CARE HOME (5)

Thursday, 18th July, 2013

My sister drives up on the Thurday and we have a "council of war" (which amounts to little more than we whingeing about my recent lot in life) over an evening meal at a local cafe, although I appear to have arranged for us to meet up at an eatery that has closed (or at least changed hands) since we last met up there, but the one we meet up in is pleasant enough, if a little hot. The main purpose of the exercise, other than the social one of course, is the more practical matter of handing over the keys to mum's flat and her purse, and the vital cash card codes.

This accomplished and the "baton" that is mother passed over into other hands for a while, I then stay up late enough to be able to ring my sister for a "post-visit" update via the telephone and find out that the visit went fine, with the positive signs of mum being up and about and dressed being a good sign, although my sister did have to have one of those dreaded "confrontational" conversations with the staff about mum's dietary requirements, and, of course, was finally able to get the mysteries of the mobile phone properly understood, and is left to make more calls, although the device will have to be taken away for recharging fairly soon, triggering an extra visit.

Meanwhile, some points arose during our little late night chat:

1. Mum is essentially "very lazy" in the sense that she sometimes "can't be bothered" and, with things like the mobile phone, would just prefer it is "someone else" does it for her, which does rather go against the principles of "Intermediate Care..."
2. Mum is now "quite keen" to go home, possibly because my sister is actually there. She pointed out to mum that in that case she needs to put in the effort to get herself stronger because, now that the "infection risk" restrictions have been lifted, there's no reason for her to not move about the place a little more. But, well... See (1) above.
3. Mum is still on a "toast" diet, despite the fact that the doctor said that she could return to a normal diet. Interestingly my sister was told that the doctor might have approved that, but the Care home Manager had not, which is kind of interesting. This might be because the after effects are easier to deal with or it could be more about being ignorant about mum's underlying health issues which are not infection based.

My sister's return to mum's flat afterwards is more of a worry and speaks volumes about my neglect of the place because I haven't spent any real time going there for months. The plumbing needs some attention because there's been a leak under the bathroom sink which is causing problems, all of which I was blissfully unaware of and now feel rather bad about.

It has, however, been a tough few months and I am utterly exhausted and so, whilst we can't officially call that chapter "closed" as such, there is an opportunity for me to present something of an interlude.

Friday, 19th July, 2013

Stuff to do... Things need finishing off at work before my week off, and then there's all of the packing to think about. With another person to do the running around, this is far, far easier for me to deal with, he said selfishly.

However, I do have to field a couple of calls with regards to my sister staying in mum's flat, mostly about forgotten passwords and TV settings due to long-ignored retuning issues...

Saturday, 20th - Sunday, 28th July, 2013

I am officially "on holiday" and therefore officially "care free" for a week whilst lurking in the top left-hand corner of Wales, spending an extended week in "Joanna" (which I'll explain later... probably). For one week I don't have to think about illness, or hospital visits, or Care Homes, or other people's bowel movements, and can just relax and enjoy myself whilst keeping my Ostrich-y head firmly in the sand and going "La-la-la-lah!!!" a lot if ever thoughts of home attempt to come to mind...