AARRGGGHHH I'm so TIRED!!!!! I woke up this morning and just felt ill and as it's Sunday and 'nothing much happens at the weekend' I decided to have a lie in, so didn't get to the hospital until 1030. Mum didn't seem too worse off for it and was sleeping when I got there. I have probably totally overdone the hospital time, but if I don't go, I just worry about what's going on with mum.
Yesterday I got the jitters about having her home (hence my other post) but today I'm adamant she's coming home asap. Mum had been washed and changed by the time I arrived in the morning. Just before dinner they came to 'make mum comfortable' and discovered she'd had a bowel movement. I'm not sure how long she had lain in it from the morning wash until evening, and I let them get on with it behind a closed door, but it seemed wrong she had not been checked in all that time, esp. considering she spent the day in bed as she was so tired today. I guess it's a combination of lack of staff and 'not much happening at the weekend'. The staff who were there today are all very good, there just aren't enough of them to do everything. But will there ever be? Also, one of the 'better' nurses I've got to know noticed that mum's catheter was blocked. Do you think they could find another bag? Wards and cupboards were searched and eventually one was found. No catheter in a hospital? Hmm. She's coming home. I'm not sure when as I still have to do training at our agency offices so that I know how to 'handle' mum, and also waiting for agency to confirm when they will start their multiple visits a day. I am going to really hate those, but have no choice now. At least I will be here all the time to 'supervise'.
So much to get my head round now, and so much worry about will she or won't she improve after the stroke. I hate watching them hoisting her, but I will have to as I will be helping. I guess I'll get used to it in time, if she doesn't regain any mobility.
I still find it strange that some of the hospital staff say she's 'getting better' and that I should be positive about further post stroke improvements in mobility, but some have told me I should accept that she will need to be hoisted forever. At the moment, I don't accept that. The carer and I shut the door and sat mum on the edge of the hospital bed a couple of days ago and I brought a chair in front of her, and she grabbed hold of the arms of the chair and managed to lift herself up onto her feet 4 times before she got a little tired (without our help). So how can they be so sure she will never walk again? And bizarrely they seem to have got into a routine where they hoist her out of bed into a chair, then start her physio, but after all the hoisting, she's too tired! I've told them to get her to swing her legs out of bed and then to transfer her to the chair with a rotunda but no, she has to be hoisted first. I guess it must be hospital rules.
Mum was reassessed by the SLT people and she is now back on normal fluids and food, though I still have to wait until she swallows properly, so she has to be watched. The swallow has improved a lot and I am very thankful for that. At least she can eat. I think a feeding tube was on the cards at one point, but I said no. She is trying to use her left arm more, which is good, but it is still weak. She used to just stare at it, not understanding why it wasn't moving, but at least the brain connection still seems to be there. She is also able to move her legs, lift them a bit, and bend her knees. I have been able to get her dentures back in too, which is a great relief. Initially her face was too crooked to take them. But the mobility. Swallowing is so important too, of course it is, but such a huge difference in quality of life depending on whether she will need to be hoisted permanently, or even be bed bound, or whether she will have the strength to at least transfer to a wheelchair or commode. I remain positive she will.
And I thought listening to nonsense all day was bad!
Hope you are all OK. I hope your fortunes improve Lavender, what a rotten ride you've had with that care home. I'm not up to date I'm afraid, but that was the No. 2 choice wasn't it? What about the other one, the preferred one? I hope your mum is still on the list. Sorry if I've got confused, am so tired!
I've been watching all the ladies on mum's ward, which is an elderly, acute medical/dementia friendly ward, all the different symptoms, all the different behaviours. What a dreadful, dreadful disease. The poor lady mum used to be next to was quiet for a few days, I think they changed her meds, but tonight she was screaming again. Mum was moved from the first side room to the general area as they needed to keep an eye on her (which I agreed with), but after several days and nights next to the poor lady who shouts all day, I went a bit crazy one evening and some helpful staff moved her to another side room, closer to one of the staff desks. How the other ladies next to the noisy one sleep at night, I don't know.