Becoming my Mum's Carer...
- Thread starter HillyBilly
- Start date
The dog's gonna have to fend for himself - he just slunk in to the kitchen for a drink of water - we both watched with trepidation, expecting him to be chewed up and spat out in small furry bits. But he was as stealth as a chunky staffie could be...tippy toe
I'm smiling at your descriptive powers, but the reality is pretty stressful. I'm a rotten daughter too, not sure what more I could do but it's never enough. On a lighter note it's the perfect opportunity to have your favourite take away whilst the kitchen is occupied by hostile forces!
Jeez! For such a small person she can't half slam doors with force!
We are drowning the slamming out with Paul Kalkbrenner
We are drowning the slamming out with Paul Kalkbrenner
Nearest takeaway is half an hour's drive away and it's lousy out there...I think Mum has retreated to her bedroom...I'll pluck up the courage to look in a minute
We have regained possession of the kitchen.
I'm ashamed to say that we are now cooking dinner and making completely unnecessary references to crunchiness We found more cider
I'm ashamed to say that we are now cooking dinner and making completely unnecessary references to crunchiness
We found more cider More cider sounds like a plan to me.We have regained possession of the kitchen.
I'm ashamed to say that we are now cooking dinner and making completely unnecessary references to crunchiness
Laughing ..... you really should write a book HillyBilly!! Enjoy your cider - get slaughtered, pat the poor dog, hug your long suffering husband and have a huge hug for yourself - and mostly enjoy your dinner!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We confiscated it!
Thanks - we did!
(Half expecting a "glide through" any minute now but am beyond caring...)
Ye gods, a night from hell.
4am the neighbour's cat clattered over our gate, woke the dog up. Dog wanted to go out, OH got up and let him out the back door. OH and dog returned to bed. 5 minutes later there was a banging sound - sounded like Mum banging her wardrobe door, (something she enjoys doing in the middle of the night) so I wasn't unduly perturbed. Until OH said, "Did you bolt the back door shut when you came to bed last night?".
Me, "Yes. Why?".
OH, "It was already open when I let the dog out. Where do you think your Mother is?".
Me, "Was her bedroom door open or closed when you got up?"
OH, "Open".
I flew out of bed, visions of Mum having gone walkabout in the garden in the middle of the night and now being locked out there.
Nope. Mum was standing in her bedroom doorway (phew - so at least I hadn't killed her through hypothermia or pneumonia). "I've had diarrhoea" she announced. "It's everywhere".
It was. Plus she'd walked it through the entire house.
I had to issue instructions from a safe distance, involving a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself utter: "Step away from the poo!"
Huge clear up operation.
Still ongoing.
Need more cleaning supplies.
Help.
4am the neighbour's cat clattered over our gate, woke the dog up. Dog wanted to go out, OH got up and let him out the back door. OH and dog returned to bed. 5 minutes later there was a banging sound - sounded like Mum banging her wardrobe door, (something she enjoys doing in the middle of the night) so I wasn't unduly perturbed. Until OH said, "Did you bolt the back door shut when you came to bed last night?".
Me, "Yes. Why?".
OH, "It was already open when I let the dog out. Where do you think your Mother is?".
Me, "Was her bedroom door open or closed when you got up?"
OH, "Open".
I flew out of bed, visions of Mum having gone walkabout in the garden in the middle of the night and now being locked out there.
Nope. Mum was standing in her bedroom doorway (phew - so at least I hadn't killed her through hypothermia or pneumonia). "I've had diarrhoea" she announced. "It's everywhere".
It was. Plus she'd walked it through the entire house.
I had to issue instructions from a safe distance, involving a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself utter: "Step away from the poo!"
Huge clear up operation.
Still ongoing.
Need more cleaning supplies.
Help.
Oh no, I feel for you! It's way worse than having a toddler, at least when they have accidents it's usually fairly contained. I'm sorry if I've missed it, but has your mum seen a doctor about her tummy? This seems to have been a running (!) theme through your updates for a while now, and I wonder if it needs investigating?
Oh you poor love! Maybe that'll teach you to ignore Madame and drink all the cider!
Sending huge hugs, and hoping you're ok. This must be horrible for you to have to deal with, I'm really sorry for laughing, but it has to be done! Keep on keeping on HillyBilly, you're absolutely amazing, I don't think I could ever do that with such cheerfulness! Xxxx
HillyBilly - you may already have this, but what about a pressure sensor on the mattress, or under a mat in her bedroom? I've started using mum's again. The good thing is that when all is quiet I know that she's in bed, so that in itself makes me (slightly) more relaxed. As soon as she lifts off the mattress the alarm next to my bed goes off (I'm upstairs, she's downstairs) and I can usually be in her room before she even has a chance to reach for her walking stick! At least that way you could 'contain' anything to her room at least.
Is your mum refusing to wear pull ups or a pad? I found pull ups left a red mark at the top of mum's legs so I changed to normal pants with a pad. She never complains that it's uncomfortable and on the odd occasion that she has had diarrhoea, the pad/pants have at least contained it
I have to admit, your 'step away from the poo' comment had me laughing out loud - not nice to have to clear up though.
Is your mum refusing to wear pull ups or a pad? I found pull ups left a red mark at the top of mum's legs so I changed to normal pants with a pad. She never complains that it's uncomfortable and on the odd occasion that she has had diarrhoea, the pad/pants have at least contained it
I have to admit, your 'step away from the poo' comment had me laughing out loud
- not nice to have to clear up though.HB, sorry you had such an eventful night.
Not that it's any of my business, but I think it's time to get the nurse/doctor involved in figuring out the diarrhea issue. Make sure they rule out overflow diarrhea (from a blockage further up the line, as it were, something I learned about from TP).
Sending good wishes. If I lived closer I'd come and scrub with you!
Not that it's any of my business, but I think it's time to get the nurse/doctor involved in figuring out the diarrhea issue. Make sure they rule out overflow diarrhea (from a blockage further up the line, as it were, something I learned about from TP).
Sending good wishes. If I lived closer I'd come and scrub with you!
Oh my Amy - only a true comrade would offer such a thing
I have a call in to the GP to discuss stool sampling or whatever he thinks - waiting for a call back...
HillyBilly - you may already have this, but what about a pressure sensor on the mattress, or under a mat in her bedroom? I've started using mum's again. The good thing is that when all is quiet I know that she's in bed, so that in itself makes me (slightly) more relaxed. As soon as she lifts off the mattress the alarm next to my bed goes off (I'm upstairs, she's downstairs) and I can usually be in her room before she even has a chance to reach for her walking stick! At least that way you could 'contain' anything to her room at least.
Is your mum refusing to wear pull ups or a pad? I found pull ups left a red mark at the top of mum's legs so I changed to normal pants with a pad. She never complains that it's uncomfortable and on the odd occasion that she has had diarrhoea, the pad/pants have at least contained it
I have to admit, your 'step away from the poo' comment had me laughing out loud
Mum's usually up every two hours during the night to go to the toilet (either in the bathroom or the chemical toilet in her room) - I really don't fancy being woken up every two hours...is that bad?
She wears pads with fixation pants, day and night but still goes to the toilet under her own steam - night and day...so she gets to the loo in time (ish) for the diarrhoea.
Oh, HB, It isn't funny. It really isn't. D ) I know, all too well, how we can make light of things - but I also know how truly wrenching and horrible those cleaning up sessions must be - especially if they come as an accompaniment to the flashes of aggression/surliness you had yesterday evening, and all the weariness of the acceptable jeans saga.
Could it be that your mum simply suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Or a food intolerance? Could you try keeping a food diary for her, and see if there's any connection between what she eats/drinks and the bouts of diarrhoea? And any chance she would take a course of something simple like Colpermin capsules- they are just peppermint oil in a special coating, for IBS, but I've always used them when mine flares up, and found them good.
D ) I know, all too well, how we can make light of things - but I also know how truly wrenching and horrible those cleaning up sessions must be - especially if they come as an accompaniment to the flashes of aggression/surliness you had yesterday evening, and all the weariness of the acceptable jeans saga. Could it be that your mum simply suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Or a food intolerance? Could you try keeping a food diary for her, and see if there's any connection between what she eats/drinks and the bouts of diarrhoea? And any chance she would take a course of something simple like Colpermin capsules- they are just peppermint oil in a special coating, for IBS, but I've always used them when mine flares up, and found them good.
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