My Mum has recently had a couple of strokes, and as she used to care for my Nan, who has vascular dementia, I have taken over. I work full time and have a family, and a partner who is often away with the military and live over half an hour away so I promise I am doing my best but it's tough- especially as my brother lives in another part of the country and isn't helping, and my Mum needs chores doing, taking to appointments etc too. I have a respite carer 1 day a week who is absolutely brilliant, but social services have never returned my calls about a bit more help, they say they will be in contact to arrange a time for a new assessment, and then nothing. I would love to spend all day with Nan but that simply isn't possible so I go in 2 or 3 times a day.
Thankfully I was always quite involved and so I know all about my Nan's likes and dislikes but there are a few things I would love some help with:
- Nan always says that she doesn't need to put on clean clothes as she just has - yet she can spend a week in the same top! Do you just politely insist?
- I struggle to get liquids into her - I leave out cranberry juice, small bottles of water, and a different type of juice or squash within easy reach which she drinks - and give things like grapes, strawberries, choc ices, jellies to help with water content but I am paranoid about the dreaded water infections which she gets every couple of months
- she has gout in the big toe, and I am struggling with how to dress it without pulling off thin skin with the dressing
- she gets easily bored and so we have set up an ipod with a load of her favourite music, a digital photo frame with images of the family, I try and take her out (if only for an ice cream at a scenic point or on the school run with me) every second day but she is stuck on the same TV channel and so is there anything you can do to change things remotely or do other people say tape shows they would like and play them back?
- she wa-nders a lot into the front garden and talks to people and I am worried that strangers will take advantage of this as she sometimes asks them to do her favours like turning down her heating
- she gets fixated on things like neighbours saying that her hedges need cutting (a glimmer of truth but either something they mentioned a long time before or an innocent comment that she then takes to heart and repeats constantly)
Any advice or suggestions so so gratefully received ....
Thankfully I was always quite involved and so I know all about my Nan's likes and dislikes but there are a few things I would love some help with:
- Nan always says that she doesn't need to put on clean clothes as she just has - yet she can spend a week in the same top! Do you just politely insist?
- I struggle to get liquids into her - I leave out cranberry juice, small bottles of water, and a different type of juice or squash within easy reach which she drinks - and give things like grapes, strawberries, choc ices, jellies to help with water content but I am paranoid about the dreaded water infections which she gets every couple of months
- she has gout in the big toe, and I am struggling with how to dress it without pulling off thin skin with the dressing
- she gets easily bored and so we have set up an ipod with a load of her favourite music, a digital photo frame with images of the family, I try and take her out (if only for an ice cream at a scenic point or on the school run with me) every second day but she is stuck on the same TV channel and so is there anything you can do to change things remotely or do other people say tape shows they would like and play them back?
- she wa-nders a lot into the front garden and talks to people and I am worried that strangers will take advantage of this as she sometimes asks them to do her favours like turning down her heating
- she gets fixated on things like neighbours saying that her hedges need cutting (a glimmer of truth but either something they mentioned a long time before or an innocent comment that she then takes to heart and repeats constantly)
Any advice or suggestions so so gratefully received ....