14th Jan – 24th Jan 2016

I am on a University placement at present and things are busy for me. I am finding I have very little time to write my blog on a day-to-day format, week by week. For this reason, I am only going to be able to write it when I can, hopefully, this will still allow me to write any key points that I have regarding my life as a carer, a mum and a student.

My new life. My new routine.

I wake at 6am, I get washed and dressed. I put on some make-up, I feel the need to do this as I am going to be out and about and meeting people. I prepare my mums clothes for the carer arriving. I wake my children at 7am. I put everything I need for my placement in a bag and make a coffee for my journey to my placement. I check that my children are getting ready. The carer arrives and we have a quick chat. I kiss my children good bye and I leave for my placement. The journey to my placement takes one hour and twenty minutes.

Its time to go home. The time is usually around 5pm. Its dark and its cold and its raining, the journey home is horrible. I arrive home at around 6.30 pm. I check on my mum and then I begin making dinner. By 8pm we have ate dinner and we have washed the dishes. The carers arrive and they begin getting my mum ready for bed.

My mum stays at home all day now as no-one can take her to the day care centre, I feel so sad for her, she must feel extremely lonely.

This is both my mums and my routine Monday through to Thursday. I am off Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Friday the 22nd of January, my first day off. I woke up at 6.45 am. I checked on my mum and she was still asleep. I woke my children. My children left at 8am. I check on my mum and she is still asleep. The carers arrive at 8.30am. They wash my mum and dress my mum. We wheel my mum to my car and then we put my mum into the car. I drive her to the day care centre.

I drive to my physiotherapist appointment, the physiotherapist takes me through different exercises and sends me on my way. I drive to my nearest city for my appointment with the advocacy agency. I tell the lady from the advocacy team what my complaints and issues are, specifically, the charges and contributions policy and the fact that this has led my mum to be isolated from her community. I ask her if she can help me deal with it, as I have had enough. She agrees to help.

I drive to the day care centre and collect my mum, I take her home.  My children are home by the time I get there, they help me take my mum into the house.

I make dinner and then we eat dinner. I wash the dishes and then begin to study, I have a reflective journal to complete for Saturday. I am loving my placement, what a supportive place to work.

The carers arrive and put my mum into her pj’s. I sit with my mum for a while and we watch tv together. Later my daughter helps me to walk my mum through to her bedroom, we change her pad and we put her to bed.

The weekend passes quick, I have to clean my house, wash all the clothes, dry them and then iron them. I feel that I have little time for anything else.