Hello, I'm new to this and after reading through some of these threads feel that perhaps someone may be able to advise me how best to get my Mum the support that I think she needs.
I'll start at the very beginning... my Mum is 73 has always been very outgoing and chatty (personality traits that I'm proud to have inherited from her). She fell ill with pneumonia and suffered a pulmonary embolism approx 5 years ago which resulted in a lengthy stay in ICU. Physically she has made a relatively good recovery but she does not appear to have returned to her former glory. Whilst I guess an element of this is expected after what she has been through I hoped that time would be a healer. She is now extremely introverted and spends a lot of time watching tv - she's says she is content to sit quietly. She lives at home with my Dad who is becoming increasingly frustrated with her lack of motivation and more recently her forgetful ways. She asks my Dad for confirmation of almost everything these days and on the few occasions I have commented about her memory she becomes defensive and changes the subject. She has started swearing a lot and for a christian woman this has been a shock. This along with forgetting her own birthday, leaving the front door wide open often and a complete refusal to answer the phone is causing increased concern (these are only a few examples). My Dad is burying his head in the sand about this and its evident that he is struggling with the change in his wife and also her erratic behaviour so I did convince her to come to see the GP with me a while ago. When at the surgery, she was like a changed woman and I know she told a few porkies to the GP when she was questioned. The GP told her to come back if she had any concerns in future which she has not done nor mentioned since. I feel it is important that she is not pressured into seeking help and I do not want to undermine her in any way as she is the wisest woman I know but its killing me to see her as a mere shadow of her former self and I don't know how to approach this without hurting her. Can anyone relate and offer advice or is there any guidance available? Sorry for the lengthy intro however it feels good to write this down instead of it whirling around my head.
I'll start at the very beginning... my Mum is 73 has always been very outgoing and chatty (personality traits that I'm proud to have inherited from her). She fell ill with pneumonia and suffered a pulmonary embolism approx 5 years ago which resulted in a lengthy stay in ICU. Physically she has made a relatively good recovery but she does not appear to have returned to her former glory. Whilst I guess an element of this is expected after what she has been through I hoped that time would be a healer. She is now extremely introverted and spends a lot of time watching tv - she's says she is content to sit quietly. She lives at home with my Dad who is becoming increasingly frustrated with her lack of motivation and more recently her forgetful ways. She asks my Dad for confirmation of almost everything these days and on the few occasions I have commented about her memory she becomes defensive and changes the subject. She has started swearing a lot and for a christian woman this has been a shock. This along with forgetting her own birthday, leaving the front door wide open often and a complete refusal to answer the phone is causing increased concern (these are only a few examples). My Dad is burying his head in the sand about this and its evident that he is struggling with the change in his wife and also her erratic behaviour so I did convince her to come to see the GP with me a while ago. When at the surgery, she was like a changed woman and I know she told a few porkies to the GP when she was questioned. The GP told her to come back if she had any concerns in future which she has not done nor mentioned since. I feel it is important that she is not pressured into seeking help and I do not want to undermine her in any way as she is the wisest woman I know but its killing me to see her as a mere shadow of her former self and I don't know how to approach this without hurting her. Can anyone relate and offer advice or is there any guidance available? Sorry for the lengthy intro however it feels good to write this down instead of it whirling around my head.
