Yesterday 24th Sept 2015

This morning was much the same as any other morning – I awake at 6.45am, children are up at 7am, breakfast, bathroom routine and check on my mum – my mum is still in the land of Zzzz.

Both my children leave for school. The house is really quiet and I decide to have a cup of tea. mmmmh! Lovely – the most relaxing time of the day.

I check on my mum, she is still asleep. I tidy my children’s bedroom’s and make their beds – I am baffled as to how their rooms can get so messy so quickly – was I ever like this????? Probably!

The carer arrives at 9.00am we get my mum up and put her on the commode. I get the bathroom ready and my mum’s clothes and pad ready. We take my mum to the bathroom wash her and get her dressed, her balance is great today. Two days in a row, fantastic.

I walk my mum through to the kitchen and then we sit her in her wheelchair. It must be such a relief for my mum to be standing upright and moving her legs, instead of her usual, which is sitting or lying in the same position for hours on end.

I give my mum breakfast and then I brush her hair and I brush her teeth. It is now 10.50am

My turn now. It is now 11.30

I want to sort out my garden, there is weeding needing done, strimming and lawn mowing to do, so I take my mum’s wheelchair outside and sit her in the garden. Fresh air – ah! heaven! My mum is all wrapped up and she’s laughing, her cheeks are all rosey – it is lovely to see.

12.30pm – It is time for lunch we have a sandwich and a cup of tea.

I receive a call from my mum’s keyworker and everything is organised for tomorrow.

In the morning, the carer who helps me shower my mum will also help me get my mum into my car. A private care firm will meet me at my house at 4pm and they will help me get my mum out the car.  I am delighted, at last my mum will be returning to the day care centre. Good news! Great news! I am happy. I bet my mum has missed the day care centre and I bet she will be delighted to be returning – I wish she could have a conversation with me, then I could ask her.

My mum looks tired so I take her through to the livingroom and put her in her chair. Getting my mum out of the wheelchair without the stand aid can be a nightmare and sore on my back but I like my mum to walk a few times a day, to stretch her legs and to help keep her mobile. Most of the time my mum doesn’t walk and you have to gently pull her into a walking motion, she seems to enjoy being upright for short periods of time. I walk her over to her chair and then sit her in her chair. I leave my mum for a while and go back to my garden work.

I am eager for the postman to come as I have still not heard anything regarding the discretionary panel outcome and I am desperately wanting to know their decision. The postman comes – still no news. Jing’s! I wish they would hurry up. I know they have to go through procedures but this is torture. It is a lot of money to be hanging over your head.

It is all quiet today no phone calls and no need to make phone calls – total bliss, I wish every day was like this.

I check my emails oh! dear! I ve spoken to soon – an email regarding my mum. It’s just confirmation of the arrangements for tomorrow for the carers to get my mum in and out of my car phew! No hassles.

Another email comes through asking for me to give my mum her breakfast before the carer arrives so that the carer can leave at 10.00am. I think about how I can fit this in and do not think it will be possible as I need to make sure my children have time with me before they leave for school and I also need to consider the impact on my mum if I wake her up earlier. I know that on some nights my mum is awake through the night and I feel that it would be unfair to her to wake her up earlier. I keep trying to keep my mum at the centre and my children at the centre of all I do – it can be difficult. I just bob about and shout hey! someone! let me be at the centre, sometimes, too. lol…… as if…. responsiblity takes that away. Sometimes I think It would be nice to have a partner then maybe i could sometimes be at the centre hmmmmmm!!!!

Its 4pm, my children are home. I have not prepared dinner as I have been too busy in the garden. Time to start. I am not hungry so I cook dinner for my children, chicken nuggets and chips and I give my mum some homemade soup.

We have a bit of time left before the carer comes, so I ask my daughter to help me get my mum on the commode. We leave my mum there for 20 minutes, brilliant she has had a bowel movement. Through experience I have found that my mum needs about 20-30 minutes on the commode, it seems to get things moving.

The carer arrives and we get my mum changed into her pj’s. We walk her through to the livingroom. I ask my daughter to give my mum a cup of tea.

Study time, aaargh! my son has a biology test tomorrow. After 4 hours of sheer torture we finish studying – I am exhausted, my son is grumpy, my daughter looks bewildered and my looks like she could be doing with bed.

My daughter helps me get my mum up and we walk her through to her room. We put her in her wheel chair and start the process of getting the hoist on her and then we hoist her into bed. She laughs, then smiles – she’s happy.

I have recorded my son during our study session, I hit the play button and all you hear is my son whingeing and complaining and saying I don’t need to know this, I ve learnt this, why do I have to do this, I m not sitting here, I m not doing this. He smiles and says why did you record me and I say if you act like that again I am going to post it on facebook so that all your friends can hear it. He laughs and says you better not – my new blackmail tool. Whoop! whoop!

Bedtime.