Why is my head in a spin this week?

It’s been one of those weeks that are very demanding, both physically and emotionally.

My lovely mother in law is very ill. Over the past couple of weeks, she’s been in hospital and sent home without a diagnosis, and the level of care she received whilst in there was nothing short of atrocious!

Skip forward to last Sunday and we received an early morning phone call from my very distressed father in law to say that he’d found her on the floor in the bathroom. He’d called an ambulance but we got there, along with my sister in law within 10 minutes. It was an hour before the paramedics arrived. A disgrace when you have an 85 year old unable to move. I can’t imagine how long that hour must have felt for her. All we could do was cover her up to keep her warm. She was conscious and not complaining of any acute pain, but we daren’t try to get her up in case she had hidden injuries.

Since then it’s been a week filled with visits from occupational therapists, specialist nurses, carers, the GP, social services etc. She is currently getting 24 hour care as my father in law can’t cope on his own. For example, were she to fall again, there’s no way he could lift her. She can barely get up out of her armchair with the help of a frame, and can’t maintain an upright position for long. She certainly can’t get to the toilet on her own. She’s also refusing to eat or drink unless someone is standing over her, and then takes only a few mouthfuls. She’s confused and disoriented, and has blurred vision. We’re currently awaiting some blood test results but at the moment we still have no diagnosis.

We had planned a party for my father in laws 86th this week, but instead we took a birthday cake to him. My son and his wife came too, and my daughter and her boyfriend FaceTimed from Romania so that we could all sing happy birthday.

The cake was a bit of a rush job, as we’ve been spending a lot of time at their house this week, as you can imagine. My hubby has been there every day, but he’s my carer too, so it’s been very difficult for him. I’ve spent as much time there as I can physically manage, including staying overnight on Sunday before the care was arranged, but it’s been exhausting and I’ve just slept in between visits. After spending Thursday there from before 9am until 7pm, waiting for OT to arrange an extension to the 24 hour care, the specialist nurse, and a GP home visit, Friday was spent resting after feeling dizzy and lightheaded, so that I would be fit enough for the birthday visit in the evening.

Please pray, send good vibes, remote healing….whatever you believe in! Her name is Rose and she’s very precious to us.

Until next time

Stay safe and healthy

Debbie ❤️