Tumultuous few weeks

[TessB]

Mum stopped wanting to get out of the chair, even sleeping in it at night, her legs were very swollen and she was coughing up clear fluid (she'd been doing this for a while but no-one had remarked on it). Physio felt mum needed to be reviewed by GP, GP diagnosed a level of heart failure. That was on 24th November. Mum now on water tablets and seemed to be doing quite well, Thursday evening three weeks ago we were doing origami together and mum was following my instructions well. Friday 1st December I just knew she wasn't right, phoned 111, ambulance came out, didn't think mum had had a stroke (she was talking gibberish and leaning so heavily to the right that I had to prop her up). Saturday I called Medvivo who sent out of hours doctor who felt mum had had a stroke and arranged for an ambulance which arrived 7 hours later. They said mum would have to go to A&E as no beds on Acute Medical Unit and would be monitored as outside the 10 hour window for treating strokes. They also discussed with out of hours doctor. Upshot was that, rather than put mum through the distress of A&E just for monitoring purposes, she should stay at home. Sunday morning mum had recovered her speech. Our lovely GP arranged for mum to go to hospital on Tuesday for a scan and be brought home the same day (in the end mum had to stay on short stay unit overnight as no carers available to hoist at home. Mum seemed quite happy in hospital). Scan showed mum had had a TIA with no damage. Doctor said they don't give clot busting meds to over 85s so wouldn't have made any difference if she'd gone into hospital on 1st. Mum is back home and we have carers in three times a day. We have an electric hoist, which we haven't had to use yet 🤞, and mum sleeps in a hospital bed in the living room. She can stand with the aid of a Sarah Steady but not walk. Whether she will be able to walk again, I don't know. Can but hope. She is eating very well. So now I have to get rid of mum's old bed but finding it very emotional. It's like saying mum won't ever use it again, though the reality is she probably won't. And even when she could use it, she didn't want to, preferring to sleep in the chair (perhaps because of all the fluid round her lungs) and also she seemed to have remember that dad died in it.

 

[Missodell18]

So sorry to read about all of your problems. Hope you have a much calmer time of things now. I know it’s so stressful to have to cope with all this

 

[TessB]

So sorry to read about all of your problems. Hope you have a much calmer time of things now. I know it’s so stressful to have to cope with all this

Thanks Missodell18. I feel as though I'm just about coming to terms with it all but noticed about half an hour ago that mum had swollen pouches below her eyes. Not noticed this before and have been bathing her eyes over the last few days because of conjunctivitis. I wonder if is another aspect of the heart failure. I notice that heart failure seems to be quite a common theme on this forum.