Hi
I have found it very useful and supportive reading the messages of site users and it has helped me a great deal in putting the experiences of my family in some sort of perspective. It really helps to know that other people have visited what sometimes feels like some strange unexplored planet. This is not a big problem but if anyone has any suggestions I would be very grateful.
My grandmother has an undiagnosed memory/intellectual impairment. She also has severe arthritis in her hands and in her spine, affecting her mobility. Two months ago she moved in with my mother, having "managed" independently for some time, eventually with a great deal of support from Social Services. My mother has managed to establish a daily routine for my grandmother with the result that she seems to be feeling a lot better - at first, she just slept all the time but now much less. The trouble is, when awake (apart from during Emmerdale etc) she has nothing much she can do. She is more or less restricted to her room because of her mobility. She is no longer able to read (she can read words but the sense often evades her). She has never been a knitter and in any case could not do this because of her hands. This also means she can't write to her friends - she can just about sign her name (and recently has been unsure about the spelling). She looks out of the window but often becomes anxious about what she sees - whether "a big dog" will jump over the fence and attack the little girl next door, or whether my mother should be taking the washing in, or why there are so many houses... She also seems to be restless at night, usually just pacing about but occasionally taking a torch and moving about in the house - this is worrying because she has a history of falls. I think she is restless because she is bored. She refuses to go to a day centre (probably because she is worried about incontinence). I have been reading various books which recommend finding a person something to do like folding towels etc, but none of these things are physically possible for her. She used to enjoy looking through photographs but now can fail to recognise people, which annoys her. I don't mean to sound so negative! The thing is I have been racking my brains trying to think of something she could occupy herself with which she would find meaningful and which would not impose any extra burden on my mother - and I have drawn a blank. Has anyone any ideas about this?
Chloe
I have found it very useful and supportive reading the messages of site users and it has helped me a great deal in putting the experiences of my family in some sort of perspective. It really helps to know that other people have visited what sometimes feels like some strange unexplored planet. This is not a big problem but if anyone has any suggestions I would be very grateful.
My grandmother has an undiagnosed memory/intellectual impairment. She also has severe arthritis in her hands and in her spine, affecting her mobility. Two months ago she moved in with my mother, having "managed" independently for some time, eventually with a great deal of support from Social Services. My mother has managed to establish a daily routine for my grandmother with the result that she seems to be feeling a lot better - at first, she just slept all the time but now much less. The trouble is, when awake (apart from during Emmerdale etc) she has nothing much she can do. She is more or less restricted to her room because of her mobility. She is no longer able to read (she can read words but the sense often evades her). She has never been a knitter and in any case could not do this because of her hands. This also means she can't write to her friends - she can just about sign her name (and recently has been unsure about the spelling). She looks out of the window but often becomes anxious about what she sees - whether "a big dog" will jump over the fence and attack the little girl next door, or whether my mother should be taking the washing in, or why there are so many houses... She also seems to be restless at night, usually just pacing about but occasionally taking a torch and moving about in the house - this is worrying because she has a history of falls. I think she is restless because she is bored. She refuses to go to a day centre (probably because she is worried about incontinence). I have been reading various books which recommend finding a person something to do like folding towels etc, but none of these things are physically possible for her. She used to enjoy looking through photographs but now can fail to recognise people, which annoys her. I don't mean to sound so negative! The thing is I have been racking my brains trying to think of something she could occupy herself with which she would find meaningful and which would not impose any extra burden on my mother - and I have drawn a blank. Has anyone any ideas about this?
Chloe