and over about familiar names, but that seems to be her asking because she thinks its the right thing to say (does that make sense?) - she doesn't seem to have any idea who these people she is asking after are. Other than that, its just disjointed and often non-sensical confabulations. She is leaping about in time, going from her working at a holiday camp in her late teens to her working in a hotel when she first left school. She is tending to slot me in particular into the tales she comes out with, so heaven knows who she thinks I am? She is more aware of being hospital now - the current ward is more recognisable as a hospital setting than the dementia ward - but she gives an ever changing run of reasons for why she is there, and occasionaly seems to think that she is working there, that its something to do with her looking after children
. We had a most peculiar ramble about how she bruised her hand by falling on grass - she explained that she put her hand out to 'save herself' and because the grass was 'very dry' it was hard and came right through the palm of her hand and made 'that blue thing' (bruise) come up on the back of her hand - and that's pretty typical of the type of conversation we are getting. There's currently no upset and we have been told that there has been no sundowning or agitation sice she was moved to the medical side with the infection.They are hoping to move her back to the dementia ward today. OH wants to go and see her today, but I've visited for the last 5 days and have said that I am skipping tonight - last night, between OH not getting home till 5, daughter not in till 5.30 after her volunteeer work for the DOE and then visiting Mil, I found myself again cooking tea at half 7 at night, rather than me serving it up at 6-ish - its making for long days for me at the moment.
No big plans today, must try and return the wrongly sized clothes if I can, and I should really play a bit of catch up with the hosuework - but if the suns shining, I expect I might head outdoors (though I'll take it easier today!)
Have a good day everyone xxxxx
