Dear all
Just wanted to sound off to fellow TPers in the same boat!
Mum recently admitted to hospital then rehab unit with a fractured femur. It was a bad break and she'll probably be in RU for six weeks. She lives independently with minimal care (help with medication), mainly because I'm mopping up the trials and tribulations, e.g. money/bills etc. Over the past 18+ months, I've tried to do all I can for her, as most relatives have shown no interest and shied away from the 'AD/VaD label'. Some have been unsympathetic and quite deserving of a well placed slap across the chops; e.g. a very close 'friend' of hers said to me at the weekend ..."there's no point in telling her anything, she doesn't remember anything, she doesn't understand." All this with mum sat just 3' away. Mum pointed out that she wasn't deaf! People have drifted away from her at a time when she needs contact and interaction with others; I think she's currently stage 3/4.
How odd, then, that now she has an obvious physical disability, they are swooping down as fast as planes landing at Heathrow. Offering their best wishes. Even a sibling of hers whom she has had no contact with for donkeys' years rang me last night to ask how/where she was.
Whilst I can understand that some people don't understand AD, or for many it's a 'generational' issue where mental health was brushed under the front room rug, I do find some quite two-faced! Happy to pop in with a bunch of flowers and boast loudly of how many visits they've made, but offer no practical support to mum (or in helping me manage the appointments we've had to attend) in terms of her AD.
Sorry to chuck this rather philosophical one in. Sounds a bit self-pitying on my part now I've read it; but I feel that until some change their attitudes, that AD can and does affect a large number of people (whether as sufferers or carers) we all face even more of an uphill struggle with this awful illness, than we already have.
Another preview of this post leads me to believe that I've had a complete sense of humour bypass and my sentences are too long; but I'm just weary and fed up!
Just wanted to sound off to fellow TPers in the same boat!
Mum recently admitted to hospital then rehab unit with a fractured femur. It was a bad break and she'll probably be in RU for six weeks. She lives independently with minimal care (help with medication), mainly because I'm mopping up the trials and tribulations, e.g. money/bills etc. Over the past 18+ months, I've tried to do all I can for her, as most relatives have shown no interest and shied away from the 'AD/VaD label'. Some have been unsympathetic and quite deserving of a well placed slap across the chops; e.g. a very close 'friend' of hers said to me at the weekend ..."there's no point in telling her anything, she doesn't remember anything, she doesn't understand." All this with mum sat just 3' away. Mum pointed out that she wasn't deaf! People have drifted away from her at a time when she needs contact and interaction with others; I think she's currently stage 3/4.
How odd, then, that now she has an obvious physical disability, they are swooping down as fast as planes landing at Heathrow. Offering their best wishes. Even a sibling of hers whom she has had no contact with for donkeys' years rang me last night to ask how/where she was.
Whilst I can understand that some people don't understand AD, or for many it's a 'generational' issue where mental health was brushed under the front room rug, I do find some quite two-faced! Happy to pop in with a bunch of flowers and boast loudly of how many visits they've made, but offer no practical support to mum (or in helping me manage the appointments we've had to attend) in terms of her AD.
Sorry to chuck this rather philosophical one in. Sounds a bit self-pitying on my part now I've read it; but I feel that until some change their attitudes, that AD can and does affect a large number of people (whether as sufferers or carers) we all face even more of an uphill struggle with this awful illness, than we already have.
Another preview of this post leads me to believe that I've had a complete sense of humour bypass and my sentences are too long; but I'm just weary and fed up!