Hi all,
Just thought I'd drop in while the pc is available, can't seem to get near it now the summer holidays are here!
Our weekend went very well, with the subject of Care Homes being broached with Gran, and it went down very well. On friday, Gran had told her carer that she was sick of sitting on her own with no one to talk to. So we leapt on the topic of moving her down near us so that she would see lots of people. It went down a treat, beaming smiles, all of that. Even my aunt was pleased, with no complaints about travelling or the distance involved etc. Mam was so pleased she nearly fell off the couch!
So on a high, we contacted the nursing home we've chosen, and arranged for Gran to go there Tuesday (today) to have her hair done with the hairdresser, have her lunch, and have an assessment done at the same time. We're going great guns, by this time, feeling positive.
Monday morning, everything went awry. To cut a long story short, Gran had been "withdrawn and quiet" on sunday, and on monday morning had refused to get out of bed when the carer came, saying her back was sore, and she didn't want any breakfast. She was left in bed having been given her meds and a cuppa. At 10am, the befriender who visits mondays couldn't get an answer when she rang the bell, and she didn't want to use the key in the key safe to get in. The guy who delivers Gran's meal couldn't get any joy either, and went away having refused to use the key safe. The meals company rang mam and told us they hadn't been able to get in, and mam contacted Gran's GP to see if we could have the Rapid Response team out to her again, or the district nurse. Mum heard no more for about an hour. She rang me, told me what the problem was and I contacted Gran's GP to see what was going on. The GP rang me straight back, he was with Gran as we spoke, and he said he was going to get her admitted to hospital. She was unable to move, totally incomprehensible verbally, and asked me for information as to what she was usually like. Having told him she was usually mobile and sometimes confused, he advised that I get there asap as he had to leave and was going to make arrangements to get her to hospital but she shouldn't be left on her own in the meantime.
Mam and I went up, didn't know what to expect, and arrived to find the carer had arrived for her usual lunch time shift. She was on the phone for someone to come and give her a hand to help with Gran, she told us to "come and see how she's lying". We found poor Gran lying widthways across her bed with her feet dangling over the side to the floor. She was flat on her back, no pillows or anything under her head, it looked like she'd made an attempt to get up but for whatever reason hadn't been able to and laid back and never moved again. She yelped when we tried to straighten her and get her lying on the bed the right way. So we just raised her legs and propped them up on her commode with a pillow under her feet. I did a quick check over of her, she had all appropriate sensations, but was talking gibberish. An ambulance arrived after a couple of hours, by which time Gran told them she didn't have any pain anywhere, hadn't had all day, and should she have pain? Was that the right thing, to have pain?
Anyway, we got her to hospital and it was determined she most likely had a UTI, or a chest infection. She was dehydrated and is now on a drip, antibiotics are being delivered via the drip. The nursing staff have said she is not fit to be discharged back home. She is still very confused, she's convinced herself she has had an operation.
We've now had to contact SS and ask for them to fast track the process for getting Gran to the home we want her to go to. The home have said they can take her on as soon as they have an assessment of her, either by fax or by someone going to see her. They are ready and waiting for her, anyway. Mam says Gran is likely to be in hospital for another 2 or 3 days. We've asked the hospital to help us to get her discharged to the home, rather than to her own home. We've even told them we will pay for a week or two's home fees privately if SS haven't caught up with us by the time she is discharged.
Thank goodness it was only an infection affecting the poor soul. Seeing her lying across the bed with nothing on but her undies was quite distressing. I think when we moved her, her back hurt because she'd been lying in the awkward position for so long before someone got to her. After we'd lifted her feet and propped her head up a little she seemed to pick up and be able to get her words out better. She was still waffling, about the Germans, those little boys, anything she could think of that would come out reasonably easily I think. I gave her some sips of water through a straw, and a cooled cup of tea. I talked to her about coming to live near me, and painted a rosy picture of how nice it would be for her. She seems delighted at the knowledge she can have visitors every day, the smile was lovely. She kept reaching up to move a stray hair from my eyes and complimenting my sun tan, bless her. I promised her we were staying with her to go to hospital, and promised her faithfully that she wouldn't be forgotten about when she moved to the Care Home, that I would be in to see her EVERY morning when my boys have gone to school. She asked me to promise we wouldn't forget her, and I crossed my heart for her. She held my hand while she was having blood taken, she was an absolute trooper. She managed to get her words out for the nurses when they were explaining what was happening to her, and yet when she tried to talk to me again, the ability was gone.
Although we'd have hoped for a better start to the week, there could be positives from the negatives, in that we get her into the home near me much more quickly than we would have done going down the normal route. The main thing is the poor thing hasn't had a stroke, which was winding its way through my mind all the way up there. She's in the right place and can't wander from there, so we can sleep well for a couple of days.
Keep you posted as we get news.
Gill
xx
Just thought I'd drop in while the pc is available, can't seem to get near it now the summer holidays are here!
Our weekend went very well, with the subject of Care Homes being broached with Gran, and it went down very well. On friday, Gran had told her carer that she was sick of sitting on her own with no one to talk to. So we leapt on the topic of moving her down near us so that she would see lots of people. It went down a treat, beaming smiles, all of that. Even my aunt was pleased, with no complaints about travelling or the distance involved etc. Mam was so pleased she nearly fell off the couch!
So on a high, we contacted the nursing home we've chosen, and arranged for Gran to go there Tuesday (today) to have her hair done with the hairdresser, have her lunch, and have an assessment done at the same time. We're going great guns, by this time, feeling positive.
Monday morning, everything went awry. To cut a long story short, Gran had been "withdrawn and quiet" on sunday, and on monday morning had refused to get out of bed when the carer came, saying her back was sore, and she didn't want any breakfast. She was left in bed having been given her meds and a cuppa. At 10am, the befriender who visits mondays couldn't get an answer when she rang the bell, and she didn't want to use the key in the key safe to get in. The guy who delivers Gran's meal couldn't get any joy either, and went away having refused to use the key safe. The meals company rang mam and told us they hadn't been able to get in, and mam contacted Gran's GP to see if we could have the Rapid Response team out to her again, or the district nurse. Mum heard no more for about an hour. She rang me, told me what the problem was and I contacted Gran's GP to see what was going on. The GP rang me straight back, he was with Gran as we spoke, and he said he was going to get her admitted to hospital. She was unable to move, totally incomprehensible verbally, and asked me for information as to what she was usually like. Having told him she was usually mobile and sometimes confused, he advised that I get there asap as he had to leave and was going to make arrangements to get her to hospital but she shouldn't be left on her own in the meantime.
Mam and I went up, didn't know what to expect, and arrived to find the carer had arrived for her usual lunch time shift. She was on the phone for someone to come and give her a hand to help with Gran, she told us to "come and see how she's lying". We found poor Gran lying widthways across her bed with her feet dangling over the side to the floor. She was flat on her back, no pillows or anything under her head, it looked like she'd made an attempt to get up but for whatever reason hadn't been able to and laid back and never moved again. She yelped when we tried to straighten her and get her lying on the bed the right way. So we just raised her legs and propped them up on her commode with a pillow under her feet. I did a quick check over of her, she had all appropriate sensations, but was talking gibberish. An ambulance arrived after a couple of hours, by which time Gran told them she didn't have any pain anywhere, hadn't had all day, and should she have pain? Was that the right thing, to have pain?
Anyway, we got her to hospital and it was determined she most likely had a UTI, or a chest infection. She was dehydrated and is now on a drip, antibiotics are being delivered via the drip. The nursing staff have said she is not fit to be discharged back home. She is still very confused, she's convinced herself she has had an operation.
We've now had to contact SS and ask for them to fast track the process for getting Gran to the home we want her to go to. The home have said they can take her on as soon as they have an assessment of her, either by fax or by someone going to see her. They are ready and waiting for her, anyway. Mam says Gran is likely to be in hospital for another 2 or 3 days. We've asked the hospital to help us to get her discharged to the home, rather than to her own home. We've even told them we will pay for a week or two's home fees privately if SS haven't caught up with us by the time she is discharged.
Thank goodness it was only an infection affecting the poor soul. Seeing her lying across the bed with nothing on but her undies was quite distressing. I think when we moved her, her back hurt because she'd been lying in the awkward position for so long before someone got to her. After we'd lifted her feet and propped her head up a little she seemed to pick up and be able to get her words out better. She was still waffling, about the Germans, those little boys, anything she could think of that would come out reasonably easily I think. I gave her some sips of water through a straw, and a cooled cup of tea. I talked to her about coming to live near me, and painted a rosy picture of how nice it would be for her. She seems delighted at the knowledge she can have visitors every day, the smile was lovely. She kept reaching up to move a stray hair from my eyes and complimenting my sun tan, bless her. I promised her we were staying with her to go to hospital, and promised her faithfully that she wouldn't be forgotten about when she moved to the Care Home, that I would be in to see her EVERY morning when my boys have gone to school. She asked me to promise we wouldn't forget her, and I crossed my heart for her. She held my hand while she was having blood taken, she was an absolute trooper. She managed to get her words out for the nurses when they were explaining what was happening to her, and yet when she tried to talk to me again, the ability was gone.
Although we'd have hoped for a better start to the week, there could be positives from the negatives, in that we get her into the home near me much more quickly than we would have done going down the normal route. The main thing is the poor thing hasn't had a stroke, which was winding its way through my mind all the way up there. She's in the right place and can't wander from there, so we can sleep well for a couple of days.
Keep you posted as we get news.
Gill
xx