This is my worry when, if, he goes into respite. What will he be like when he comes home. There would be no problem with any phone calls or emails, he has no idea how to use them anymore! Still, have been planning on visiting friends and my sister if it ever happens or am I jumping the gun a bit!My OH was placed in respite by his family when I became ill and was admitted to hospital as an emergency. He spent three weeks in the care home while I was in hospital and then at home convalescing. During the two weeks I had at home on my own I felt my life returned to normal and I felt like a real person again. But almost as soon as he came home I felt as exhausted as previously. He was terribly unhappy in respite, rang and emailed everyone he knew continuously and blocked up everyone's voicemails. He was literally ringing me 50 times an hour. He lost two stone in those three weeks, became dehydrated, wouldn't leave his room, and became badly confused. It took several weeks after he returned home to get him healthy and reasonably happy again. The care assessment package allows me four weeks respite a year, (which we will have to contribute to), but currently I just don't know how I could place him in respite, except in an emergency, when the benefits were so temporary and the finial cost so great.
Sue