Respite blues
- Thread starter hvml
- Start date
Thanks Adcat
That is just the kind of campaign I was looking for. Xx
Hi BR_ANA. Dad has had a pressure sore on his ankle for over 2 years. He is unsteady on his feet, but was always able to walk around the house with a frame until this respite. Now that he has been home for 4 days and I have been encouraging him to walk, he is getting his ability back I am glad to say. He is on paracetamol for general pain relief (arthritis) and I am afraid that the staff just took the easy /quick option and he didn't have the chance to get out of the wheelchair for a whole week. Thanks for the suggestion. It's part of the reason why we started the painkillers. X
That is just the kind of campaign I was looking for. Xx
Hi BR_ANA. Dad has had a pressure sore on his ankle for over 2 years. He is unsteady on his feet, but was always able to walk around the house with a frame until this respite. Now that he has been home for 4 days and I have been encouraging him to walk, he is getting his ability back I am glad to say. He is on paracetamol for general pain relief (arthritis) and I am afraid that the staff just took the easy /quick option and he didn't have the chance to get out of the wheelchair for a whole week. Thanks for the suggestion. It's part of the reason why we started the painkillers. X
Well. SIL and I went to the CH today to put our concerns to the nurse in charge.
Re Dad's lack of mobility on his return home, she said that when he was being assessed, it was ascertained that he was unable to walk and couldn't get out of the wheelchair. Plus he was very unsteady on his feet when he did stand, so because of the risk of falls, it was decided that he should remain in the wheelchair. As he arrived out of hours and was assessed in the morning, this kind of makes sense, as he always takes time to get going and is at his most unsteady. Plus the fact that he doesn't have great confidence in his own abilities and if asked - can you stand up? he would say no. ( also, understandably, he likes to take the easy option and be pushed. )
Re the tablets, they gave their own paracetamol, which is why I got the box back full. The loperamide (immodium) she said was not given as he was having formed movements and did not always have diarrhea. We told her that this was because it had taken us a long time to get to this point of being able to control the situation to a degree and the doctor had given us license to experiment. That is what I wrote in the note I sent addressed to the nurse in charge. She apologised.
We got the clothes and sundries back fine and left on a reasonable note. The way she explained it did make sense and she apologised for the oversight with the meds. The fact is that she was following the written guidelines and I was using it in an unorthodox way (on the say so of the doctor).
Anyhoo. Dad is walking around the house again, but still finding it difficult to get to his feet in the morning, so we are having to heave him (he is 10 and a 1/2 stone) into the wheelchair. Once he gets to the bathroom, he can usually stand, as the chair is higher than the bed and he can push from the arms. One more day of this as the hoist is due tomorrow xx
Re Dad's lack of mobility on his return home, she said that when he was being assessed, it was ascertained that he was unable to walk and couldn't get out of the wheelchair. Plus he was very unsteady on his feet when he did stand, so because of the risk of falls, it was decided that he should remain in the wheelchair. As he arrived out of hours and was assessed in the morning, this kind of makes sense, as he always takes time to get going and is at his most unsteady. Plus the fact that he doesn't have great confidence in his own abilities and if asked - can you stand up? he would say no. ( also, understandably, he likes to take the easy option and be pushed. )
Re the tablets, they gave their own paracetamol, which is why I got the box back full. The loperamide (immodium) she said was not given as he was having formed movements and did not always have diarrhea. We told her that this was because it had taken us a long time to get to this point of being able to control the situation to a degree and the doctor had given us license to experiment. That is what I wrote in the note I sent addressed to the nurse in charge. She apologised.
We got the clothes and sundries back fine and left on a reasonable note. The way she explained it did make sense and she apologised for the oversight with the meds. The fact is that she was following the written guidelines and I was using it in an unorthodox way (on the say so of the doctor).
Anyhoo. Dad is walking around the house again, but still finding it difficult to get to his feet in the morning, so we are having to heave him (he is 10 and a 1/2 stone) into the wheelchair. Once he gets to the bathroom, he can usually stand, as the chair is higher than the bed and he can push from the arms. One more day of this as the hoist is due tomorrow xx
Hi,
Glad you managed to get things cleared up with the care home, and you took your secret weapon with you!
The hoist arriving tomorrow will make things easier for you both, especially the mornings.
I didn't mean to ignore you when you asked how I was, sorry. Been a bit out of sorts recently, bad cold knocked stuffing out of me, no energy and pretty tired plus a few sleepless nights with mum. But I won't hijack your thread with all that
Hope you are okay, let us know how you get on with the hoist,
Xxx
Hi Jo
Sorry to hear that you have been under the weather. It must have made things difficult for you and the family. I have had a cold, but was lucky as it only lasted one day.
I'm having my morning cuppa at the moment, gathering my strength for the day. One good thing is that since coming home, Dad has been sleeping through the night.
Xx
Sorry to hear that you have been under the weather. It must have made things difficult for you and the family. I have had a cold, but was lucky as it only lasted one day.
I'm having my morning cuppa at the moment, gathering my strength for the day. One good thing is that since coming home, Dad has been sleeping through the night.
Xx
Things were going fine till Dad had a fall. He is ok, just cross with himself as usual. As the others were long gone, I had to do my usual dash around the village in my PJ's to find help. A lovely mother and son lifted him back into the wheelchair and all is fine again now, but I am a bit nervous of walking him as I have been doing. Have got him to stand up and sit down to keep working the arm and leg muscles, but am wheelchairing for the moment.
Oh yes, the hoist has arrived!!
Xx
Oh yes, the hoist has arrived!!
Xx
The day got worse before it got better. While the nurse was dressing Dad's ankle, he said he needed the loo, so she suggested that he used the commode as he had recently had a fall. He had got up a few times since, so we went ahead and.....he couldn't get up. The hoist battery had no charge, so the nurse went back to town to get a spare battery and a colleague to help. They got him safely back in his easy chair and all was ok from there.
Dear Dad is so easy going and even tempered, he took it all in his stride and - unsurprisingly - was zonked out for the rest of the afternoon.
The doctor is coming tomorrow to check him over and look into why he is not quite himself. It could be overtiredness from the respite, could be the Imodium making him sleepy. Just doesn't seem right.
Dear Dad is so easy going and even tempered, he took it all in his stride and - unsurprisingly - was zonked out for the rest of the afternoon.
The doctor is coming tomorrow to check him over and look into why he is not quite himself. It could be overtiredness from the respite, could be the Imodium making him sleepy. Just doesn't seem right.
Hi Heidi, hope all is well with you and your dad. How is he today, did the doctor see him?
Sounds like you have a good team of nurses in your area, so supportive, it is good to hear.
Hope everything is ok, Jo xx
Hi jojo
Dad is surprisingly well thanks. The doctor said that all his vital signs were good and that he didn't want to change anything. The walking is coming back gradually, as is the arm strength.
The nurses have been brilliant. We are so lucky. We have managed the hoist after a fashion, but it doesn't fit under the bed, so we have a hospital bed coming, an electric stand aid and a wheeled commode.
Two positives since the respite are that he is not shouting for me all the time like he used to and he is sleeping through the night.
I'm doing ok thanks. Livings bit on my nerves until things settle down, but I am sleeping well, so better able to cope.
I hope you are well. Xx
Dad is surprisingly well thanks. The doctor said that all his vital signs were good and that he didn't want to change anything. The walking is coming back gradually, as is the arm strength.
The nurses have been brilliant. We are so lucky. We have managed the hoist after a fashion, but it doesn't fit under the bed, so we have a hospital bed coming, an electric stand aid and a wheeled commode.
Two positives since the respite are that he is not shouting for me all the time like he used to and he is sleeping through the night.
I'm doing ok thanks. Livings bit on my nerves until things settle down, but I am sleeping well, so better able to cope.
I hope you are well. Xx
Hi there.
I just want to say that things are finally sorting themselves out. Dad is back standing and walking again, apart from the morning, when we are using the hoist and now have the slightly less stressful and fiddly option of an electric stand aid. Blocks to raise the bed came today, so it may be possible for Dad to stand himself. We shall see tomorrow.
The nurses have been brilliant in getting the equipment we need and I am feeling much better about things.
Xx
I just want to say that things are finally sorting themselves out. Dad is back standing and walking again, apart from the morning, when we are using the hoist and now have the slightly less stressful and fiddly option of an electric stand aid. Blocks to raise the bed came today, so it may be possible for Dad to stand himself. We shall see tomorrow.
The nurses have been brilliant in getting the equipment we need and I am feeling much better about things.
Xx
Thank you for the update, and I'm so glad to hear you are feeling better. It sounds like you are making some progress. I hope everyone is sleeping better!
Hi HVML
I've just read your post with interest as I can relate to alot of it. My dad hasn't been in a care home but after a recent stint in hospital (1 of many this year) and also a pressure sore on his heel dads mobility has taken a massive hit and he will no longer bear weight. Sadly, he is in hospital again with another infection which will affect him even further again. I hope you don't mind but I just wanted to ask you about the hoist? Did you get it through the NHS? Is it easy to use? Is it really big or can you realistically get it into a normal house room?
I think it may be something that we are going to have to look at.
I'm so glad to see that things with your dad are settling down. I completely understand the worry and stress that it puts you under.
Touching wood that it continues for you xx
I've just read your post with interest as I can relate to alot of it. My dad hasn't been in a care home but after a recent stint in hospital (1 of many this year) and also a pressure sore on his heel dads mobility has taken a massive hit and he will no longer bear weight. Sadly, he is in hospital again with another infection which will affect him even further again. I hope you don't mind but I just wanted to ask you about the hoist? Did you get it through the NHS? Is it easy to use? Is it really big or can you realistically get it into a normal house room?
I think it may be something that we are going to have to look at.
I'm so glad to see that things with your dad are settling down. I completely understand the worry and stress that it puts you under.
Touching wood that it continues for you xx
Hi guys
Thanks for your good wishes.
Yes, stresshead. We got the hoist through the Community nurses and it's easy to use once you get the hang of putting on the harness securely. The nurses will show you how to use it and you will need to practice with the straps until you feel confident. The main tricky ones that you have to get right are the wide ones that go under the legs. You also have to remember to cross two specific ones over ( they will show you which) or his legs will be akimbo. It needs 2 people to operate safely and you need to make sure that the bed is high enough for the hoist base to go under. We got blocks instead of a hospital bed. It's quite big, but will go in a normal room and wheels about easily. The first time it was used, the nurses got dad off the commode when he got stuck and couldn't get up. He was up and safely back in his chair in minutes talk about relief! Like I say - make sure they talk you through the straps a few times.
So sorry to hear about your dad. It's such a shock to the system when things take such a dramatic turn for the worse. I feel so relieved that my dad has picked up again. It's taken some intense chivvying along, but he has now largely got back his self confidence and will have a go, where before, he didn't believe that he could do it.
Xx
Thanks for your good wishes.
Yes, stresshead. We got the hoist through the Community nurses and it's easy to use once you get the hang of putting on the harness securely. The nurses will show you how to use it and you will need to practice with the straps until you feel confident. The main tricky ones that you have to get right are the wide ones that go under the legs. You also have to remember to cross two specific ones over ( they will show you which) or his legs will be akimbo. It needs 2 people to operate safely and you need to make sure that the bed is high enough for the hoist base to go under. We got blocks instead of a hospital bed. It's quite big, but will go in a normal room and wheels about easily. The first time it was used, the nurses got dad off the commode when he got stuck and couldn't get up. He was up and safely back in his chair in minutes talk about relief! Like I say - make sure they talk you through the straps a few times.
So sorry to hear about your dad. It's such a shock to the system when things take such a dramatic turn for the worse. I feel so relieved that my dad has picked up again. It's taken some intense chivvying along, but he has now largely got back his self confidence and will have a go, where before, he didn't believe that he could do it.
Xx
