Good times, bad times and Social workers
Well the last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster. My husband, one of my twin sons and I have all had a flu bug..my other son spent his time improving his wii scores and is now a pro at bowling and at 6 beats me at nearly everything!!
Because of the flu I had to put off visits to Mum for about 9 days so when I finally went last week I was very surprised but delighted when she showed signs of recognising me (eventhough she called me Mum) as for the previous month or so she had a blank face when I went in.
Yesterday she mentioned my dog's name in a mumble and smiled at me as I went in.
I really hadn't expected that. It was lovely.
On the downside in the last fortnight she has become increasingly frail and is spending most days in bed. The staff try to get her up if she is bright enough in the morning but by lunchtime she is having to go back to bed.
While I sat with her yesterday she was having such mumbled conversation with invisible people. I said to the Home Deputy that if I believed I would almost think that she was having a chat with Angels. She was not really distressed, just chatting with the beings and occasionally pointing them out to me.
I took the decorations off her little fibre optic tree but left it up as the light is nice for her. Some small stimulation when there is so little left.
She is failing badly at the moment. She just seems so tired. She has not recovered her mobility, is listing badly when sitting and is occasionally sick. In anyone else the home staff were saying that they would be saying that this was the end coming but because of my Mother's history of near miraculous recoveries they just don't know.
I think that she is failing this time as she is now saying she is tired. She has lost so much motor and cognitive function in the last few months. No longer are conversations possible, no longer do you often get a direct answer to a yes/no question. But she seems to be in little pain, although strangely she now gets agitated and seems to know something is wrong in the late afternoon (her old sundowning time!)
I feel that the end is coming and while I love my Mum with all my heart I don't want her to be like this any longer and feel that her time is coming and she is giving in finally to this disease.
And the oddest point this week was being advised that Social Work are actually coming on Wednesday to carry out a Social Care review for the first time that I am aware of in 3.5 years! The cynical part of me says that they just want to assure themselves that she is not going to strain their budget by lapsing out of self funding before she goes! I have promised not to be sarcastic!
Don't know why I posted really other than to say this to people who would understand the strain that comes while at this stage, waiting all the time for the telephone to ring yet knowing it could go on for weeks or months even if she plateaus again.
Well the last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster. My husband, one of my twin sons and I have all had a flu bug..my other son spent his time improving his wii scores and is now a pro at bowling and at 6 beats me at nearly everything!!
Because of the flu I had to put off visits to Mum for about 9 days so when I finally went last week I was very surprised but delighted when she showed signs of recognising me (eventhough she called me Mum) as for the previous month or so she had a blank face when I went in.
Yesterday she mentioned my dog's name in a mumble and smiled at me as I went in.
I really hadn't expected that. It was lovely.
On the downside in the last fortnight she has become increasingly frail and is spending most days in bed. The staff try to get her up if she is bright enough in the morning but by lunchtime she is having to go back to bed.
While I sat with her yesterday she was having such mumbled conversation with invisible people. I said to the Home Deputy that if I believed I would almost think that she was having a chat with Angels. She was not really distressed, just chatting with the beings and occasionally pointing them out to me.
I took the decorations off her little fibre optic tree but left it up as the light is nice for her. Some small stimulation when there is so little left.
She is failing badly at the moment. She just seems so tired. She has not recovered her mobility, is listing badly when sitting and is occasionally sick. In anyone else the home staff were saying that they would be saying that this was the end coming but because of my Mother's history of near miraculous recoveries they just don't know.
I think that she is failing this time as she is now saying she is tired. She has lost so much motor and cognitive function in the last few months. No longer are conversations possible, no longer do you often get a direct answer to a yes/no question. But she seems to be in little pain, although strangely she now gets agitated and seems to know something is wrong in the late afternoon (her old sundowning time!)
I feel that the end is coming and while I love my Mum with all my heart I don't want her to be like this any longer and feel that her time is coming and she is giving in finally to this disease.
And the oddest point this week was being advised that Social Work are actually coming on Wednesday to carry out a Social Care review for the first time that I am aware of in 3.5 years! The cynical part of me says that they just want to assure themselves that she is not going to strain their budget by lapsing out of self funding before she goes! I have promised not to be sarcastic!
Don't know why I posted really other than to say this to people who would understand the strain that comes while at this stage, waiting all the time for the telephone to ring yet knowing it could go on for weeks or months even if she plateaus again.
Last edited: